Context. Type II Cepheids (T2Cs) are radially pulsating variables that trace old stellar populations and provide distance estimates through their period-luminosity (PL) relation. Aims. We trace the structure of old stellar population in the Galactic bulge using new distance estimates and kinematic properties of T2Cs. Methods. We present new near-infrared photometry of T2Cs in the bulge from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey (VVV). We provide the largest sample (894 stars) of T2Cs with JHK s observations that have accurate periods from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) catalog. Our analysis makes use of the K s -band time-series observations to estimate mean magnitudes and individual distances by means of the PL relation. To constrain the kinematic properties of our targets, we complement our analysis with proper motions based on both the VVV and Gaia Data Release 2. Results. We derive an empirical K s -band PL relation that depends on Galactic longitude and latitude: K s0 = (10.66 ± 0.02) − (2.21 ± 0.03) · (log P − 1.2) − (0.020 ± 0.003) · l + (0.050 ± 0.008) · |b| mag; individual extinction corrections are based on a 3D reddening map. Our targets display a centrally concentrated distribution, with solid evidence of ellipsoidal symmetry-similar to the RR Lyrae ellipsoid-and a few halo outliers up to 100 kpc. We obtain a distance from the Galactic center of R 0 =8.46±0.03(stat.)±0.11(syst.) kpc. We also find evidence that the bulge T2Cs belong to a kinematically hot population, as the tangential velocity components (σv l * =104.2±3.0 km/s and σv b =96.8±5.5 km/s) agree within 1.2σ. Moreover, the difference between absolute and relative proper motion is in good agreement with the proper motion of Sgr A* from VLBA measures. Conclusions. We conclude that bulge T2Cs display an ellipsoidal spatial distribution and have kinematics similar to RR Lyrae stars, which are other tracers of the old, low-mass stellar population. T2Cs also provide an estimate of R 0 that agrees excellently well with the literature, taking account of the reddening law.

Context. Much of what we know about the Milky Way disk is based on studies of the solar vicinity. The structure, kinematics, and chemical composition of the far side of the Galactic disk, beyond the bulge, are still to be revealed. Aims. Classical Cepheids (CCs) are young and luminous standard candles. We aim to use a well-characterized sample of these variable stars to study the present-time properties of the far side of the Galactic disk. Methods. A sample of 45 Cepheid variable star candidates were selected from near-infrared time series photometry obtained by the VVV survey. We characterized this sample using high quality near-infrared spectra obtained with VLT/X-shooter. The spectroscopic data was used to derive radial velocities and iron abundances for all the sample Cepheids. This allowed us to separate the CCs, which are metal rich and with kinematics consistent with the disk rotation, from type II Cepheids (T2Cs), which are more metal poor and with different kinematics. Results. We estimated individual distances and extinctions using VVV photometry and period-luminosity relations, reporting the characterization of 30 CCs located on the far side of the Galactic disk, plus 8 T2Cs mainly located in the bulge region, of which 10 CCs and 4 T2Cs are new discoveries. The remaining seven stars are probably misclassified foreground ellipsoidal binaries. This is the first sizeable sample of CCs in this distant region of our Galaxy that has been spectroscopically confirmed. We use their positions, kinematics, and metallicities to confirm that the general properties of the far disk are similar to those of the well-studied disk on the solar side of the Galaxy. In addition, we derive for the first time the radial metallicity gradient on the disk’s far side. Considering all the CCs with RGC < 17 kpc, we measure a gradient with a slope of −0.062 dex kpc−1 and an intercept of +0.59 dex, which is in agreement with previous determinations based on CCs on the near side of the disk.