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Galactic restrictions on iron production by various types of supernovae
We propose a statistical method for decomposition of contributions toiron production from various sources: Type II supernovae and thesubpopulations of Type Ia supernovae, prompt (their progenitors areshort-lived stars with ages lower than ˜100 Myr) and tardy (theirprogenitors are long-lived stars with ages >100 Myr). To do that, wedevelop a theory of oxygen and iron synthesis that takes into accountthe influence of the spiral arms on the amount of the above elementssynthesized by both Type II supernovae and prompt Type Ia supernovae. Inthe framework of the theory, we processed statistically the new, moreprecise, observational data on Cepheid abundances, which, as is wellknown, demonstrate non-trivial radial distributions of oxygen and ironin the Galactic disc with bends in the gradients. In our opinion, suchfine structure in the distribution of elements along the Galactic discenables one to decompose the amount of iron unambiguously into threecomponents produced by the above three sources. In addition, by means ofour statistical methods we solve this task without any preliminarysuppositions about the ratios between the proportions of ironsynthesized by the above sources.The total mass supplied to the Galactic disc during its life by alltypes of supernovae is ˜(4.0 ± 0.4) × 107M&sun;, while the mass of iron occurring in the presentinterstellar medium (ISM) is ˜(1.20 ± 0.05) ×107 M&sun;, i.e. about two thirds of iron iscontained in stars and stellar remnants.The relative proportion of iron synthesized by tardy type Ia supernovaefor the lifetime of the Galaxy is ˜35 per cent (in the present ISMthis portion is ˜50 per cent). Correspondingly, the totalproportion of iron supplied to the disc by Type II supernovae and promptType Ia supernovae is ˜65 per cent (in the present ISM thisproportion is ˜50 per cent). The above result depends slightly onthe adopted mass of oxygen and iron synthesized during one supernovaexplosion and the shape (bimodal or smooth) of the so-called delay-timedistribution function.The proportions of iron mass distributed between short-lived supernovaeare usually as follows: depending on the ejected masses of oxygen oriron during one Type II supernova event, the relative proportion of ironsupplied to the Galactic disc for its age varies in the range 12-32 percent (in the present ISM 9-25 per cent); the proportion supplied byprompt Type Ia supernovae to the Galactic disc is 33-53 per cent (in theISM 26-42 per cent).Our method also confirms that the bend in the observed slope of theoxygen radial distribution and the minimum in [O/Fe] at ˜7 kpcform in the vicinity of the location of the corotation resonance.
| Observational studies of Cepheid amplitudes. II. Metallicity dependence of pulsation amplitudes
Context. Physical and phenomenological properties (radius, luminosity,shape of the light curve, etc.) of Cepheids strongly depend on thepulsation period, with the exception of the pulsation amplitude. Apossible factor causing a wide range of pulsation amplitudes might bethe different atmospheric metallicities of individual Cepheids. Aims: We studied the influence exerted by the atmospheric iron content,[Fe/H], on the pulsational amplitude of Galactic Cepheids. Methods: We searched for correlations between the [Fe/H] value and boththe observed amplitudes and amplitude related parameters. Results: The amplitude of the Cepheid pulsation slightly decreases withincreasing iron abundance. This effect is more pronounced for the radialvelocity variations and for the shorter pulsation periods. Thewavelength dependence of photometric amplitudes is also found to besensitive to the metallicity. Some of these effects are not consequencesof differential line blanketing. Based on the calibrations of themetallicity sensitivity relationships, we derived photometric ironabundance for 21 Galactic Cepheids. The dichotomic behaviour dividingGalactic Cepheids that pulsate in the fundamental mode into short- andlong-period groups at the period of 10d.7 can be noticed insome diagrams that show metallicity-related dependences. Conclusions: We confirm that variety in atmospheric metallicity inCepheids contributes to the finite range of pulsation amplitudes at agiven period. Effects of metallicity on the amplitudes revealed fromobservational data and the occurrence of the dichotomy also derived fromphenomenological data have to be confirmed by appropriate theoreticalmodels of stellar structure and pulsation.
| The Distribution of the Elements in the Galactic Disk. II. Azimuthal and Radial Variation in Abundances from Cepheids
This paper reports on the spectroscopic investigation of 101 Cepheids inthe Carina region. These Cepheids extend previous samples by about 35%in number and increase the amount of the Galactic disk coverageespecially in the direction of l ? 270°. The new Cepheids do notadd much information to the radial gradient, but provide a substantialincrease in azimuthal coverage. We find no azimuthal dependence inabundance over an 80° angle from the Galactic center in an annulusof 1 kpc depth centered on the Sun. A simple linear fit to the Cepheiddata yields a gradient d[Fe/H]/dRG = -0.055 ± 0.003dex kpc-1 which is somewhat shallower than found from ourprevious, smaller Cepheid sample.
| Random forest automated supervised classification of Hipparcos periodic variable stars
We present an evaluation of the performance of an automatedclassification of the Hipparcos periodic variable stars into 26 types.The sub-sample with the most reliable variability types available in theliterature is used to train supervised algorithms to characterize thetype dependencies on a number of attributes. The most useful attributesevaluated with the random forest methodology include, in decreasingorder of importance, the period, the amplitude, the V-I colour index,the absolute magnitude, the residual around the folded light-curvemodel, the magnitude distribution skewness and the amplitude of thesecond harmonic of the Fourier series model relative to that of thefundamental frequency. Random forests and a multi-stage scheme involvingBayesian network and Gaussian mixture methods lead to statisticallyequivalent results. In standard 10-fold cross-validation (CV)experiments, the rate of correct classification is between 90 and 100per cent, depending on the variability type. The main mis-classificationcases, up to a rate of about 10 per cent, arise due to confusion betweenSPB and ACV blue variables and between eclipsing binaries, ellipsoidalvariables and other variability types. Our training set and thepredicted types for the other Hipparcos periodic stars are availableonline.
| Near-infrared (JHK) Photometry of 131 Northern Galactic Classical Cepheids
Near-infrared photometric measurements for 131 Northern GalacticCepheids are presented. The Cepheid light curves are sampled with anaverage of 22 measurements per star fully covering the phase of eachCepheid. The J, H, and K light curves for each Cepheid were uniformlyinterpolated to find the intensity mean magnitudes within each band. Theresults are consistent within ±1% for 26 stars in common withprevious studies. This paper is the first in a projected series of twopapers which will provide additional fundamental data for Cepheids inthe Galaxy, namely, NIR photometry and line-of-sight extinction. In thecourse of this project, 93 additional variables were fortuitouslyobserved within the Cepheid program fields, 82 of which have previouslynot been identified.
| uvby-beta Photoelectric Photometry of Cepheid Stars
We present time-series uvby-beta photometry of 41 classical Cepheidstars. A brief discussion of a comparison between the present data andprevious photometric observations is included.
| TX Cyg - ein einstiegscepheide.
Not Available
| 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.
| Reddenings of FGK supergiants and classical Cepheids from spectroscopic data
Accurate and homogeneous atmospheric parameters(Teff,logg,Vt, [Fe/H]) are derived for 74 FGKnon-variable supergiants from high-resolution, high signal-to-noiseratio, echelle spectra. Extremely high precision for the inferredeffective temperatures (10-40K) is achieved by using the line-depthratio method. The new data are combined with atmospheric values for 164classical Cepheids, observed at 675 different pulsation phases, takenfrom our previously published studies. The derived values are correlatedwith unreddened B - V colours compiled from the literature for theinvestigated stars in order to obtain an empirical relationship of theform (B - V)0 = 57.984 -10.3587(logTeff)2 +1.67572(logTeff)3 - 3.356logg +0.0321Vt + 0.2615[Fe/H] + 0.8833(logg)(logTeff).The expression is used to estimate colour excesses E(B - V) forindividual supergiants and classical Cepheids, with a precision of+/-0.05 mag for supergiants and Cepheids with n = 1-2 spectra, reaching+/-0.025mag for Cepheids with n > 2 spectra, matching uncertaintiesfor the most sophisticated photometric techniques. The reddening scaleis also a close match to the system of space reddenings for Cepheids.The application range is for spectral types F0-K0 and luminosity classesI and II.
| Cepheids in External Galaxies. I. The Maser-Host Galaxy NGC 4258 and the Metallicity Dependence of Period-Luminosity and Period-Wesenheit Relations
We perform a detailed analysis of Cepheids in NGC 4258, the MagellanicClouds, and Milky Way in order to verify the reliability of thetheoretical scenario based on a large set of nonlinear convectivepulsation models. We derive Wesenheit functions from the synthetic BVImagnitudes of the pulsators, and we show that the sign and the extent ofthe metallicity effect on the predicted period-Wesenheit (P-W) relationschange according to the adopted passbands. These P-W relations areapplied to measured BVI magnitudes of NGC 4258, Magellanic, and GalacticCepheids available in the literature. We find that Magellanic andGalactic Cepheids agree with the metallicity dependence of the predictedP-W relations. Concerning the NGC 4258 Cepheids, the results stronglydepend on the adopted metallicity gradient across the galactic disk. Themost recent nebular oxygen abundances support a shallower gradient andprovide a metallicity dependence that agrees well with current pulsationpredictions. Moreover, the comparison of Cepheid distances based on VImagnitudes with distance estimates based on the revised TRGB method forexternal galaxies, on the HST trigonometric parallaxes for GalacticCepheids, and on eclipsing binaries in the Magellanic Clouds seems tofavor the metallicity correction predicted by pulsation models. The signand the extent of the metallicity dependence of the P-W and of theperiod-luminosity (P-L) relations change according to the adoptedpassbands. Therefore, distances based on different methods and/or bandsshould not be averaged. The use of extragalactic Cepheids to constrainthe metallicity effect requires new accurate and extensive nebularoxygen measurements.
| Photoelectric observations of Cepheids in UBV(RI)c (Berdnikov, 2008)
This catalog gathers the observation of 894 Cepheids made between 1986to 2004.Observations are listed in alphabetical order of the constellations. Thestandard deviation for every magnitude and color is 0.01mag.This version supersedes the 1997 edition (Cat. )(3 data files).
| Aktuelle (B-R)-Werte f?r einige teleskopische Cepheiden.
Not Available
| 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.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| The Distribution of the Elements in the Galactic Disk
This paper reports on the spectroscopic investigation of 54 Cepheids,deriving parameters and abundances. These Cepheids extend previoussamples by about 35% in number and increase the amount of the Galacticdisk coverage, especially in the direction of l~120deg. Wefind that there exists in the Galactic disk at that longitude and at asolar distance of about 3-4 kpc a region that has enhanced abundances,~+0.2, with respect to the local region. A simple linearfit to all Cepheid data now extant yields a gradientd[Fe/H]/dRG=-0.068+/-0.003 dex kpc-1. Afterconsideration of the spatial abundance inhomogeneities in the sample, weconclude that the best current estimate of the overall gradient isd[Fe/H]/dRG=-0.06 dex kpc-1.
| Period-colour and amplitude-colour relations in classical Cepheid variables - IV. The multiphase relations
The superb phase resolution and quality of the Optical GravitationalLensing Experiment (OGLE) data on the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) andSmall Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Cepheids, together with existing data onGalactic Cepheids, are combined to study the period-colour (PC) andamplitude-colour (AC) relations as a function of pulsation phase. Ourresults confirm earlier work that the LMC PC relation (at mean light) ismore consistent with two lines of differing slopes, separated at aperiod of 10 d. However, our multiphase PC relations reveal much newstructure which can potentially increase our understanding of Cepheidvariables. These multiphase PC relations provide insight into why theGalactic PC relation is linear but the LMC PC relation is non-linear.This is because the LMC PC relation is shallower for short (logP < 1)and steeper for long (logP > 1) period Cepheids than thecorresponding Galactic PC relation. Both of the short- and long-periodCepheids in all three galaxies exhibit the steepest and shallowestslopes at phases around 0.75-0.85, respectively. A consequence is thatthe PC relation at phase ~ 0.8 is highly non-linear. Further, theGalactic and LMC Cepheids with logP > 1 display a flat slope in thePC plane at phases close to the maximum light. When the LMCperiod-luminosity (PL) relation is studied as a function of phase, weconfirm that it changes with the PC relation. The LMC PL relation in Vand I band near the phase of 0.8 provides compelling evidence that thisrelation is also consistent with two lines of differing slopes joined ata period close to 10 d.
| Beobachtungsergebnisse Bundesdeutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Veranderliche Sterne e.V.
Not Available
| Beobachtungssergebnisse Bundesdeutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft fuer Veraenderliche Sterne e.V.
Not Available
| Cepheidenbeobachtung in der BAV: Ruckblick und Ausblick.
Not Available
| New Period-Luminosity and Period-Color relations of classical Cepheids: I. Cepheids in the Galaxy
321 Galactic fundamental-mode Cepheids with good B, V, and (in mostcases) I photometry by Berdnikov et al. (\cite{Berdnikov:etal:00}) andwith homogenized color excesses E(B-V) based on Fernie et al.(\cite{Fernie:etal:95}) are used to determine their period-color (P-C)relation in the range 0.4~ 1.4). The latter effect is enhanced by asuggestive break of the P-L relation of LMC and SMC at log P = 1.0towards still shallower values as shown in a forthcoming paper.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/404/423
| Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521
| 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.
| 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.
| Direct calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation
After the first release of Hipparcos data, Feast & Catchpole gave anew value for the zero-point of the visual Cepheid period-luminosityrelation, based on trigonometric parallaxes. Because of the largeuncertainties on these parallaxes, the way in which individualmeasurements are weighted is of crucial importance. We thereforeconclude that the choice of the best weighting system can be aided by aMonte Carlo simulation. On the basis of such a simulation, it is shownthat (i) a cut-off in π or in σ_ππ introduces a strongbias; (ii) the zero-point is more stable when only the brightestCepheids are used; and (iii) the Feast & Catchpole weighting givesthe best zero-point and the lowest dispersion. After correction, theadopted visual period-luminosity relation is=-2.77logP-1.44+/-0.05. Moreover, we extend this study to thephotometric I band (Cousins) and obtain=-3.05logP-1.81+/-0.09.
| 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.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Cygne |
| Right ascension: | 21h00m06.38s |
| Declination: | +42°35'51.2" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 9.502 |
| Proper motion RA: | -2.4 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -2.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 11.893 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.7 |
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