A study of the Galactic halo from a complete sample of RR Lyrae variables to B = 21
Open Access
- 1 February 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Vol. 206 (3) , 433-448
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/206.3.433
Abstract
An automated search of a sequence of 1.2-m Schmidt plates is used to obtain a complete sample of RR Lyrae variables to B = 21. The sample is used to trace the space density of the halo to 60 kpc. A power-law distribution with index −3.1 ± 0.2 is found, with an axial ratio of about 0.9. Radial velocities of sample members as a function of Galactocentric distance give a power-law relation with index −0.7 ± 0.4 for the overall mass density; this is different from the distribution of the variables themselves and apparently shows the distribution of unseen matter.Keywords
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