Javier Minniti
Pulsating variable stars in the near-infrared trace the hidden regions of the Milky Way disk
We are currently experiencing an era where distances are precisely being measured for about one billion stars in our Galaxy by the Gaia mission. However, the Milky Way innermost regions, and those lying beyond them, at the far side disk, have remained largely unexplored. The difficulty to unveil these regions mainly arises from our location in the disk mid-plane and the large distances involved. Pulsating variable stars have the key feature that individual distance, age, and reddening can be estimated based on their pulsational properties, and can therefore help us to improve this situation. Classical Cepheids are ideal tracers of the disk properties. They are young, luminous, and – relatively – easy identifiable standard candles. Their location at the Milky Way disk complicates their identification, mainly due to the substantial reddening they are subject to. This is particularly true when studying them at the far side of the Galactic disk, but it can be surpassed with the use of infrared (IR) photometry. We will show how the use of additional observable properties aids in the near-IR light-curve based classification process, providing a pure sample of Cepheids. In parallel, Mira variables, which are well studied and bright standard candles, offer an excellent opportunity to trace intermediate and old populations in these complex regions. We will present our current knowledge on the properties of the far side of the Galactic disk using these excellent tracers.
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Wednesday
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Pulsating variable stars in the near-infrared trace the hidden regions of the Milky Way disk
