Stellar variability in the VVV survey : Overview and first results
Author
Catelan, M.
Minniti, D.
Lucas, P.W.
Dékány, I.
Saito, R. K.
Angeloni, R.
Alonso-García, J.
Hempel, M.
Hełminiak, K.
Jordán, A.
Ramos, R. Contreras
Navarrete, C.
Beamín, J. C.
Rojas, A. F.
Gran, F.
Lopes, C. E Ferreira
Peña, C. Contreras
Kerins, E.
Huckvale, L.
Rejkuba, M.
Cohen, R.
Mauro, F.
Borissova, J.
Amigo, P.
Eyheramendy, S.
Pichara, K.
Espinoza, N.
Navarro, C.
Hajdu, G.
Espinoza, D. N Calderón
Muro, G. A.
Andrews, H.
Motta, V.
Kurtev, R.
Emerson, J.P.
Bidin, C. Moni
Chené, A.-N.
Attention
2299/14710
Abstract
The Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) ESO Public Survey is an ongoing time-series, near-infrared (IR) survey of the Galactic bulge and an adjacent portion of the inner disk, covering 562 square degrees of the sky, using ESO's VISTA telescope. The survey has provided superb multi-color photometry in 5 broadband filters (Z, Y, J, H, and Ks), leading to the best map of the inner Milky Way ever obtained, particularly in the near-IR. The main part of the survey, which is focused on the variability in the Ks-band, is currently underway, with bulge fields observed between 34 and 73 times, and disk fields between 34 and 36 times. When the survey is complete, bulge (disk) fields will have been observed up to a total of 100 (60) times, providing unprecedented depth and time coverage in the near-IR. Here we provide a first overview of stellar variability in the VVV data.