DENIS J174457.7-285914 , the SIMBAD biblio

Repeated DENIS observations (summer 1996 & 1998) in the J (1.25µm) and the K_S (2.15µm) bands are used to look for variable stars. We present two catalogues of ∼1000 probable variables in an area of ∼4deg² of the inner galactic bulge. The first one contains ∼720 variable star candidates which show variability in J and K_S while the second consists of sources only observed to be variable in K_S (∼270 sources), mainly in regions with high interstellar extinction. Using the extinction map by Schultheis et al. (1999A&A...349L..69S), most of the variable stars are found to be above the RGB tip and thus belong to the AGB while there is a small fraction of candidates which could be below the RGB tip with rather small ``amplitudes'' of ∼0.3-0.4mag in K_S. Our catalogue has been cross-correlated with five ISOGAL fields (total area ∼0.5deg²) in order to study the mid-IR properties of the LPVs. The AGB variables can be distinguished from other M-type giants by their high 7µm luminosities and redder K₀-[7] colours. Based on a few repeated ISOCAM observations a good correlation is found between near- and mid-IR variability.