| Abstract | B and V CCD photometry has been used to study the RR Lyraes and to prepare a color-magnitude diagram for the outlying Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) cluster GLC 0435 - 59 (the Reticulum system). Ten new variables have been found bringing the total known to 32. One possible RRd star has been identified. The pulsation properties of the variables indicate (Fe/H] = - 1.7+/-0.1, while the reddening is E(B - V) = 0.03+/-0.02. The dispersion of mean magnitudes of the RR Lyraes is extremely small (0.1 mag) and is interpreted as signifying that all the variables are still very close to the ZAHB. The mean magnitude of the variables is V_0_ = 18.98, with = 0.6 then the distance modulus for the cluster is 18.38; mag if, however, the cluster is assumed to lie at the Cepheid modulus for the LMC (18.55 mag) then the RR Lyraes have = 0.43. The photometry reaches to V = 23, below the main-sequence turnoff which is near V = 22.5. The color-magnitude diagram morphology is very alike that of M3, with identical age to the limit of accuracy of the photometry (+/- 2 Gyr). A group of stars brighter and bluer than the main-sequence turnoff follow the cluster rather than the field distribution and are thus blue stragglers. The abundance derived from the color of the red giant branch agrees with that given by the RR Lyraes and also with direct spectroscopic measurements. |
