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The delay-time distribution (DTD) is the occurrence rate of a class of objects as a function of time after a hypothetical burst of star formation. DTDs are mainly used as a statistical test of stellar evolution scenarios for supernova progenitors, but they can be applied to many other classes of astronomical objects. We calculate the first DTD for RR Lyrae variables using 29,810 RR Lyrae from the OGLE-IV survey and a map of the stellar age distribution (SAD) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We find that ∼46% of the OGLE-IV RR Lyrae are associated with delay times greater than 8 Gyr (main-sequence progenitor masses less than 1 M⊙), and consistent with existing constraints on their ages, but surprisingly about 51% of RR Lyrae appear to have delay times of 1.2–8 Gyr (main-sequence masses between 1 and 2 M⊙ at LMC metallicity). This intermediate-age signal also persists outside the Bar region, where crowding is less of a concern, and we verified that without this signal the spatial distribution of the OGLE-IV RR Lyrae is inconsistent with the SAD map of the LMC. Since an intermediate-age RR Lyrae channel is in tension with the lack of RR Lyrae in intermediate-age clusters (noting issues with small-number statistics), and noting the age–metallicity constraints on LMC stars, our DTD result possibly indicates that systematic uncertainties may still exist in SAD measurements of old stellar populations, perhaps stemming from the construction methodology or the stellar evolution models used. We describe tests to further investigate this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of the internal structure and kinematics of the core of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr). Using machine-learning techniques, we have combined the information provided by 3300 RR Lyrae stars, more than 2000 spectroscopically observed stars, and the Gaia second data release to derive the full phase space, i.e., 3D positions and kinematics, of more than 1.2 × 105 member stars in the core of the galaxy. Our results show that Sgr has a bar structure ∼2.5 kpc long, and that tidal tails emerge from its tips to form what it is known as the Sgr stream. The main body of the galaxy, strongly sheared by tidal forces, is a triaxial (almost prolate) ellipsoid with its longest principal axis of inertia inclined 43° ± 6° with respect to the plane of the sky and axis ratios of 1:0.67:0.60. Its external regions are expanding mainly along its longest principal axis, yet the galaxy conserves an inner core of about 500×330×300 pc that shows no net expansion and is rotating at vrot = 4.13 ± 0.16 km s−1. The internal angular momentum of the galaxy forms an angle θ = 18° ± 6° with respect to its orbital angular momentum, meaning that Sgr is in an inclined prograde orbit around the Milky Way. We compared our results with predictions from N-body models with spherical, pressure-supported progenitors and a model whose progenitor is a flattened rotating disk. Only the rotating model, based on preexisting simulations aimed at reproducing the line-of-sight velocity gradients observed in Sgr, was able to reproduce the observed properties in the core of the galaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]