M. Geha

More than 1300 variables classified provisionally as first overtone RR Lyrae pulsators in the MACHO variable star database of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have been subjected to standard frequency analysis. Based on the remnant power in the prewhitened spectra, we found 70% of the total population to be monoperiodic. The remaining 30% (411 stars) are classified as one of 9 types according to their frequency spectra. Several types of RR Lyrae pulsational behavior are clearly identified here for the first time. Together with the earlier discovered double-mode (fundamental & first overtone) variables this study increased the number of the known double-mode stars in the LMC to 181. During the total 6.5yr time span of the data, 10% of the stars show strong period changes. We also discovered two additional types of multifrequency pulsators with low occurrence rates of 2% for each. In the first type there remains one closely spaced component after prewhitening by the main pulsation frequency. In the second type the number of remnant components is two, they are also closely spaced, and, in addition, they are symmetric in their frequency spacing relative to the central component. This latter type of variables is associated with their relatives among the fundamental pulsators, known as Blazhko variables. Their high frequency (~20%) among the fundamental mode variables versus the low occurrence rate of their first overtone counterparts makes it more difficult to explain Blazhko phenomenon by any theory depending mainly on the role of aspect angle or magnetic field. Current theoretical models invoke nonradial pulsation components in these stars.Comment: 20 pages, 21 figures (bitmapped), 7 tables, to appear in Ap.

We have detected 90 objects with periods and light-curve structures similar to those of field δ Scuti stars using the Massive Compact Halo Object (MACHO) Project database of Galactic bulge photometry. If we assume similar extinction values for all candidates and absolute magnitudes similar to those of other field high-amplitude δ Scuti stars (HADS), the majority of these objects lie in or near the Galactic bulge. At least two of these objects are likely foreground δ Scuti stars, one of which may be an evolved nonradial pulsator, similar to other evolved, disk-population δ Scuti stars. We have analyzed the light curves of these objects and find that they are similar to the light curves of field δ Scuti stars and the δ Scuti stars found by the Optical Gravitational Lens Experiment (OGLE). However, the amplitude distribution of these sources lies between those of low- and high-amplitude δ Scuti stars, which suggests that they may be an intermediate population. We have found nine double-mode HADS with frequency ratios ranging from 0.75 to 0.79, four probable double- and multiple-mode objects, and another four objects with marginal detections of secondary modes. The low frequencies (5-14 cycles day^-1) and the observed period ratios of ~0.77 suggest that the majority of these objects are evolved stars pulsating in fundamental or first overtone radial modes.

More than 1300 variables classified provisionally as first overtone RR Lyrae pulsators in the MACHO variable star database of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have been subjected to standard frequency analysis. Based on the remnant power in the prewhitened spectra, we found 70% of the total population to be monoperiodic. The remaining 30% (411 stars) are classified as one of 9 types according to their frequency spectra. Several types of RR Lyrae pulsational behavior are clearly identified here for the first time. Together with the earlier discovered double-mode (fundamental & first overtone) variables this study increased the number of the known double-mode stars in the LMC to 181. During the total 6.5yr time span of the data, 10% of the stars show strong period changes. We also discovered two additional types of multifrequency pulsators with low occurrence rates of 2% for each. In the first type there remains one closely spaced component after prewhitening by the main pulsation frequency. In the second type the number of remnant components is two, they are also closely spaced, and, in addition, they are symmetric in their frequency spacing relative to the central component. This latter type of variables is associated with their relatives among the fundamental pulsators, known as Blazhko variables. Their high frequency (~20%) among the fundamental mode variables versus the low occurrence rate of their first overtone counterparts makes it more difficult to explain Blazhko phenomenon by any theory depending mainly on the role of aspect angle or magnetic field. Current theoretical models invoke nonradial pulsation components in these stars.