The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. The OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars. IV. Long-Period Variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive catalog of nearly 92,000 long-period variable stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, including their classifications, properties, and period-luminosity relations, based on extensive OGLE-III survey data.

Contribution

It provides the largest detailed catalog of LPVs in the LMC with classification methods and analysis of amplitude and period-luminosity sequences, enhancing understanding of stellar variability.

Findings

Distinct amplitude distributions for carbon-rich stars showing two maxima.

Identification of an additional period-luminosity sequence between sequences C and C'.

Classification of LPVs into Miras, SRVs, and OSARGs based on amplitude and period data.

Abstract

The fourth part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars presents 91 995 long-period variables (LPVs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This sample consists of 79 200 OGLE Small Amplitude Red Giants (OSARGs), 11 128 semiregular variables (SRVs) and 1667 Mira stars. The catalog data include basic photometric and astrometric properties of these stars, long-term multi-epoch VI photometry and finding charts. We describe the methods used for the identification and classification of LPVs. The distribution of I-band amplitudes for carbon-rich stars shows two maxima, corresponding to Miras and SRVs. Such a distinction between Miras and SRVs is not obvious for oxygen-rich stars. We notice additional period-luminosity sequence located between Wood's sequences C and C' and populated by SRVs.