Andrew Becker

We report the discovery and orbital determination of 14 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the ESSENCE Supernova Survey difference imaging data set. Two additional objects discovered in a similar search of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey database were recovered in this effort. ESSENCE repeatedly observed fields far from the solar system ecliptic (–21° < β < –5°), reaching limiting magnitudes per observation of I ≈ 23.1 and R ≈ 23.7. We examine several of the newly detected objects in detail, including 2003 UC₄₁₄, which orbits entirely between Uranus and Neptune and lies very close to a dynamical region that would make it stable for the lifetime of the solar system. 2003 SS₄₂₂ and 2007 TA₄₁₈ have high eccentricities and large perihelia, making them candidate members of an outer class of TNOs. We also report a new member of the "extended" or "detached" scattered disk, 2004 VN₁₁₂, and verify the stability of its orbit using numerical simulations. This object would have been visible to ESSENCE for only ~2% of its orbit, suggesting a vast number of similar objects across the sky. We emphasize that off-ecliptic surveys are optimal for uncovering the diversity of such objects, which in turn will constrain the history of gravitational influences that shaped our early solar system.

Shapes of RR Lyrae light curves can be described in terms of Fourier coefficients that past research has linked with physical characteristics such as luminosity, mass, and temperature. Fourier coefficients have been derived for the V and R light curves of 785 overtone RR Lyrae variables in 16 MACHO fields near the bar of the LMC. In general, the Fourier phase differences ₂₁, ₃₁, and ₄₁ increase and the amplitude ratio R₂₁ decreases with increasing period. The coefficients for both the V and R magnitudes follow these patterns, but the phase differences for the R curves are on average slightly greater, and their amplitudes are about 20% smaller, than the ones for the V curves. The ₃₁ and R₂₁ coefficients have been compared with those of the first-overtone RR Lyrae variables in the Galactic globular clusters NGC 6441, M107, M5, M3, M2, ω Centauri, and M68. The results indicate that many of the LMC variables have properties similar to the ones in M2, M3, M5, and the Oosterhoff type I variables in ω Cen, but they are different from the Oosterhoff type II variables in ω Cen. Equations derived from hydrodynamic pulsation models have been used to calculate the luminosity and temperature for the 330 bona fide first-overtone variables. The results indicate that they have log L in the range 1.6–1.8 L_⊙ and log T_eff between 3.85 and 3.87. Based on these temperatures, a mean color excess E(V-R) = 0.08 mag, equivalent to E(B-V) = 0.14 mag, has been estimated for these 330 stars. The 80 M5-like variables (selected according to their location in the ₃₁–log P plot) are used to determine an LMC distance. After correcting for the effects of extinction and crowding, a mean apparent magnitude V₀ = 18.99 ± 0.02 (statistical) ±0.16 (systematic) has been estimated for these 80 stars. Combining this with a mean absolute magnitude M_V = 0.56 ± 0.06 for M5-like stars derived from Baade-Wesselink analyses, main-sequence fitting, Fourier parameters, and the trigonometric parallax of RR Lyrae, we derive an LMC distance modulus μ = 18.43 ± 0.06 (statistical) ±0.16 (systematic) mag. The large systematic error arises from the difficulties of correcting for interstellar extinction and for crowding.

We have frequency-analyzed 6391 variables classified earlier as fundamental-mode RR Lyrae (RR0) stars in the MACHO database on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The overwhelming majority (i.e., 96%) of these variables have been proved to be indeed RR0 stars, whereas the remaining ones have fallen into one of the following categories: single- and double-mode Cepheids, binaries, first-overtone and double-mode RR Lyrae stars, and nonclassified variables. Special attention has been paid to the properties of the amplitude- and phase-modulated RR0 stars (the Blazhko stars). We found altogether 731 Blazhko variables showing either a doublet or an equidistant triplet pattern at the main pulsation component in their frequency spectra. This sample overwhelmingly exceeds the number of Blazhko stars known in all other systems combined. The incidence rate of the Blazhko variables among the RR0 stars in the LMC is 11.9%, which is 3 times higher than their rate among the first-overtone RR Lyrae stars. No difference is found in the average brightness between the single-mode and Blazhko variables. However, the latter ones show a somewhat lower degree of skewness in their average light curves and a concomitant lower total amplitude in their modulation-free light curves. From the frequency spectra we found that variables with larger modulation amplitudes at the higher frequency side of the main pulsation component are 3 times more common than the ones showing the opposite amplitude pattern. A search for a modulation component with the Blazhko period in the average brightness of the individual variables showed the existence of such a modulation with an overall amplitude of ≈0.006 mag. On the other hand, a similar search for quadruple modulation patterns around the main pulsation component has failed to clearly detect such components at the ≈0.004 mag level. This means that the amplitudes of the quadruple components (if they exist) should be, on average, at least 10 times smaller than those of the triplet components. This finding and the existence of Blazhko variables with highly asymmetric modulation amplitudes not only question the validity of the magnetic oblique rotator model but also put stringent constraints on models based on mode-coupling theories.

We present a (V-R)-based reddening map of about 43 square degrees of the Galactic bulge/bar. The map is constructed using template image photometry from the MACHO microlensing survey, contains 9717 resolution elements, and is based on (V-R)-color averages of the entire color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) in 4 by 4 arc-minute tiles. The conversion from the observed color to the reddening follows from an assumption that CMDs of all bulge fields would look similar in the absence of extinction. Consequently, the difference in observed color between various fields originates from varying contribution of the disk extinction summed along different lines of sight. We check that our (V-R) colors correlate very well with infrared and optical reddening maps. We show that a dusty disk obeying a cosec|b| extinction law, E(V-R) = 0.0274 cosec|b|, provides a good approximation to the extinction toward the MACHO bulge/bar fields. The large-scale (V-R)-color and visual extinction map presented here is publicly available in the electronic edition of the Journal and on the World Wide Web.

We have frequency analyzed 6391 variables classified earlier as fundamental mode RR Lyrae (RR0) stars in the MACHO database on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The overwhelming majority of these variables have been proved to be indeed RR0 stars, whereas the remaining ones have fallen in one of the following categories: single- and double-mode Cepheids, binaries, first overtone and double-mode RR Lyrae stars and non-classified variables. Special attention has been paid to the Blazhko stars. We found altogether 731 Blazhko variables showing either a doublet or an equidistant triplet pattern at the main pulsation component in their frequency spectra. The incidence rate of the Blazhko variables among the RR0 stars in the LMC is 11.9%, which is three times higher than their rate among the first overtone RR Lyrae stars. From the frequency spectra we found that variables with larger modulation amplitudes at the higher frequency side of the main pulsation component are three times more frequent than the ones showing the opposite amplitude pattern. A search made for a modulation component with the Blazhko period in the average brightness of the individual variables showed the existence of such a modulation with an overall amplitude of ~0.006 mag. On the other hand, a similar search for quadruple modulation patterns around the main pulsation component have failed to clearly detect such components at the ~0.004 mag level. This means that the amplitudes of the quadruple components should be, on the average, at least ten times smaller than those of the triplet components. This finding and the existence of Blazhko variables with highly asymmetric modulation amplitudes not only question the validity of the magnetic oblique rotator model, but also puts stringent constraints on models based on mode coupling theories.

We present 47 spectroscopically-confirmed quasars discovered behind the Magellanic Clouds identified via photometric variability in the MACHO database. Thirty-eight quasars lie behind the Large Magellanic Cloud and nine behind the Small Magellanic Cloud, more than tripling the number of quasars previously known in this region. The quasars cover the redshift interval 0.2 < z < 2.8 and apparent mean magnitudes 16.6 < V < 20.1. We discuss the details of quasar candidate selection based on time variability in the MACHO database and present results of spectroscopic follow-up observations. Our follow-up detection efficiency was 20%; the primary contaminants were emission-line Be stars in Magellanic Clouds. For the 47 quasars discovered behind the Magellanic Clouds plus an additional 12 objects previously identified in this region, we present 7.5-year MACHO V- and R-band lightcurves with average sampling times of 2-10 days.

We present a method for solving the light curve of an eclipsing binary system that contains a Cepheid variable as one of its components as well as the solutions for three eclipsing Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). A geometric model is constructed in which the component stars are assumed to be spherical and on circular orbits. The emergent system flux is computed as a function of time, with the intrinsic variations in temperature and radius of the Cepheid treated self-consistently. Fitting the adopted model to photometric observations, incorporating data from multiple bandpasses, yields a single parameter set best describing the system. This method is applied to three eclipsing Cepheid systems from the MACHO project LMC database: MACHO 6.6454.5, 78.6338.24, and 81.8997.87. A best-fit value is obtained for each system's orbital period and inclination and for the relative radius, color, and limb-darkening coefficients of each star. Pulsation periods and parameterizations of the intrinsic color variations of the Cepheids are also obtained, and the amplitude of the radial pulsation of each Cepheid is measured directly. The system 6.6454.5 is found to contain a 4.97 day Cepheid, which cannot be definitely classified as type I or type II, with an unexpectedly brighter companion. The system 78.6338.24 consists of a 17.7 day, W Virginis class type II Cepheid with a smaller, dimmer companion. The system 81.8997.87 contains an intermediate-mass, 2.03 day overtone Cepheid with a dimmer, red giant secondary.

We present a method for solving the lightcurve of an eclipsing binary system which contains a Cepheid variable as one of its components as well as the solutions for three eclipsing Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). A geometric model is constructed in which the component stars are assumed to be spherical and on circular orbits. The emergent system flux is computed as a function of time, with the intrinsic variations in temperature and radius of the Cepheid treated self-consistently. Fitting the adopted model to photometric observations, incorporating data from multiple bandpasses, yields a single parameter set best describing the system. This method is applied to three eclipsing Cepheid systems from the MACHO Project LMC database: MACHO ID's 6.6454.5, 78.6338.24 and 81.8997.87. A best-fit value is obtained for each system's orbital period and inclination and for the relative radius, color and limb-darkening coefficients of each star. Pulsation periods and parameterizations of the intrinsic color variations of the Cepheids are also obtained and the amplitude of the radial pulsation of each Cepheid is measured directly. The system 6.6454.5 is found to contain a 4.97-day Cepheid, which cannot be definitely classified as Type I or Type II, with an unexpectedly brighter companion. The system 78.6338.24 consists of a 17.7-day, W Vir Class Type II Cepheid with a smaller, dimmer companion. The system 81.8997.87 contains an intermediate-mass, 2.03-day overtone Cepheid with a dimmer, red giant secondary.

We attempt to determine whether the MACHO microlensing source stars are drawn from the average population of the LMC or from a population behind the LMC by examining the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of microlensing source stars. We present WFPC2 HST photometry of eight MACHO microlensing source stars and the surrounding fields in the LMC. The microlensing source stars are identified by deriving accurate centroids in the ground-based MACHO images using difference image analysis (DIA) and then transforming the DIA coordinates to the HST frame. We consider in detail a model for the background population of source stars based on that presented by Zhao, Graff, & Guhathakurta. In this model, the source stars have an additional reddening of = 0.13 mag and a slightly larger distance modulus, ~ 0.3 mag, than the average LMC population. We also investigate a series of source star models, varying the relative fraction of source stars drawn from the average and background populations and the displacement of the background population from the LMC. Because of the small number of analyzed events, the distribution of probabilities of different models is rather flat. A shallow maximum occurs at a fraction s_LMC ~ 0.8 of the source stars in the LMC. This is consistent with the interpretation that a significant fraction of observed microlensing events are due to lenses in the Milky Way halo, but does not definitively exclude other models.

We present photometry and analysis of the microlensing alert MACHO 96-LMC-2 (event LMC-14 in an earlier paper). This event was initially detected by the MACHO Alert System and subsequently monitored by the Global Microlensing Alert Network (GMAN). The ~3% photometry provided by the GMAN follow-up effort reveals a periodic modulation in the light curve. We attribute this to binarity of the lensed source. Microlensing fits to a rotating binary source magnified by a single lens converge on two minima, separated by Δχ² ~ 1. The most significant fit X1 predicts a primary which contributes ~100% of the light, a dark secondary, and an orbital period (T) of ~9.2 days. The second fit X2 yields a binary source with two stars of roughly equal mass and luminosity and T = 21.2 days. Observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) resolve stellar neighbors which contribute to the MACHO object's baseline brightness. The actual lensed object appears to lie on the upper LMC main sequence. We estimate the mass of the primary component of the binary system, M ~ 2 M_☉. This helps to determine the physical size of the orbiting system and allows a measurement of the lens proper motion. For the preferred model X1, we explore the range of dark companions by assuming 0.1 M_☉ and 1.4 M_☉ objects in models X1a and X1b, respectively. We find lens velocities projected to the LMC in these models of _X1a = 18.3 ± 3.1 km s^-1 and _X1b = 188 ± 32 km s^-1. In both these cases, a likelihood analysis suggests an LMC lens is preferred over a Galactic halo lens, although only marginally so in model X1b. We also find _X2 = 39.6 ± 6.1 km s^-1, where the likelihood for the lens location is strongly dominated by the LMC disk. In all cases, the lens mass is consistent with that of an M dwarf. Additional spectra of the lensed source system are necessary to further constrain and/or refine the derived properties of the lensing object. The LMC self-lensing rate contributed by 96-LMC-2 is consistent with model self-lensing rates. Thus, even if the lens is in the LMC disk, it does not rule out the possibility of Galactic halo microlenses altogether. Finally, we emphasize the unique capability of follow-up spectroscopic observations of known microlensed LMC stars, combined with the nondetection of binary source effects, to locate lenses in the Galactic halo.