Discovery of Five New R Coronae Borealis Stars in the MACHO Galactic Bulge Database

We have identified five new R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars in the Galactic bulge using the MACHO Project photometry database, raising the total number of known Galactic RCB stars to about 40. We have obtained spectra to confirm the identifications. The fact that four out of the five newly identified RCB stars are "cool" (Teff < 6000 K) rather than "warm" (Teff > 6000 K) suggests that the preponderance of warm RCB stars among the existing sample is a selection bias. These cool RCB …