Abstract

Context: Detailed studies of Be stars in environments with different metallicities like the Magellanic Clouds or the Galactic Bulge are necessary to understand the formation and evolution mechanisms of the circumstellar disks. However, a detailed study of Be stars in the direction of the bulge of our own galaxy has not been performed until now. Aims: The aim of this work is to report the first systematic search for Be star candidates in the direction of the Galactic Bulge. We present the full catalogue, give a brief description of the stellar variability seen, and show some light curve examples. Methods: We searched for stars matching specific criteria of magnitude, color and variability in the I band. Our search was conducted on the 48 OGLE II fields of the Galactic Bulge. Results:This search has resulted in 29053 Be star candidates, 198 of them showing periodic light variations. Nearly 1500 stars in this final sample are almost certainly Be stars, providing an ideal sample for spectroscopic multi-object follow-up studies. © ESO 2008.