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Characteristics of the Galaxy according to Cepheids
Classical and Type II Cepheids are used to reinvestigate specificproperties of the Galaxy. A new Type II reddening-free Cepheid distanceparametrization is formulated from Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Cepheids(OGLE), with uncertainties typically no larger than 5-15 per cent. Adistance to the Galactic centre of R0 = 7.8 +/- 0.6kpc isderived from the median distance to Type II Cepheids in the bulge(OGLE), R0 = 7.7 +/- 0.7kpc from a distance to the near sideof the bulge combined with an estimated bulge radius of 1.3 +/- 0.3kpcderived from planetary nebulae. The distance of the Sun from theGalactic plane inferred from classical Cepheid variables isZsolar = 26 +/- 3pc, a result dependent on the sample'sdistance and direction because of the complicating effects of Gould'sBelt and warping in the Galactic disc. Classical Cepheids and young openclusters delineate consistent and obvious spiral features, althoughtheir characteristics do not match conventional pictures of the Galaxy'sspiral pattern. The Sagittarius-Carina arm is confirmed as a majorspiral arm that appears to originate from a different Galactic regionthan suggested previously. Furthermore, a major feature is observed toemanate from Cygnus-Vulpecula and may continue locally near the Sun.Significant concerns related to the effects of metallicity on theVI-based reddening-free Cepheid distance relations used here are allayedby demonstrating that the computed distances to the Galactic centre, andto several globular clusters (M54, NGC 6441, M15 and M5) and galaxies(NGC 5128 and NGC 3198) which likely host Type II Cepheids: agree withliterature results to within the uncertainties. An additional empiricaltest is proposed to constrain any putative metallicity dependence ofCepheid distance determinations through forced matches of distanceestimates to a particular galaxy using both Type II and classicalCepheids.
| Observational studies of Cepheid amplitudes. I. Period-amplitude relationships for Galactic Cepheids and interrelation of amplitudes
Context: The dependence of amplitude on the pulsation period differsfrom other Cepheid-related relationships. Aims: We attempt torevise the period-amplitude (P-A) relationship of Galactic Cepheidsbased on multi-colour photometric and radial velocity data. Reliable P-Agraphs for Galactic Cepheids constructed for the U, B, V, R_C, andIC photometric bands and pulsational radial velocityvariations facilitate investigations of previously poorly studiedinterrelations between observable amplitudes. The effects of bothbinarity and metallicity on the observed amplitude, and the dichotomybetween short- and long-period Cepheids can both be studied. Methods: A homogeneous data set was created that contains basicphysical and phenomenological properties of 369 Galactic Cepheids.Pulsation periods were revised and amplitudes were determined by theFourier method. P-A graphs were constructed and an upper envelope to thedata points was determined in each graph. Correlations between variousamplitudes and amplitude-related parameters were searched for, usingCepheids without known companions. Results: Large amplitudeCepheids with companions exhibit smaller photometric amplitudes onaverage than solitary ones, as expected, while s-Cepheids pulsate withan arbitrary (although small) amplitude. The ratio of the observedradial velocity to blue photometric amplitudes, AV_RAD/A_B,is not as good an indicator of the pulsation mode as predictedtheoretically. This may be caused by an incorrect mode assignment to anumber of small amplitude Cepheids, which are not necessarily firstovertone pulsators. The dependence of the pulsation amplitudes onwavelength is used to identify duplicity of Cepheids. More than twentystars previously classified as solitary Cepheids are now suspected tohave a companion. The ratio of photometric amplitudes observed invarious bands confirms the existence of a dichotomy among normalamplitude Cepheids. The limiting period separating short- andlong-period Cepheids is 10.47 days. Conclusions:Interdependences of pulsational amplitudes, the period dependence of theamplitude parameters, and the dichotomy have to be taken into account asconstraints in modelling the structure and pulsation of Cepheids.Studies of the P-L relationship must comply with the break at 10.47°instead of the currently used “convenient” value of 10 days.Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/504/959
| Galactic abundance gradients from Cepheids. On the iron abundance gradient around 10-12 kpc
Context: Classical Cepheids are excellent tracers of intermediate-massstars, since their distances can be estimated with very high accuracy.In particular, they can be adopted to trace the chemical evolution ofthe Galactic disk. Aims: Homogeneous iron abundance measurements for 33Galactic Cepheids located in the outer disk together with accuratedistance determinations based on near-infrared photometry are adopted toconstrain the Galactic iron gradient beyond 10 kpc. Methods: Ironabundances were determined using high resolution Cepheid spectracollected with three different observational instruments: ESPaDOnS@CFHT,Narval@TBL and FEROS@2.2m ESO/MPG telescope. Cepheid distances wereestimated using near-infrared (J,H,K-band) period-luminosity relationsand data from SAAO and the 2MASS catalog. Results: The least squaressolution over the entire data set indicates that the iron gradient inthe Galactic disk presents a slope of -0.052±0.003 textrm {dexkpc}-1 in the 5-17 kpc range. However, the change of the ironabundance across the disk seems to be better described by a linearregime inside the solar circle and a flattening of the gradient towardthe outer disk (beyond 10 kpc). In the latter region the iron gradientpresents a shallower slope, i.e. -0.012±0.014 textrm {dexkpc}-1. In the outer disk (10-12 kpc) we also found thatCepheids present an increase in the spread in iron abundance. Currentevidence indicates that the spread in metallicity depends on theGalactocentric longitude. Finally, current data do not support thehypothesis of a discontinuity in the iron gradient at Galactocentricdistances of 10-12 kpc. Conclusions: The occurrence of a spread in ironabundance as a function of the Galactocentric longitude indicates thatlinear radial gradients should be cautiously treated to constrain thechemical evolution across the disk.
| The influence of chemical composition on the properties of Cepheid stars. II. The iron content
Context: The Cepheid period-luminosity (PL) relation is unquestionablyone of the most powerful tools at our disposal for determining theextragalactic distance scale. While significant progress has been madein the past few years towards its understanding and characterizationboth on the observational and theoretical sides, the debate on theinfluence that chemical composition may have on the PL relation is stillunsettled. Aims: With the aim to assess the influence of the stellariron content on the PL relation in the V and K bands, we have relatedthe V-band and the K-band residuals from the standard PL relations ofFreedman et al. (2001, ApJ, 553, 47) and Persson et al. (2004, AJ, 128,2239), respectively, to [Fe/H]. Methods: We used direct measurements ofthe iron abundances of 68 Galactic and Magellanic Cepheids from FEROSand UVES high-resolution and high signal-to-noise spectra. Results: Wefind a mean iron abundance ([Fe/H]) about solar (σ = 0.10) for ourGalactic sample (32 stars), ~-0.33 dex (σ = 0.13) for the LargeMagellanic Cloud (LMC) sample (22 stars) and ~-0.75 dex (σ = 0.08)for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) sample (14 stars). Our abundancemeasurements of the Magellanic Cepheids double the number of starsstudied up to now at high resolution. The metallicity affects the V-bandCepheid PL relation and metal-rich Cepheids appear to be systematicallyfainter than metal-poor ones. These findings depend neither on theadopted distance scale for Galactic Cepheids nor on the adopted LMCdistance modulus. Current data do not allow us to reach a firmconclusion concerning the metallicity dependence of the K-band PLrelation. The new Galactic distances indicate a small effect, whereasthe old ones support a marginal effect. Conclusions: Recent robustestimates of the LMC distance and current results indicate that theCepheid PL relation is not Universal.Based on observations madewith ESO Telescopes at Paranal and La Silla Observatories underproposal ID 66.D-0571.Full Table [see full textsee full textsee full textsee full text] isonly available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
| Baade-Wesselink distances and the effect of metallicity in classical cepheids
Context: The metallicity dependence of the Cepheid PL-relation is ofimportance in establishing the extra-galactic distance scale. Aims: Theaim of this paper is to investigate the metallicity dependence of thePL-relation in V and K based on a sample of 68 Galactic Cepheids withindividual Baade-Wesselink distances (some of the stars also have anHST-based parallax) and individually determined metallicities fromhigh-resolution spectroscopy. Methods: Literature values of the V-band,K-band and radial velocity data have been collected for a sample of 68classical cepheids that have their metallicity determined in theliterature from high-resolution spectroscopy. Based on a (V-K)surface-brightness relation and a projection factor derived in aprevious paper, distances have been derived from a Baade-Wesselinkanalysis. PL- and PLZ-relations in V and K are derived. Results: Theeffect of the adopted dependence of the projection factor on period isinvestigated. The change from a constant p-factor to one recentlysuggested in the literature with a mild dependence on log P results in aless steep slope by 0.1 unit, which is about the 1-sigma error bar inthe slope itself. The observed slope in the PL-relation in V in the LMCagrees with both hypotheses. In K the difference between the Galacticand LMC slope is larger and would favour a mild period dependence of thep-factor. The dependence on metallicity in V and K is found to bemarginal, and independent of the choice of p-factor on period. Thisresult is severely limited by the small range in metallicity covered bythe Galactic Cepheids.
| Classical Cepheid pulsation models. XI. Effects of convection and chemical composition on the period-luminosity and period-Wesenheit relations
In spite of the relevance of classical Cepheids as primary distanceindicators, a general consensus on the dependence of theperiod-luminosity (PL) relation on the Cepheid chemical composition hasnot yet been achieved. From the theoretical point of view, our previousinvestigations were able to reproduce some empirical tests for suitableassumptions on the helium-to-metal relative enrichment, but theseresults relied on specific assumptions concerning the mass-luminosityrelation and the efficiency of the convective transfer in the pulsatingenvelopes. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the assumedvalue of the mixing-length parameter l/Hp on the pulsationproperties and we release the assumption of a fixed mass-luminosityrelation. To this purpose, new nonlinear convective fundamentalpulsation models have been computed for various chemical compositions(Z=0.004, 0.008, 0.01 and 0.02) and adopting l/H_p=1.7-1.8, which islarger than that (1.5) used in our previous papers. From the extendedmodel set, synthetic PL relations in the various photometric bands arederived using the predicted instability strip together with recentevolutionary tracks. We show that as the l/Hp value increasesthe pulsation region gets narrower, mostly due to the blueward shift ofthe red edge for fundamental pulsation, with the effect becomingstronger at the higher metal contents (Z≥ 0.01). However, thecomparison of the new models with previously computed models shows thatthe l/Hp variation has no consequence on the predictedperiod-Wesenheit (PW) relations, which instead are influenced by thepulsator metal content. On this basis, we present a straightforward wayto infer the distance and metal content of variables with observed BVIor BVK magnitudes. As for the PL relations, we show that either thezero-point and the slope are very slightly modified by thel/Hp variation, at constant chemical composition. We alsoconfirm that: (1) moving from visual to longer wavelengths, thepredicted period-magnitude distribution for a given metal contentbecomes narrower and its slope becomes steeper; (2) decreasing the metalcontent, the PL relations become steeper and brighter, with the amountof this metallicity effect decreasing from optical to near-infraredbands. Overall, we show that our pulsation relations appear fullyconsistent with the observed properties of Galactic and Magellanic CloudCepheids, supporting the predicted steepening and brightening of the PLrelations when moving from metal-rich to metal-poor variables. Moreover,we show that the distances inferred by the predicted PW relations agreewith recently measured trigonometric parallaxes, whereas they suggest acorrection to the values based on the Infrared Surface Brightnesstechnique, as already found from an independent method. Finally, alsothe pulsation metal contents suggested by the predicted PW relationsappear in statistical agreement with spectroscopic [Fe/H] measurements.
| A new calibration of Galactic Cepheid period-luminosity relations from B to K bands, and a comparison to LMC relations
Context: The universality of the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL)relations has been under discussion since metallicity effects wereassumed to play a role in the value of the intercept and, more recently,of the slope of these relations. Aims: The goal of the present study isto calibrate the Galactic PL relations in various photometric bands(from B to K) and to compare the results to the well-established PLrelations in the LMC. Methods: We use a set of 59 calibrating stars,the distances of which are measured using five different distanceindicators: Hubble Space Telescope and revised Hipparcos parallaxes,infrared surface brightness and interferometric Baade-Wesselinkparallaxes, and classical Zero-Age-Main-Sequence-fitting parallaxes forCepheids belonging to open clusters or OB stars associations. A detaileddiscussion of absorption corrections and projection factor to be used isgiven. Results: We find no significant difference in the slopes of thePL relations between LMC and our Galaxy. Conclusions: We conclude thatthe Cepheid PL relations have universal slopes in all photometric bands,not depending on the galaxy under study (at least for LMC and MilkyWay). The possible zero-point variation with metal content is notdiscussed in the present work, but an upper limit of 18.50 for the LMCdistance modulus can be deduced from our data.Tables 2, 6 and 7 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.aanda.org
| Cepheid parallaxes and the Hubble constant
Revised Hipparcos parallaxes for classical Cepheids are analysedtogether with 10 Hubble Space Telescope (HST)-based parallaxes. In areddening-free V, I relation we find that the coefficient of logP is thesame within the uncertainties in our Galaxy as in the Large MagellanicCloud (LMC), contrary to some previous suggestions. Cepheids in theinner region of NGC4258 with near solar metallicities confirm thisresult. We obtain a zero-point for the reddening-free relation and applyit to the Cepheids in galaxies used by Sandage et al. to calibrate theabsolute magnitudes of Type Ia supernova (SNIa) and to derive the Hubbleconstant. We revise their result for H0 from 62 to 70 +/-5kms-1Mpc-1. The Freedman et al. value is revisedfrom 72 to 76 +/- 8kms-1Mpc-1. These results areinsensitive to Cepheid metallicity corrections. The Cepheids in theinner region of NGC4258 yield a modulus of 29.22 +/- 0.03 (int.)compared with a maser-based modulus of 29.29 +/- 0.15. Distance modulifor the LMC, uncorrected for any metallicity effects, are 18.52 +/- 0.03from a reddening-free relation in V, I; 18.47 +/- 0.03 from aperiod-luminosity relation at K; 18.45 +/- 0.04 from aperiod-luminosity-colour relation in J, K. Adopting a metallicitycorrection in V, I from Macri et al. leads to a true LMC modulus of18.39 +/- 0.05.
| The reliability of Cepheid reddenings based on BVIC photometry
Externally determined values of E(B - V) (Espacered) for 40Galactic Cepheids are compared to reddenings determined using B - V andV - IC colour indices and the method of Dean, Warren &Cousins (EBVIC), updated to allow for metallicitycorrections. With three stars omitted on the grounds of uncertainty intheir space reddenings, we find thatThe two scales agree well in scale and zero-point, and there is nosignificant trend with period. Given the non-zero errors in the Cepheidspace reddenings, the estimated error in BVIC Cepheidreddenings is no more than 0.02.The above results are not significantly changed whether one corrects thereddenings for metallicity using older Bell models, or using more recentmodels by Sandage, Bell & Tripicco. Using the SBT models to correctthe reddenings of Cloud Cepheids for metallicity gives slightly smallerreddenings at a given metal deficiency, yielding `new' median reddeningsof 0.056 (Small Magellanic Cloud) and 0.076 (Large Magellanic Cloud) ifwe assume the same metal deficiencies as Caldwell and Coulson. Withmetal deficiencies of [M/H] = -0.7 and -0.25, the median reddenings are0.040 and 0.058.
| Detailed chemical composition of Galactic Cepheids. A determination of the Galactic abundance gradient in the 8-12 kpc region
Aims.The recent introduction of high-resolution/large spectral-rangespectrographs has provided the opportunity to investigate the chemicalcomposition of classical Cepheids in detail. This paper focusses on newabundance determinations for iron and 6 light metals (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si,Ca) in 30 Galactic Cepheids. We also give a new estimate of the Galacticradial abundance gradient. Methods: The stellar effective temperatureswere determined using the method of line depth ratios, and the surfacegravity and the microturbulent velocity vt by imposing theionization balance between Fe I and Fe II with the help of curves ofgrowth. Abundances were calculated with classical LTE atmosphere models. Results: Abundances were obtained with rms accuracies of about0.05-0.10 dex for Fe, and 0.05-0.20 dex for the other elements. Cepheidsin our sample have solar-like abundances, and current measurements agreequite well with previous determinations. We computed "single zone"Galactic radial abundance gradients for the 8-12 kpc region and found aslope for iron of -0.061 dex kpc-1.Based on observations made with the 1.52 m ESO Telescope at La Silla,Chile.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Infrared Surface Brightness Distances to Cepheids: A Comparison of Bayesian and Linear-Bisector Calculations
We have compared the results of Bayesian statistical calculations andlinear-bisector calculations for obtaining Cepheid distances and radiiby the infrared surface brightness method. We analyzed a set of 38Cepheids using a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method that had beenrecently studied with a linear-bisector method. The distances obtainedby the two techniques agree to 1.5%+/-0.6%, with the Bayesian distancesbeing larger. The radii agree to 1.1%+/-0.7%, with the Bayesiandeterminations again being larger. We interpret this result asdemonstrating that the two methods yield the same distances and radii.This implies that the short distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud foundin recent linear-bisector studies of Cepheids is not caused bydeficiencies in the mathematical treatment. However, the computeduncertainties in distance and radius for our data set are larger in theBayesian calculation by factors of 1.4-6.7. We give reasons to favor theBayesian computations of the uncertainties. The larger uncertainties canhave a significant impact on interpretation of Cepheid distances andradii obtained from the infrared surface brightness method.
| Mean JHK Magnitudes of Fundamental-Mode Cepheids from Single-Epoch Observations
We present an empirical method for converting single-point near-infraredJ, H, and K measurements of fundamental-mode Cepheids to meanmagnitudes, using complete light curves in V or I bands. The algorithmis based on the template light curves in the near-infrared bandpasses.The mean uncertainty of the method is estimated to about 0.03 mag, whichis smaller than the uncertainties obtained in other approaches to theproblem in the literature.
| Pulsation and Evolutionary Masses of Classical Cepheids. I. Milky Way Variables
We investigate a selected sample of Galactic classical Cepheids withavailable distance and reddening estimates in the framework of thetheoretical scenario provided by pulsation models, computed with metalabundance Z=0.02, helium content in the range of Y=0.25-0.31, andvarious choices of the stellar mass and luminosity. After transformingthe bolometric light curve of the fundamental models into BVRIJKmagnitudes, we derived analytical relations connecting the pulsationperiod with the stellar mass, the mean (intensity averaged) absolutemagnitude, and the color of the pulsators. These relations are usedtogether with the Cepheid observed absolute magnitudes in order todetermine the ``pulsation'' mass, Mp, of each individualvariable. The comparison with the ``evolutionary'' masses,Me,can, given by canonical (no convective core overshooting,no mass loss) models of central He-burning stellar structures revealsthat the Mp/Me,can ratio is correlated with theCepheid period, ranging from ~0.8 at logP=0.5 to ~1 at logP=1.5. Wediscuss the effects of different input physics and/or assumptions on theevolutionary computations, as well as of uncertainties in the adoptedCepheid metal content, distance, and reddening. Eventually, we find thatthe pulsational results can be interpreted in terms of mass loss duringor before the Cepheid phase, whose amount increases as the Cepheidoriginal mass decreases. It vanishes around 13 Msolar andincreases up to ~20% at 4 Msolar.
| Direct Distances to Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud: Evidence for a Universal Slope of the Period-Luminosity Relation up to Solar Abundance
We have applied the infrared surface brightness (ISB) technique toderive distances to 13 Cepheid variables in the LMC that span a periodrange from 3 to 42 days. From the absolute magnitudes of the variablescalculated from these distances, we find that the LMC Cepheids definetight period-luminosity (PL) relations in the V, I, W, J, and K bandsthat agree exceedingly well with the corresponding Galactic PL relationsderived from the same technique and are significantly steeper than theLMC PL relations in these bands observed by the OGLE-II Project in V, I,and W and by Persson and coworkers in J and K. We find that the LMCCepheid distance moduli we derive, after correcting them for the tilt ofthe LMC bar, depend significantly on the period of the stars, in thesense that the shortest period Cepheids have distance moduli near 18.3,whereas the longest period Cepheids are found to lie near 18.6. Sincesuch a period dependence of the tilt-corrected LMC distance modulishould not exist, there must be a systematic, period-dependent error inthe ISB technique not discovered in previous work. We identify as themost likely culprit the p-factor, which is used to convert the observedCepheid radial velocities into their pulsational velocities. Bydemanding (1) a zero slope on the distance modulus versus period diagramand (2) a zero mean difference between the ISB and ZAMS fitting distancemoduli of a sample of well-established Galactic cluster Cepheids, wefind that p=1.58(+/-0.02)-0.15(+/-0.05)logP, with the p-factor dependingmore strongly on Cepheid period (and thus luminosity) than indicated bypast theoretical calculations. When we recalculate the distances of theLMC Cepheids with the revised p-factor law suggested by our data, we notonly obtain consistent distance moduli for all stars but also decreasethe slopes in the various LMC PL relations (and particularly in thereddening-independent K and W bands) to values that are consistent withthe values observed by OGLE-II and Persson and coworkers. From our 13Cepheids, we determine the LMC distance modulus to be 18.56+/-0.04 mag,with an additional estimated systematic uncertainty of ~0.1 mag. Usingthe same corrected p-factor law to redetermine the distances of theGalactic Cepheids, the new Galactic PL relations are also foundconsistent with the observed optical and near-infrared PL relations inthe LMC. Our main conclusion from the ISB analysis of the LMC Cepheidsample is that, within current uncertainties, there seems to be nosignificant difference between the slopes of the PL relations in theMilky Way and LMC. With literature data on more metal-poor systems, itseems now possible to conclude that the slope of the Cepheid PL relationis independent of metallicity in the broad range in [Fe/H] from -1.0 dexto solar abundance, within a small uncertainty. The new evidence fromthe first ISB analysis of a sizable sample of LMC Cepheids suggests thatthe previous, steeper Galactic PL relations obtained from this techniquewere caused by an underestimation of the period dependence in themodel-based p-factor law used in the previous work. We emphasize,however, that our current results must be substantiated by newtheoretical models capable of explaining the steeper period dependenceof the p-factor law, and we will also need data on more LMC fieldCepheids to rule out remaining concerns about the validity of ourcurrent interpretation.
| The effect of metallicity on the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation from a Baade-Wesselink analysis of Cepheids in the Galaxy and in the Small Magellanic Cloud
We have applied the near-IR Barnes-Evans realization of theBaade-Wesselink method as calibrated by Fouqué & Gieren(\cite{FG97}) to five metal-poor Cepheids with periods between 13 and 17days in the Small Magellanic Cloud as well as to a sample of 34 GalacticCepheids to determine the effect of metallicity on the period-luminosity(P-L) relation. For ten of the Galactic Cepheids we present new accurateand well sampled radial-velocity curves. The Baade-Wesselink analysisprovides accurate individual distances and luminosities for the Cepheidsin the two samples, allowing us to constrain directly, in a purelydifferential way, the metallicity effect on the Cepheid P-L relation.For the Galactic Cepheids we provide a new set of P-L relations whichhave zero-points in excellent agreement with astrometric andinterferometric determinations. These relations can be used directly forthe determination of distances to solar-metallicity samples of Cepheidsin distant galaxies, circumventing any corrections for metallicityeffects on the zero-point and slope of the P-L relation. We findevidence for both such metallicity effects in our data. Comparing ourtwo samples of Cepheids at a mean period of about 15 days, we find aweak effect of metallicity on the luminosity similar to that adopted bythe HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale. The effect issmaller for the V band, where we find Δ MV/Δ[Fe/H] = -0.21±0.19, and larger for the Wesenheit index W, wherewe find Δ MW/Δ [Fe/H] = -0.29±0.19. Forthe I and K bands we find Δ MI/Δ [Fe/H] =-0.23± 0.19 and Δ MK/Δ [Fe/H] =-0.21± 0.19, respectively. The error estimates are 1 σstatistical errors. It seems now well established that metal-poorCepheids with periods longer than about 10 days are intrinsicallyfainter in all these bands than their metal-rich counterparts ofidentical period. Correcting the LMC distance estimate of Fouquéet al. (\cite{FSG03}) for this metallicity effect leads to a revised LMCdistance modulus of (m-M)_0 = 18.48± 0.07, which is also inexcellent agreement with the value of (m-M)_0 = 18.50± 0.10adopted by the Key Project. From our SMC Cepheid distances we determinethe SMC distance to be 18.88±0.13 magirrespective of metallicity.Some of the observations reported here were obtained with the MultipleMirror Telescope, operated jointly by the Smithsonian Institution andthe University of Arizona.Tables A.2-A.11 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/415/531
| Period-Luminosity Relations for Classical Cepheids
BVIJHK period-luminosity relations for classical cepheids in the galaxyand magellanic clouds which pulsate in the fundamental mode are obtainedon the basis of four samples. The period-luminosity relations for theBVI bands obtained here are more accurate than the analogous relationsexisting up to the present. Period-luminosity relations in terms of Wfunctions are also obtained for these samples and have the same accuracyas the currently existing analogous relations.
| Fundamental Parameters of Cepheids. V. Additional Photometry and Radial Velocity Data for Southern Cepheids
I present photometric and radial velocity data for Galactic Cepheids,most of them being in the southern hemisphere. There are 1250 Genevaseven-color photometric measurements for 62 Cepheids, the averageuncertainty per measurement is better than 0.01 mag. A total of 832velocity measurements have been obtained with the CORAVEL radialvelocity spectrograph for 46 Cepheids. The average accuracy of theradial velocity data is 0.38 km s-1. There are 33 stars withboth photometry and radial velocity data. I discuss the possiblebinarity or period change that these new data reveal. I also presentreddenings for all Cepheids with photometry. The data are availableelectronically. Based on observations obtained at the European SouthernObservatory, La Silla.
| Calibration of the distance scale from galactic Cepheids. I. Calibration based on the GFG sample
New estimates of the distances of 36 nearby galaxies are presented basedon accurate distances of galactic Cepheids obtained by Gieren et al.(1998) from the geometrical Barnes-Evans method. The concept of``sosie'' is applied to extend the distance determination toextragalactic Cepheids without assuming the linearity of the PLrelation. Doing so, the distance moduli are obtained in astraightforward way. The correction for extinction is made using twophotometric bands (V and I) according to the principles introduced byFreedman & Madore (1990). Finally, the statistical bias due to theincompleteness of the sample is corrected according to the preceptsintroduced by Teerikorpi (1987) without introducing any free parameters(except the distance modulus itself in an iterative scheme). The finaldistance moduli depend on the adopted extinction ratioRV/RI and on the limiting apparent magnitude ofthe sample. A comparison with the distance moduli recently published bythe Hubble Space Telescope Key Project (HSTKP) team reveals a fairagreement when the same ratio RV/RI is used butshows a small discrepancy at large distance. In order to bypass theuncertainty due to the metallicity effect it is suggested to consideronly galaxies having nearly the same metallicity as the calibratingCepheids (i.e. Solar metallicity). The internal uncertainty of thedistances is about 0.1 mag but the total uncertainty may reach 0.3 mag.The table of the Appendix and Table 3 are available in electronic format CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/383/398, and on ouranonymous ftp-server www-obs.univ-lyon1.fr (pub/base/CEPHEIDES.tar.gz).
| Stars with the Largest Hipparcos Photometric Amplitudes
A list of the 2027 stars that have the largest photometric amplitudes inHipparcos Photometry shows that most variable stars are all Miras. Thepercentage of variable types change as a function of amplitude. Thiscompilation should also be of value to photometrists looking forrelatively unstudied, but large amplitude stars.
| Coordinates and Identifications for Sonneberg variables on MVS 295-301
Not Available
| Galactic Cepheids. Catalogue of light-curve parameters and distances
We report a new version of the catalogue of distances and light-curveparameters for Galactic classical Cepheids. The catalogue listsamplitudes, magnitudes at maximum light, and intensity means for 455stars in BVRI filters of the Johnson system and (RI)_C filters of theCron-Cousins system. The distances are based on our new multicolour setof PL relations and on our Cepheid-based solution for interstellarextinction law parameters and are referred to an LMC distance modulus of18.25. The catalogue is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Multi-colour PL-relations of Cepheids in the bt HIPPARCOS catalogue and the distance to the LMC
We analyse a sample of 236 Cepheids from the hipparcos catalog, usingthe method of ``reduced parallaxes'' in V, I, K and the reddening-free``Wesenheit-index''. We compare our sample to those considered by Feast& Catchpole (1997) and Lanoix et al. (1999), and argue that oursample is the most carefully selected one with respect to completeness,the flagging of overtone pulsators, and the removal of Cepheids that mayinfluence the analyses for various reasons (double-mode Cepheids,unreliable hipparcos solutions, possible contaminated photometry due tobinary companions). From numerical simulations, and confirmed by theobserved parallax distribution, we derive a (vertical) scale height ofCepheids of 70 pc, as expected for a population of 3-10 Msunstars. This has consequences for Malmquist- and Lutz-Kelker (Lutz &Kelker 1973, Oudmaijer et al. 1998) type corrections which are smallerfor a disk population than for a spherical population. The V and I datasuggest that the slope of the Galactic PL-relations may be shallowerthan that observed for LMC Cepheids, either for the whole period range,or that there is a break at short periods (near log P_0 ~ 0.7-0.8). Westress the importance of two systematic effects which influence thedistance to the LMC: the slopes of the Galactic PL-relations andmetallicity corrections. In order to assess the influence of thesevarious effects, we present 27 distance moduli (DM) to the LMC. Theseare based on three different colours (V,I,K), three different slopes(the slope observed for Cepheids in the LMC, a shallower slope predictedfrom one set of theoretical models, and a steeper slope as derived forGalactic Cepheids from the surface-brightness technique), and threedifferent metallicity corrections (no correction as predicted by one setof theoretical models, one implying larger DM as predicted by anotherset of theoretical models, and one implying shorter DM based onempirical evidence). We derive DM between 18.45 +/- 0.18 and 18.86 +/-0.12. The DM based on K are shorter than those based on V and I andrange from 18.45 +/- 0.18 to 18.62 +/- 0.19, but the DM in K could besystematically too low by about 0.1 magnitude because of a bias due tothe fact that NIR photometry is available only for a limited number ofstars. From the Wesenheit-index we derive a DM of 18.60 +/- 0.11,assuming the observed slope of LMC Cepheids and no metallicitycorrection, for want of more information. The DM to the LMC based on theparallax data can be summarised as follows. Based on the PL-relation inV and I, and the Wesenheit-index, the DM is 18.60 ± 0.11(± 0.08 slope)(^{+0.08}_{-0.15} ;metallicity), which is ourcurrent best estimate. Based on the PL-relation in K the DM is ;;;;18.52 +/- 0.18 (± 0.03 ;slope) (± 0.06 ;metallicity)(^{+0.10}_{-0} ;sampling ;bias). The random error is mostly due to thegiven accuracy of the hipparcos parallaxes and the number of Cepheids inthe respective samples. The terms between parentheses indicate thepossible systematic uncertainties due to the slope of the GalacticPL-relations, the metallicity corrections, and in the K-band, due to thelimited number of stars. Recent work by Sandage et al. (1999) indicatesthat the effect of metallicity towards shorter distances may be smallerin V and I than indicated here. From this, we point out the importanceof obtaining NIR photometry for more (closeby) Cepheids, as for themoment NIR photometry is only available for 27% of the total sample.This would eliminate the possible bias due to the limited number ofstars, and would reduce the random error estimate from 0.18 to about0.10 mag. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the DM to reddening,metallicity correction and slope are smallest in the K-band. Based ondata from the ESA HP astrometry satellite.
| I- and JHK-band photometry of classical Cepheids in the HIPPARCOS catalog
By correlating the \cite[Fernie et al. (1995)]{F95} electronic databaseon Cepheids with the ``resolved variable catalog'' of the hipparcosmission and the simbad catalog one finds that there are 280 Cepheids inthe hipparcos catalog. By removing W Vir stars (Type ii Cepheids),double-mode Cepheids, Cepheids with an unreliable solution in thehipparcos catalog, and stars without photometry, it turns out that thereare 248 classical Cepheids left, of which 32 are classified asfirst-overtone pulsators. For these stars the literature was searchedfor I-band and near-infrared data. Intensity-mean I-band photometry onthe Cousins system is derived for 189 stars, and intensity-mean JHK dataon the Carter system is presented for 69 stars.
| Cepheid Period-Radius and Period-Luminosity Relations and the Distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud
We have used the infrared Barnes-Evans surface brightness technique toderive the radii and distances of 34 Galactic Cepheid variables. Radiusand distance results obtained from both versions of the technique are inexcellent agreement. The radii of 28 variables are used to determine theperiod-radius (PR) relation. This relation is found to have a smallerdispersion than in previous studies, and is identical to the PR relationfound by Laney & Stobie from a completely independent method, a factwhich provides persuasive evidence that the Cepheid PR relation is nowdetermined at a very high confidence level. We use the accurate infrareddistances to determine period-luminosity (PL) relations in the V, I, J,H, and K passbands from the Galactic sample of Cepheids. We deriveimproved slopes of these relations from updated LMC Cepheid samples andadopt these slopes to obtain accurate absolute calibrations of the PLrelation. By comparing these relations to the ones defined by the LMCCepheids, we derive strikingly consistent and precise values for the LMCdistance modulus in each of the passbands that yield a mean value of mu0(LMC) = 18.46 +/- 0.02. By analyzing the observed dispersions of the PLrelations defined by the LMC and Galactic samples of Cepheids, wedisentangle the contributions due to uncertainties in the reddenings, indistance measurement, and due to metallicity effects, and we estimatethe intrinsic dispersion of the PL relation with the Wesenheit function.Assuming that the Galactic Cepheid distances are typically accurate to+/-3% (as shown in a previous paper), and assuming an intrinsic spreadin [Fe/H] of ~0.4 dex among the Cepheids of our sample as obtained byFry & Carney, the observed dispersion of the Galactic Cepheid PLrelation suggests a metallicity dependence of Delta mu / Delta [Fe/H] ~0.2, about half the value suggested by Sasselov et al. from EROS data.Since this estimate of the metallicity dependence of the PL (V) relationis rather uncertain, however, we prefer to retain mu 0(LMC) = 18.46 asour best value, but with an increased uncertainty of +/-0.06, most ofwhich is due to the uncertainty in the appropriate metallicitycorrection. Our results show that the infrared Barnes-Evans technique isvery insensitive to both Cepheid metallicity and adopted reddening, andtherefore is a very powerful tool to derive accurate distances to nearbygalaxies by a direct application of the technique to their Cepheidvariables, rather than by comparing PL relations of different galaxies,which introduces much more sensitivity to metallicity and absorptioncorrections that are usually difficult to determine.
| The shape and scale of Galactic rotation from Cepheid kinematics
A catalog of Cepheid variables is used to probe the kinematics of theGalactic disk. Radial velocities are measured for eight distant Cepheidstoward l = 300 deg; these new Cepheids provide a particularly goodconstraint on the distance to the Galactic center, R0. We model the diskwith both an axisymmetric rotation curve and one with a weak ellipticalcomponent, and find evidence for an ellipticity of 0.043 +/- 0.016 nearthe sun. Using these models, we derive R0 = 7.66 +/- 0.32 kpc andv(circ) = 237 +/- 12 km/s. The distance to the Galactic center agreeswell with recent determinations from the distribution of RR Lyraevariables and disfavors most models with large ellipticities at thesolar orbit.
| Cepheid Distances from a Near-Infrared Surface Brightness Technique
Not Available
| Search for resonance effects in long period Cepheids.
Light curves of classical Cepheids with period longer than 8 days havebeen Fourier decomposed with the purpose of studying the characteristicsof high order Fourier parameters, and to detect possible effects ofresonances between pulsation modes other than the well known resonanceat P~10d. The possible effects of two expected resonances have beententatively identified: P_0_/P_1_=3/2 at P_0_~24 d and P_0_/P_3_=3 atP_0_~27d. The identification is not completely certain owing to the poornumber of Cepheids. The limitation could be overcome by observingaccurately other relatively faint Cepheids in our Galaxy, and severalCepheids in nearby galaxies.
| New spectroscopic binaries among classical Cepheids.
An extensive study of radial velocity data of more than 250 Cepheidvariables taken from the literature has resulted in revealingspectroscopic-binary nature of 22 classical Cepheids: SS CMa, VZ CMa, VYCar, EY Car, FR Car, SY Cas, CG Cas, VW Cen, OO Cen, SU Cru, VX Cru, TZMon, XX Mon, RT Mus, CR Ori, LS Pup, YZ Sgr, AV Sgr, RU Sct, DP Vel, UVul and SV Vul. The amplitude of the orbital effect superimposed on thepulsational radial velocity variation exceeds 10km/s in eight cases andthere are obvious changes in the γ-velocity for the otherCepheids, as well. Additional photometric evidence of duplicity isavailable for 8 variables in this sample. Each star discussed in thispaper is recommended for thorough study in order to determine theorbital elements and physical parameters of companion star(s). The largenumber of newly found spectroscopic binaries confirms the recent result(Szabados) that incidence of binaries among classical Cepheids is higherthan usually believed.
| Parameters of the JHK light curves for classical cepheids and the interstellar extinction law
Not Available
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