[en] We present wide field near-infrared (near-IR) photometry of 12 Galactic globular clusters, typically extending from the tip of the cluster red giant branch (RGB) to the main sequence turnoff. Using recent homogenous values of cluster distance, reddening and metallicity, the resulting photometry is directly compared to the predictions of several recent libraries of stellar evolutionary models. Of the sets of models investigated, Dartmouth and Victoria-Regina models best reproduce the observed RGB morphology, albeit with offsets in $J-<!--\; ???\; -->K_S$ color which vary in their significance in light of all sources of observational uncertainty. Therefore, we also present newly recalibrated relations between near-IR photometric indices describing the upper RGB versus cluster iron abundance as well as global metallicity. The influence of enhancements in alpha elements and helium are analyzed, and we find that the former affect the morphology of the upper RGB in accord with model predictions. Meanwhile, the empirical relations we derive are in good agreement with previous results, and minor discrepancies can likely be attributed to differences in the assumed cluster distances and reddenings. In addition, we present measurements of the horizontal branch (HB) and RGB bump magnitudes, finding a non-negligible dependence of the near-IR HB magnitude on cluster metallicity. Lastly, we discuss the influence of assumed cluster distances, reddenings and metallicities on our results, finding that our empirical relations are generally insensitive to these factors to within their uncertainties.

[en] We present the physical characterization of FSR 1758, a new large, massive object very recently discovered in the Galactic Bulge. The combination of optical data from the 2nd Gaia Data Release and the DECam Plane Survey and near-IR data from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea Extended Survey led to a clean sample of likely members. Based on this integrated data set, position, distance, reddening, size, metallicity, absolute magnitude, and proper motion (PM) of this object are measured. We estimate the following parameters: α = 17:31:12, δ = −39:48:30 (J2000), D = 11.5 ± 1.0 kpc, $E(J-<!--\; ???\; -->Ks)=0.20\pm <!--\; ??\; -->0.03$ mag, R _c = 10 pc, R _t = 150 pc, $[\mathrm{F}\mathrm{e}/\mathrm{H}]=-<!--\; ???\; -->1.5\pm <!--\; ??\; -->0.3$ dex, M _i < −8.6 ± 1.0, μ _α = −2.85 mas yr⁻¹, and μ _δ = 2.55 mas yr⁻¹. The nature of this object is discussed. If FRS 1758 is a genuine globular cluster (GC), it is one of the largest in the Milky Way, with a size comparable or even larger than that of ω Cen, being also an extreme outlier in the size versus Galactocentric distance diagram. The presence of a concentration of long-period RR Lyrae variable stars and blue horizontal branch stars suggests that it is a typical metal-poor GC of Oosterhoff type II. Further exploration of a larger surrounding field reveals common PM stars, suggesting either tidal debris or that FRS 1758 is actually the central part of a larger extended structure such as a new dwarf galaxy, tentatively named Scorpius. In either case, this object is remarkable, and its discovery graphically illustrates the possibility of finding other large objects hidden in the Galactic Bulge using future surveys.

[en] Extensive photometric studies of the globular clusters located toward the center of the Milky Way have been historically neglected. The presence of patchy differential reddening in front of these clusters has proven to be a significant obstacle to their detailed study. We present here a well defined and reasonably homogeneous photometric database for 25 of the brightest Galactic globular clusters located in the direction of the inner Galaxy. These data were obtained in the B, V, and I bands using the Magellan 6.5 m Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. A new technique is extensively used in this paper to map the differential reddening in the individual cluster fields, and to produce cleaner, dereddened color-magnitude diagrams for all the clusters in the database. Subsequent papers will detail the astrophysical analysis of the cluster populations, and the properties of the obscuring material along the clusters' lines of sight.

[en] A serious limitation in the study of many globular clusters-especially those located near the Galactic center-has been the existence of large and differential extinction by foreground dust. In a series of papers, we intend to map the differential extinction and remove its effects, using a new dereddening technique, in a sample of clusters in the direction of the inner Galaxy, observed using the Magellan 6.5 m telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations and their analysis will let us produce high-quality color-magnitude diagrams of these poorly studied clusters that will allow us to determine these clusters' relative ages, distances, and chemistry and to address important questions about the formation and the evolution of the inner Galaxy. We also intend to use the maps of the differential extinction to sample and characterize the interstellar medium along the numerous low-latitude lines of sight where the clusters in our sample lie. In this first paper, we describe in detail our dereddening method along with the powerful statistics tools that allow us to apply it, and we show the kind of results that we can expect, applying the method to M62, one of the clusters in our sample. The width of the main sequence and lower red giant branch narrows by a factor of two after applying our dereddening technique, which will significantly help to constrain the age, distance, and metallicity of the cluster.

[en] Deep near-IR images from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) Survey were used to search for RR Lyrae stars in the Southern Galactic plane. A sizable sample of 404 RR Lyrae of type ab stars was identified across a thin slice of the fourth Galactic quadrant (295° < ℓ < 350°, −2.°24 < b < −1.°05). The sample’s distance distribution exhibits a maximum density that occurs at the bulge tangent point, which implies that this primarily Oosterhoff type I population of RRab stars does not trace the bar delineated by their red clump counterparts. The bulge RR Lyrae population does not extend beyond ℓ  ∼ 340°, and the sample’s spatial distribution presents evidence of density enhancements and substructure that warrants further investigation. Indeed, the sample may be employed to evaluate Galactic evolution models, and is particularly lucrative since half of the discovered RR Lyrae are within reach of Gaia astrometric observations.

[en] It is likely that a number of Galactic globular clusters remain to be discovered, especially toward the Galactic bulge. High stellar density combined with high and differential interstellar reddening are the two major problems for finding globular clusters located toward the bulge. We use the deep near-IR photometry of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) Survey to search for globular clusters projected toward the Galactic bulge, and hereby report the discovery of 22 new candidate globular clusters. These objects, detected as high density regions in our maps of bulge red giants, are confirmed as globular cluster candidates by their color–magnitude diagrams. We provide their coordinates as well as their near-IR color–magnitude diagrams, from which some basic parameters are derived, such as reddenings and heliocentric distances. The color–magnitude diagrams reveal well defined red giant branches in all cases, often including a prominent red clump. The new globular cluster candidates exhibit a variety of extinctions (0.06 < A _K_s < 2.77) and distances (5.3 < D < 9.5 kpc). We also classify the globular cluster candidates into 10 metal-poor and 12 metal-rich clusters, based on the comparison of their color–magnitude diagrams with those of known globular clusters also observed by the VVV Survey. Finally, we argue that the census for Galactic globular clusters still remains incomplete, and that many more candidate globular clusters (particularly the low luminosity ones) await to be found and studied in detail in the central regions of the Milky Way.

[en] We use deep multi-epoch near-IR images of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) Survey to search for RR Lyrae stars toward the Southern Galactic plane. Here, we report the discovery of a group of RR Lyrae stars close together in VVV tile d025. Inspection of the VVV images and PSF photometry reveals that most of these stars are likely to belong to a globular cluster that matches the position of the previously known star cluster FSR 1716. The stellar density map of the field yields a >100σ detection for this candidate globular cluster that is centered at equatorial coordinates R.A._J2000 = 16:10:30.0, decl._J2000 = −53:44:56 and galactic coordinates l = 329.77812, b = −1.59227. The color–magnitude diagram of this object reveals a well-populated red giant branch, with a prominent red clump at K _s = 13.35 ± 0.05, and J − K _s = 1.30 ± 0.05. We present the cluster RR Lyrae positions, magnitudes, colors, periods, and amplitudes. The presence of RR Lyrae indicates an old globular cluster, with an age >10 Gyr. We classify this object as an Oosterhoff type I globular cluster, based on the mean period of its RR Lyrae type ab, $⟨<!--\; ???\; -->P⟩<!--\; ???\; -->=0.540$ days, and argue that this is a relatively metal-poor cluster with [Fe/H] = −1.5 ± 0.4 dex. The mean extinction and reddening for this cluster are $A_{K_s}=0.38\pm <!--\; ??\; -->0.02$ and E(J − K _s) = 0.72 ± 0.02 mag, respectively, as measured from the RR Lyrae colors and the near-IR color–magnitude diagram. We also measure the cluster distance using the RR Lyrae type ab stars. The cluster mean distance modulus is (m − M)₀ = 14.38 ± 0.03 mag, implying a distance D = 7.5 ± 0.2 kpc and a Galactocentric distance R _G = 4.3 kpc.

[en] We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim <!--\; ???\; -->0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim <!--\; ???\; -->0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July.