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Context. Type II Cepheids (T2Cs) are the less frequently used counterparts of classical or type I Cepheids (CCs) which provide the primary calibration of the distance ladder for measuring the Hubble constant in the local Universe. In the era of the "Hubble tension", T2C variables together with the RR Lyrae stars and the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) can potentially provide non-CC-dependent calibration of the cosmic distance ladder. Aims. Our goal is to provide an absolute calibration of the period–luminosity, period–luminosity–colour, and period–Wesenheit relations (PL, PLC, and PW, respectively) of T2Cs in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which traditionally serves as a crucial first anchor of the extragalactic distance ladder. Methods. We exploited time-series photometry in the near-infrared (NIR) Y,  J, and Ks bands for a sample of approximately 320 T2Cs in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). These observations were acquired during 2009–2018 in the context of the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds system (VMC), an ESO public survey. We supplemented the NIR photometry from the VMC survey with well-sampled optical light curves and accurate pulsation periods from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) IV survey and the Gaia mission. We used the best-quality NIR light curves to generate custom templates for modelling sparsely sampled light curves in YJKs bands. Results. The best-fitting YJKs template light curves were used to derive accurate and precise intensity-averaged mean magnitudes and pulsation amplitudes of 277 and 62 T2Cs in the LMC and SMC, respectively. We used optical and NIR mean magnitudes for different T2C subclasses (BLHer, WVir, and RVTau) to derive PL/PLC/PW relations in multiple bands, which were calibrated with the geometric distance to the LMC as derived from eclipsing binaries and with the Gaia parallaxes. We used our new empirical calibrations of PL and PW relations to obtain distances to 22 T2C-host Galactic globular clusters, which were found to be systematically smaller by ∼0.1 mag and 0.03−0.06 mag than in the literature when the zero points are calibrated with the distance of the LMC or Gaia parallaxes, respectively. Better agreement is found between our distances and those based on RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters, providing strong support for using these population II stars together with the TRGB for future distance scale studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, we have undertaken an extensive investigation of star clusters and their stellar populations in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) based on archival images collected with the Hubble Space Telescope. We present photometry and astrometry of stars in 101 fields observed with the Wide Field Channel of the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Ultraviolet and Visual Channel and the Near-Infrared Channel of Wide Field Camera 3. These fields comprise 113 star clusters. We provide differential-reddening maps for those clusters with significant reddening variations across the field of view. We illustrate various scientific outcomes that arise from the early inspection of the photometric catalogs. In particular, we provide new insights into the extended main-sequence turnoff (eMSTO) phenomenon: (i) We detected eMSTOs in two clusters, KMHK361 and NGC265, which had no previous evidence of multiple populations. This finding corroborates the conclusion that the eMSTO is a widespread phenomenon among clusters younger than ~2 Gyr. (ii) The homogeneous color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of 19 LMC clusters reveal that the distribution of stars along the eMSTO depends on cluster age. (iii) We discovered a new feature along the eMSTO of NGC1783, which consists of a distinct group of stars on the red side of the eMSTO in CMDs composed of UV filters. Furthermore, we derived the proper motions of stars in the fields of view of clusters with multi-epoch images. Proper motions allowed us to separate the bulk of bright field stars from cluster members and investigate the internal kinematics of stellar populations in various LMC and SMC fields. As an example, we analyze the field around NGC346 to disentangle the motions of its stellar populations, including NGC364 and BS 90, young and pre-main-sequence stars in the star-forming region associated with NGC346, and young and old field stellar populations of the SMC. Based on these results and the fields around five additional clusters, we find that young SMC stars exhibit elongated proper-motion distributions that point toward the LMC, thus providing new evidence for a kinematic connection between the LMC and SMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper JKs-band data from the VISTA Magellanic Cloud (VMC) survey are used to investigate the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) as a distance indicator. A linear fit to recent theoretical models is used as the basis for the absolute calibration which reads MKs = −4.196 − 2.013 (J − Ks), valid in the colour range 0.75 <  (J − Ks)< 1.3 mag and in the 2MASS system. The observed TRGB is found based on a classical first-order derivative filter and a second-order derivative filter applied to the binned luminosity function using the "sharpened" magnitude that takes the colour term into account. Extensive simulations are carried out to investigate any biases and errors in the derived distance modulus (DM). Based on these simulations criteria are established related to the number of stars per bin in the 0.5 mag range below the TRGB and related to the significance with which the peak in the filter response curve is determined such that the derived distances are unbiased. The DMs based on the second-order derivative filter are found to be more stable and are therefore adopted, although this requires twice as many stars per bin. Given the surface density of TRGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs), areas of ∼0.5 deg2 in the densest parts to ∼10 deg2 in the outskirts of the MCs need to be considered to obtain accurate and reliable values for the DMs. The TRGB method is applied to specific lines-of-sight where independent distance estimates exist, based on detached eclipsing binaries in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC, SMC), classical Cepheids in the LMC, RR Lyrae stars in the SMC, and fields in the SMC where the star formation history (together with reddening and distance) has been derived from deep VMC data. The analysis shows that the theoretical calibration is consistent with the data, that the systematic error on the DM is approximately 0.045 mag (about evenly split between the theoretical calibration and the method), and that random errors of 0.015 mag are achievable. Reddening is an important element in deriving the distance: we derive mean DMs ranging from 18.92 mag (for a typical E(B − V) of 0.15 mag) to 19.07 mag (E(B − V)∼0.04 mag) for the SMC, and ranging from 18.48 mag (E(B − V)∼0.12 mag) to 18.57 mag (E(B − V)∼0.05 mag) for the LMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Type II Cepheids (T2Cs) are radially pulsating variables that trace old stellar populations and provide distance estimates through their period-luminosity (PL) relation. Aims. We trace the structure of old stellar population in the Galactic bulge using new distance estimates and kinematic properties of T2Cs. Methods. We present new near-infrared photometry of T2Cs in the bulge from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey (VVV). We provide the largest sample (894 stars) of T2Cs with JHKs observations that have accurate periods from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) catalog. Our analysis makes use of the Ks-band time-series observations to estimate mean magnitudes and individual distances by means of the PL relation. To constrain the kinematic properties of our targets, we complement our analysis with proper motions based on both the VVV and Gaia Data Release 2. Results. We derive an empirical Ks-band PL relation that depends on Galactic longitude and latitude: Ks0 = (10.66 ± 0.02) − (2.21 ± 0.03)·(log P−1.2)−(0.020±0.003)·l+(0.050±0.008)·|b| mag; individual extinction corrections are based on a 3D reddening map. Our targets display a centrally concentrated distribution, with solid evidence of ellipsoidal symmetry – similar to the RR Lyræ ellipsoid – and a few halo outliers up to ≳100 kpc. We obtain a distance from the Galactic center of R0 = 8.46 ± 0.03(stat.) ± 0.11(syst.) kpc. We also find evidence that the bulge T2Cs belong to a kinematically hot population, as the tangential velocity components (συl∗ = 104.2 ± 3.0kms−1 and συb = 96.8 ± 5.5kms−1) agree within 1.2σ. Moreover, the difference between absolute and relative proper motion is in good agreement with the proper motion of Sgr A✻ from VLBA measures. Conclusions. We conclude that bulge T2Cs display an ellipsoidal spatial distribution and have kinematics similar to RR Lyræ stars, which are other tracers of the old, low-mass stellar population. T2Cs also provide an estimate of R0 that agrees excellently well with the literature, taking account of the reddening law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) ESO Public Survey is a variability survey of the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the disk carried out from 2010 on ESO Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). The VVV survey will eventually deliver a deep near-IR atlas with photometry and positions in five passbands (ZYJHKS) and a catalogue of 1−10 million variable point sources – mostly unknown – that require classifications. Aims. The main goal of the VVV Templates Project, which we introduce in this work, is to develop and test the machine-learning algorithms for the automated classification of the VVV light-curves. As VVV is the first massive, multi-epoch survey of stellar variability in the near-IR, the template light-curves that are required for training the classification algorithms are not available. In the first paper of the series we describe the construction of this comprehensive database of infrared stellar variability. Methods. First, we performed a systematic search in the literature and public data archives; second, we coordinated a worldwide observational campaign; and third, we exploited the VVV variability database itself on (optically) well-known stars to gather high-quality infrared light-curves of several hundreds of variable stars. Results. We have now collected a significant (and still increasing) number of infrared template light-curves. This database will be used as a training-set for the machine-learning algorithms that will automatically classify the light-curves produced by VVV. The results of such an automated classification will be covered in forthcoming papers of the series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The details of how galaxies have evolved over cosmological times are imprinted in their star formation history, chemical enrichment and morpho-kinematic structure. Parameters behind these, such as effective temperature and metallicity, can be measured by combining photometric techniques with modelling. However, there are uncertainties with this indirect approach from the ambiguity of colour and magnitude and the effects of interstellar reddening. Aims. In this paper we present a detailed reddening map of the central 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud; for both community use and as a test of the methods used for future use on a wider area. The reddening, a measurement of dust extinction, acts as a tracer of the interstellar medium (ISM). Methods. Near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the red clump stars is used to measure reddening as their fixed luminosity and intermediate age make extinction the dominant cause of colour and magnitude variance. The star formation history derived previously from these data is used to produce an intrinsic colour to act as a zero point in converting colour to reddening values E(J - Ks) which are subsequently converted to visual extinction AV. Results. Presented is a dust map for the 30 Doradus field in both AV and E(J - Ks). This map samples a region of 1° × 1.°5, containing ∼1.5 × 105 red clump stars which probe reddening up to AV ≃ 6 mag. We compare our map with maps from the literature, including optical extinction maps and radio, mid- and far-infrared maps of atomic hydrogen and dust emission. Through estimation of column density we locate molecular clouds. Conclusions. This new reddening map shows correlation with equivalent maps in the literature, validating the method of red clump star selection. We make our reddening map available for community use. In terms of ISM the red clump stars appear to be more affected by the cooler dust measured by 70 μm emission because there is stronger correlation between increasing emission and extinction due to red clump stars not being located near hot stars that would heat the dust. The transition from atomic hydrogen to molecular hydrogen occurs between densities of NH ≃ 4 × 1021 cm-2 and NH ≃ 6 × 1021 cm-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The ESO Public Survey "VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea" (VVV) provides deep multi-epoch infrared observations for an unprecedented 562 sq. degrees of the Galactic bulge, and adjacent regions of the disk. Nearly 150 new open clusters and cluster candidates have been discovered in this survey. Aims. This is the second in a series of papers about young, massive open clusters observed using the VVV survey. We present the first study of six recently discovered clusters. These clusters contain at least one newly discovered Wolf-Rayet (WR) star. Methods. Following the methodology presented in the first paper of the series, wide-field, deep JHKs VVV observations, combined with new infrared spectroscopy, are employed to constrain fundamental parameters for a subset of clusters. Results. We find that the six studied stellar groups are real young (2-7 Myr) and massive (between 0.8 and 2.2 × 103 M⊙) clusters. They are highly obscured (AV ∼ 5-24 mag) and compact (1-2 pc). In addition to WR stars, two of the six clusters also contain at least one red supergiant star, and one of these two clusters also contains a blue supergiant. We claim the discovery of 8 new WR stars, and 3 stars showing WR-like emission lines which could be classified WR or OIf. Preliminary analysis provides initial masses of ∼30-50 M⊙ for the WR stars. Finally, we discuss the spiral structure of the Galaxy using the six new clusters as tracers, together with the previously studied VVV clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are major contributors to both the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium and the integrated light of galaxies. Despite its importance, the AGB is one of the least understood phases of stellar evolution. The main difficulties associated with detailed modelling of the AGB are related to the mass-loss process and the 3rd dredge-up efficiency Aims. We provide direct measures of mass-loss rates and luminosities for a complete sample of AGB stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, disentangling the C- and O-rich stellar populations. Methods. Dust radiative transfer models are presented for all 374 AGB stars candidates in one of the fields observed by the new VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds (VMC). Mass-loss rates, luminosities and a classification of C- and O-rich stars are derived by fitting the models to the spectral energy distribution (SED) obtained by combining VMC data with existing optical, near-, and mid-infrared photometry. Results. The classification technique is reliable at a level of - at worst - 75% and significantly better for the reddest dusty stars. We classified none of the stars with a relevant mass-loss rate as O-rich, and we can exclude the presence of more than one dusty O-rich star at a ∼94% level. The bolometric luminosity function we obtained is fully consistent with most of the literature data on the LMC and with the prediction of theoretical models, with a peak of the C-star distribution at Mbol ≃ -4.8 mag and no stars brighter than the classical AGB tip, at Mbol = -7.1 mag. Conclusions. This exploratory study shows that our method provides reliable mass-loss rates, luminosities and chemical classifications for all AGB stars. These results offer already important constraints to AGB evolutionary models. Most of our conclusions, especially for the rarer dust-enshrouded extreme AGB stars, are however strongly limited by the relatively small area covered by our study. Forthcoming VMC observations will easily remove this limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive the star formation history (SFH) for several regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using deep near-infrared data from the VISTA near-infrared YJKs survey of the Magellanic system (VMC). The regions include three almost-complete 1.4 deg2 tiles located ∼3.5° away from the LMC centre in distinct directions. They are split into 21.0' ×21.5' (0.12 deg2) subregions, and each of these is analysed independently. To this dataset, we add two 11.3' ×11.3' (0.036 deg2) subregions selected based on their small and uniform extinction inside the 30 Doradus tile. The SFH is derived from the simultaneous reconstruction of two different colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), using the minimization code StarFISH together with a database of "partial models" representing the CMDs of LMC populations of various ages and metallicities, plus a partial model for the CMD of the Milky Way foreground. The distance modulus (m-M)0 and extinction AV is varied within intervals ∼0.2 and ∼0.5 mag wide, respectively, within which we identify the best-fitting star formation rate SFR(t) as a function of lookback time t, age-metallicity relation (AMR), (m-M)0 and AV. Our results demonstrate that VMC data, due to the combination of depth and little sensitivity to differential reddening, allow the derivation of the space-resolved SFH of the LMC with unprecedented quality compared to previous wide-area surveys. In particular, the data clearly reveal the presence of peaks in the SFR(t) at ages log(t/yr) ≃ 9.3 and 9.7, which appear in most of the subregions. The most recent SFR(t) is found to vary greatly from subregion to subregion, with the general trend of being more intense in the innermost LMC, except for the tile next to the N11 complex. In the bar region, the SFR(t) seems remarkably constant over the time interval from log(t/yr) ≃ 8.4 to 9.7. The AMRs, instead, turn out to be remarkably similar across the LMC. Thanks to the accuracy in determining the distance modulus for every subregion - with typical errors of just ∼0.03 mag - we make a first attempt to derive a spatial model of the LMC disk. The fields studied so far are fit extremely well by a single disk of inclination i = 26.2 ±2.0°, position angle of the line of nodes ϴ0 = 129.1×13.0°, and distance modulus of (m-M)0 = 18.470×0.006 mag (random errors only) up to the LMC centre. We show that once the (m-M)0 values or each subregion are assumed to be identical to those derived from this best-fitting plane, systematic errors in the SFR(t) and AMR are reduced by a factor of about two [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]