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Title:
Candidate RR Lyrae Stars Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data
Authors:
Ivezić, Željko; Goldston, Josh; Finlator, Kristian; Knapp, Gillian R.; Yanny, Brian; McKay, Timothy A.; Amrose, Susan; Krisciunas, Kevin; Willman, Beth; Anderson, Scott; Schaber, Chris; Erb, Dawn; Logan, Chelsea; Stubbs, Chris; Chen, Bing; Neilsen, Eric; Uomoto, Alan; Pier, Jeffrey R.; Fan, Xiaohui; Gunn, James E.; Lupton, Robert H.; Rockosi, Constance M.; Schlegel, David; Strauss, Michael A.; Annis, James; Brinkmann, Jon; Csabai, István; Doi, Mamoru; Fukugita, Masataka; Hennessy, Gregory S.; Hindsley, Robert B.; Margon, Bruce; Munn, Jeffrey A.; Newberg, Heidi Jo; Schneider, Donald P.; Smith, J. Allyn; Szokoly, Gyula P.; Thakar, Aniruddha R.; Vogeley, Michael S.; Waddell, Patrick; Yasuda, Naoki; York, Donald G.
Affiliation:
AA(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AB(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AC(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AD(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AE(Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510), AF(Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 500 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1120), AG(Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 500 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1120), AH(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AI(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AJ(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AK(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AL(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AM(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AN(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), AO(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686), AP(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686), AQ(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686), AR(US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, P.O. Box 1149, Flagstaff, AZ 86002), AS(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AT(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AU(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AV(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637), AW(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AX(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), AY(Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510), AZ(Apache Point Observatory, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM 88349), BA(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686.; Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary), BB(Department of Astronomy and Research Center for the Early Universe, School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan), BC(Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, 3-2-1 Midori, Tanashi, Tokyo 188-8502, Japan.; Institute for Advanced Study, Olden Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540-0631), BD(US Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20392-5420), BE(Remote Sensing Division, Code 7215, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20375), BF(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), BG(US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, P.O. Box 1149, Flagstaff, AZ 86002), BH(Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180-3590), BI(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802), BJ(Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 500 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1120), BK(Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany), BL(Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686), BM(Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544-1001), BN(Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195), BO(National Astronomical Observatory, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan), BP(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637)
Publication:
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 120, Issue 2, pp. 963-977. (AJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
08/2000
Origin:
UCP
AJ Keywords:
Galaxy: Halo, Galaxy: Stellar Content, Galaxy: Structure, Stars: Variables: RR Lyrae Variable
DOI:
10.1086/301455
Bibliographic Code:
2000AJ....120..963I

Abstract

We present a sample of 148 candidate RR Lyrae stars selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) commissioning data for about 100 deg2 of sky surveyed twice with Δt=1.9946 days. Although the faint-magnitude limit of the SDSS allows us to detect RR Lyrae stars to large Galactocentric distances (~100 kpc, or r*~21), we find no candidates fainter than r*~20, i.e., farther than ~65 kpc from the Galactic center. On the assumption that all 148 candidates are indeed RR Lyrae stars (contamination by other species of variable star is probably less than 10%), we find that their volume density has roughly a power-law dependence on Galactocentric radius, R-2.7+/-0.2, between 10 and 50 kpc and drops abruptly at R~50-60 kpc, possibly indicating a sharp edge to the stellar halo as traced by RR Lyrae stars. The Galactic distribution of stars in this sample is very inhomogeneous and shows a clump of over 70 stars at about 45 kpc from the Galactic center. This clump is also detected in the distribution of nonvariable objects with RR Lyrae star colors. When sources in the clump are excluded, the best power-law fit becomes consistent with the R-3 distribution found from surveys of bright RR Lyrae stars. These results imply that the halo contains clumpy overdensities inhomogeneously distributed within a smooth R-3 background, with a possible cutoff at ~50 kpc. Based on observations obtained with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
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