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Measurements of [Fe/H] and radial velocity are presented for 89 RR Lyrae (RRL) candidates within 6 kpc of the Sun. After the removal of two suspected non-RRLs, these stars were added to an existing data base, which yielded 464 RRLs with [Fe/H] on a homogeneous scale. Using data from the Gaia satellite (Data Release 2), we calculated the positions and space velocities for this sample. These data confirm the existence of a thin disc of RRL with [α/Fe] ∼ solar. The majority of the halo RRLs with large total energies have near-zero angular momenta about the Z-axis. Kinematically, these stars closely resemble the Gaia-Sausage/Gaia-Enceladus stars that others have proposed are debris from the merger of a large galaxy with the Milky Way. The metallicity and period distributions of the RRLs and their positions in the period-amplitude diagram suggest that this disrupted galaxy was as massive as the Large Magellanic Cloud and possibly greater. © 2019 The Author(s)
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Symbolic regression techniques are promising approaches to learning mathematical models that fit experimental data. One of the most powerful techniques for symbolic regression is Grammatical Evolution (GE). This evolutionary computation technique explores a space of candidate models that are ensured to be syntactically correct expressions built from a set of arbitrary building blocks and operators. In GE the syntax for these expressions is defined by a problem-specific formal grammar. Therefore, GE can produce an explainable solution (e.g. a formula), not a black-box model. The current contribution assesses the viability of GE for PSF characterization, using real datasets from HST/WFPC2. Our experiments show that our method is able to find the most likely candidate mathematical expression for the PSF shape, and can also model combinations of shapes taken from a predefined family of functions commonly used in astronomy (Gaussian and Moffat PSFs). These results support the hypothesis that the expressive power of GE can be used to tackle the problem of characterization of complex PSF functions, for example, as a necessary step in the prediction of intra-pixel position of stars. © 2024 SPIE.
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Despite their close proximity, the complex interplay between the two Magellanic Clouds, the Milky Way and the resulting tidal features, is still poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) has a very extended disc strikingly perturbed in its outskirts.We search for recent star formation in the far outskirts of the LMC, out to ~30° from its centre.We have collected intermediate-resolution spectra of 31 young star candidates in the periphery of the LMC and measured their radial velocity, stellar parameters, distance and age. Our measurements confirm membership to the LMC of six targets, for which the radial velocity and distance values match well with those of the Cloud. These objects are all young (10-50 Myr), main-sequence stars, projected between 7° and 13° from the centre of the parent galaxy. We compare the velocities of our stars with those of a disc model, and find that our stars have low to moderate velocity differences with the disc model predictions, indicating that they were formed in situ. Our study demonstrates that recent star formation occurred in the far periphery of the LMC, where thus far only old objects were known. The spatial configuration of these newly formed stars appears ring-like with a radius of 12 kpc and a displacement of 2.6 kpc from the LMC's centre. This structure, if real, would be suggestive of a star formation episode triggered by an off-centre collision between the Small Magellanic Cloud and the LMC's disc. © 2016 The Authors.
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