Evolution of the PTPS giants subsample definition. Histograms of atmospheric parameters: T_eff, log g, v_t, and [Fe/H] (upper panel) as well as luminosities, masses, ages, and radii (lower panel) for the complete PTPS sample of red giant stars with uniform spectroscopic analysis are shown. The evolution of the subsample definition is colour coded: the red line indicates the final red giants sample of 515 stars as defined in this paper; the green line indicates giants from Paper I only (320 red clump giants); and the gray line indicates all 348 stars from Paper I.