We have estimated JHKs magnitudes corrected to mean intensity for LMC type II Cepheids found in the OGLE-III survey. Period-luminosity relations (PLRs) are derived in JHKs as well as in a reddening-free VI parameter. The BL Her stars (P<4d) and the W Vir stars (P=4 to 20d) are co-linear in these PLRs. The slopes of the infrared relations agree with those found previously for type II Cepheids in globular clusters within the uncertainties. Using the pulsation parallaxes of V553 Cen and SW Tau, the data lead to an LMC modulus of 18.46+-0.10 mag, uncorrected for any metallicity effects. We have now established the PLR of type II Cepheids as a distance indicator by confirming that (almost) the same PLR satisfies the distributions in the PL diagram of type II Cepheids in (at least) two different systems, i.e. the LMC and Galactic globular clusters, and by calibrating the zero point of the PLR. RV Tau stars in the LMC, as a group, are not co-linear with the shorter-period type II Cepheids in the infrared PLRs in marked contrast to such stars in globular clusters. We note differences in period distribution and infrared colors for RV Tau stars in the LMC, globular clusters and Galactic field. We also compare the PLR of type II Cepheids with that of classical Cepheids.
Classical Cepheids are among the most useful Galactic and nearby extragalactic distance tracers because of their well-defined period--luminosity relations (PLRs). Open cluster (OC) Cepheids are important objects to independently calibrate these PLRs. Based on Data Release 1 of the {\sl VISTA} Variables in the Vía Láctea survey, we have discovered four new, faint and heavily reddened OC Cepheids, including the longest-period OC Cepheid known, ASAS J180342$-$2211.0 in Teutsch 14a. The other OC--Cepheid pairs include NGC 6334 and V0470 Sco, Majaess 170 and ASAS J160125$-$5150.3, and Teutsch 77 an…
We present the first gri-band period-luminosity (PL) and period-Wesenheit (PW) relations for the fundamental mode anomalous Cepheids. These PL and PW relations were derived from a combined sample of five anomalous Cepheids in globular cluster M92 and the Large Magellanic Cloud, both of which have distance accurate to ~1% available from literature. Our g-band PL relation is similar to the B-band PL relation as reported in previous study. We applied our PL and PW relations to anomalous Cepheids discovered in dwarf galaxy Crater II, and found a larger but consistent distance modulus than the rece…
Using Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (HST/ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) observations from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT), we present new period-luminosity (P-L) relations for Cepheid variables in M31. Cepheids from several ground-based studies are identified in the PHAT photometry to derive new P-L and Wesenheit P-L relations in the near infrared and visual filters. We derive a distance modulus to M31 of 24.51 +/- 0.08 in the IR bands and 24.32 +/- 0.09 in the visual bands, including the first P-L relations in the F475W and F814W filters for M31. Ou…
In this paper we present multi-band period-luminosity (P-L) relations for fundamental mode Cepheids in the SMC. The optical VI-band mean magnitudes for these SMC Cepheids were taken from the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) catalog. We also matched the OGLE-III SMC Cepheids to 2MASS and SAGE-SMC catalog to derive mean magnitudes in the JHK-bands and the four {\it Spitzer} IRAC bands, respectively. All photometry was corrected for extinction by adopting the Zaritsky's extinction map. Cepheids with periods smaller than $\sim2.5$ days were removed from the sa…
Period-luminosity relations (PLRs) of type II Cepheids (T2Cs) in the Small Magellanic Cloud are derived based on OGLE-III, IRSF/SIRIUS and other data, and these are compared with results for the Large Magellanic Cloud and Galactic globular clusters. Evidence is found for a change of the PLR slopes from system to system. Treating the longer period T2Cs (W Vir stars) separately gives an SMC-LMC modulus difference of 0.39+-0.05 mag without any metallicity corrections being applied. This agrees well with the difference in moduli based on different distance indicators, in particular the PLRs of cla…
We present a new extended and detailed set of models for Classical Cepheid pulsators at solar chemical composition ($Z=0.02$, $Y=0.28$) based on a well tested nonlinear hydrodynamical approach. In order to model the possible dependence on crucial assumptions such as the Mass-Luminosity relation of central Helium burning intermediate-mass stars or the efficiency of superadiabatic convection, the model set was computed by varying not only the pulsation mode and the stellar mass but also the Mass-Luminosity relation and the mixing length parameter that is used to close the system of nonlinear hyd…
NGC 4258 is one of the most important anchors for calibrating the Cepheid period--luminosity relations (PLRs) owing to its accurate distance measured from water maser motions. We expand on previous efforts and carry out a new Cepheid search in this system using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We discover and measure a sample of 669 Cepheids in four new and two archival NGC 4258 fields, doubling the number of known Cepheids in this galaxy and obtaining an absolute calibration of their optical PLRs. We determine a Wesenheit PLR of $-2.574(\pm0.034) -3.294(\pm0.042) \log P$, consistent with an …
We present the near-infrared observations of population II Cepheids in the Galactic bulge from VVV survey. We identify 340 population II Cepheids in the Galactic bulge from VVV survey based on their match with OGLE-III Catalogue. The single-epoch $JH$ and multi-epoch $K_s$ observations complement the accurate periods and optical $(VI)$ mean-magnitudes from OGLE. The sample consisting of BL Herculis and W Virginis subtypes is used to derive period-luminosity relations after correcting mean-magnitudes for the extinction. Our $K_s$-band period-luminosity relation, $K_s = -2.189(0.056)~[\log(P) - …
We present multi-band Period-Luminosity (PL) relations for first-overtone mode Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We derive optical band PL relations and the Wesenheit function using $VI$ mean magnitudes from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) survey. We cross-match OGLE-III first-overtone mode Cepheids to the 2MASS and SAGE-SMC catalogs to derive PL relations at near-infrared ($JHK_s$) and mid-infrared ($3.6~\&~4.5μ\mathrm{m}$) wavelengths. We test for possible non-linearities in these PL relations using robust statistical tests and find a significant break onl…
The extragalactic distance scale builds on the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL) relation. In this paper, we want to carry out a strictly differential comparison of the absolute PL relations obeyed by classical Cepheids in the Milky Way (MW), LMC and SMC galaxies. Taking advantage of the substantial metallicity difference among the Cepheid populations in these three galaxies, we want to establish a possible systematic trend of the PL relation absolute zero point as a function of metallicity, and determine the size of such an effect in optical and near-infrared photometric bands. We are using the …
Revising the Milky Way Cepheid Calibration: Quantifying and Correcting for Previously Undetected Distance Modulus Errors in the Gaia-based Multi-Wavelength Period-Luminosity Relations
The Observatories, Carnegie Institution for Science（卡内基科学研究所观测站）；Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago（芝加哥大学天文学与天体物理系）；Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago（芝加哥大学卡弗里宇宙物理学研究所）
We present results from the Large Magellanic Cloud Near-infrared Synoptic Survey (LMCNISS) for classical and type II Cepheid variables that were identified by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) catalogue. Multiwavelength time-series data for classical Cepheid variables are used to study light-curve structures as a function of period and wavelength. We exploit a sample of $\sim$1400 classical and $\sim$80 type II Cepheid variables to derive Period--Wesenheit relations that combine both optical and near-infrared data. The new Period--Luminosity and Wesenheit relations are us…
The determination of pulsation mode and distance for field Cepheids is a complicated problem best resolved by a luminosity estimate. For illustration a technique based on spectroscopic luminosity discrimination is applied to the 4.47d s-Cepheid FF Aql. Line ratios in high dispersion spectra of the variable yield values of <Mv>=-3.40+-0.02 s.e.(+-0.04 s.d.), average effective temperature Teff=6195+-24 K, and intrinsic color (<B>-<V>)o = +0.506+-0.007, corresponding to a reddening of E(B-V)=0.25+-0.01, or E(B-V)(B0)=0.26+-0.01. The skewed light curve, intrinsic color, and luminosity of FF Aql ar…
JHKs magnitudes corrected to mean intensity are estimated for LMC type II Cepheids in the OGLE-III survey. Period-luminosity (PL) relations are derived in JHKs as well as in a reddening-free VI parameter. Within the uncertainties the BL Her stars (P < 4 d) and the W Vir stars (P = 4 to 20 d) are co-linear in these PL relations. The slopes of the infrared relations agree with those found previously for type II Cepheids in globular clusters within the uncertainties. Using the pulsation parallaxes of V553 Cen and SW Tau the data lead to an LMC modulus uncorrected for any metallicity effects of 18…
Classical Cepheids are well-known and widely used distance indicators. As distance and extinction are usually degenerate, it is important to develop suitable methods to robustly anchor the distance scale. Here, we introduce a near-infrared (near-IR) optimal distance method to determine both the extinction values of and distances to a large sample of 288 Galactic classical Cepheids. The overall uncertainty in the derived distances is less than 4.9%. We compare our newly determined distances to the Cepheids in our sample with previously published distances to the same Cepheids with Hubble Space …
Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars are important pulsating variable stars in distance scale work because they serve as standard candles. Cepheids follow well-defined period-luminosity (PL) relations defined for bands extending from optical to mid-infrared (MIR). On the other hand, RR Lyrae stars also exhibit PL relations in the near-infrared and MIR wavelengths. In this article, we review some of the recent developments and calibrations of PL relations for Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars. For Cepheids, we discuss the calibration of PL relations via the Galactic and the Large Magellanic Cloud routes. For …
The flux-weighted gravity-luminosity relation (FWGLR) is investigated for a sample of 477 classical Cepheids (CCs), including stars that have been classified in the literature as such but are probably not. The luminosities are taken from the literature, based on the fitting of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) assuming a certain distance and reddening. The flux-weighted gravity (FWG) is taken from gravity and effective temperature determinations in the literature based on high-resolution spectroscopy. There is a very good agreement between the theoretically predicted and observed FWG ve…
We have conducted a search for open clusters in the vicinity of classical Galactic Cepheids based on high-quality astrometry from the third data release (DR3) of the ESA mission Gaia to improve the calibration of the Leavitt law (LL). Our approach requires no prior knowledge of existing clusters, allowing us to both detect new host clusters and cross-check previously reported associations. Our Gold sample consists of 34 Cepheids residing in 28 open clusters, including 27 fundamental mode and 7 overtone Cepheids. Three new bona fide cluster Cepheids are reported (V0378 Cen, ST Tau, and GH Lup) …
Establishing the period--Wesenheit relation requires independent and accurate distance measurements of classical Cepheids (DCEPs). The precise distance provided by an associated open cluster independently calibrates the period--Wesenheit relation of DCEPs. 51 DCEPs associated with open clusters are compiled using the constraints of five-dimensional astrometric information. By directly using Gaia DR3 parallax, the period--Wesenheit relation in the Gaia $G$ band is calibrated as $W_G = (-3.06 \pm 0.11) \log P + (-2.96 \pm 0.10)$. Compared with the results derived by directly adopting the DCEP pa…
We present time-series photometry of 21 nearby Type II Cepheids in the near-infrared J, H and Ks passbands. We use this photometry, together with the Third Gaia Early Data Release parallaxes, to determine for the first time period-luminosity relations (PLRs) for Type II Cepheids from field representatives of these old pulsating stars in the near-infrared regime. We found PLRs to be very narrow for BL Herculis stars, which makes them candidates for precision distance indicators. We then use archival photometry and the most accurate distance obtained from eclipsing binaries to recalibrate PLRs f…
The period-luminosity (P-L) relation for Cepheid variables is important in modern astrophysics. In this work, we present the multi-band P-L relations derived from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Cepheids, based on the latest release of OGLE-III catalogs. In addition to the V I band mean magnitudes adopted from OGLE-III catalogs, we also cross-matched the LMC and SMC Cepheids to the 2MASS point source catalogs and publicly available Spitzer catalogs from SAGE program. Mean magnitudes for these Cepheids were corrected for extinction using available extinction ma…
As primary anchors of the distance scale, Cepheid stars play a crucial role in our understanding of the distance scale of the Universe because of their period-luminosity relation. Determining precise and consistent parameters (radius, temperature, color excess, and projection factor) of Cepheid pulsating stars is therefore very important. With the high-precision parallaxes delivered by the early third Gaia data release, we aim to derive various parameters of Cepheid stars in order to calibrate the period-luminosity and period-radius relations and to investigate the relation of period to p-fact…
We present a sample of 11 M31 Cepheids in stellar clusters, derived from the overlap of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) cluster catalog and the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) disk Cepheid catalog. After identifying the PS1 Cepheids in the HST catalog, we calibrate the PS1 mean magnitudes using the higher resolution HST photometry, revealing up to 1 magnitude offsets due to crowding effects in the ground-based catalog. We measure ages of the clusters by performing single stellar population fits to their color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) excluding their Cepheids. From these cluster age measur…
We present mid-infrared Period-Luminosity relations for Cepheids in the Local Group galaxy IC1613. Using archival IRAC imaging data from Spitzer we were able to measure single-epoch magnitudes for five, 7 to 50-day, Cepheids at 3.6 and 4.5 microns. When fit to the calibrating relations, measured for the Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheids, the data give apparent distance moduli of 24.29 +/- 0.07 and 24.28 +/- 0.07 at 3.6 and 4.5 microns, respectively. A multi-wavelength fit to previously published BVRIJHK apparent moduli and the two IRAC moduli gives a true distance modulus of 24.27 +/- 0.02 mag w…
The Milky Way Cepheid RS Puppis is a particularly important calibrator for the Leavitt law (the Period-Luminosity relation). It is a rare, long period pulsator (P=41.5 days), and a good analog of the Cepheids observed in distant galaxies. It is the only known Cepheid to be embedded in a large (~0.5 pc) dusty nebula, that scatters the light from the pulsating star. Due to the light travel time delay introduced by the scattering on the dust, the brightness and color variations of the Cepheid imprint spectacular light echoes on the nebula. I here present a brief overview of the studies of this ph…
Gaia Data Release 1 contains parallaxes for more than 700 Galactic Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars, computed as part of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). We have used TGAS parallaxes, along with literature ($V, I, J, {K_\mathrm{s}}, W_1$) photometry and spectroscopy, to calibrate the zero point of the Period-Luminosity and Period-Wesenheit relations of classical and type II Cepheids, and the near-infrared Period-Luminosity, Period-Luminosity-Metallicity and optical Luminosity-Metallicity relations of RR Lyrae stars. In this contribution we briefly summarise results obtained by fitting th…
Classical Cepheids (DCEPs) are the most important standard candles in the extra-galactic distance scale thanks to the Period-Luminosity ($\rm PL$), Period-Luminosity-Color ($\rm PLC$) and Period-Wesenheit ($\rm PW$) relations that hold for these objects. The advent of the {\it Gaia} mission, and in particular the Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) provided accurate parallaxes to calibrate these relations. In order to fully exploit {\it Gaia} measurements, the zero point (ZP) of {\it Gaia} parallaxes should be determined with an accuracy of a few $\rm μas$. The individual ZP corrections provided by th…
Classical Cepheids represent the first step of the distance scale ladder. Claims of tension between the locally calculated Hubble constant and the values deduced from $Planck$'s results have sparked new interest in these distance calibrators. Cluster membership provides an independent distance measurement, as well as astrophysical context for studies of their stellar properties. Here we report the discovery of a young open cluster in the vicinity of SV Vul, one of the most luminous Cephedis known in the Milky Way. $Gaia$ DR2 data show that SV Vul is a clear astrometric and photometric member o…
In this work, we updated the catalog of Galactic Cepheids with $24μ\mathrm{m}$ photometry by cross-matching the positions of known Galactic Cepheids to the recently released MIPSGAL point source catalog. We have added 36 new sources featuring MIPSGAL photometry in our analysis, thus increasing the existing sample to 65. Six different sources of compiled Cepheid distances were used to establish a $24μ\mathrm{m}$ period-luminosity (P-L) relation. Our recommended $24μ\mathrm{m}$ P-L relation is $M_{24μ\mathrm{m}}=-3.18(\pm0.10)\log P - 2.46(\pm0.10)$, with an estimated intrinsic dispersion of 0.2…
The majority of classical Cepheids are binary stars, yet the contribution of companions' light to the total brightness of the system has been assumed negligible and lacked a thorough, quantitative evaluation. We present an extensive study of synthetic populations of binary Cepheids, that aims to characterize Cepheids' companions (e.g. masses, evolutionary and spectral types), quantify their contribution to the brightness and color of Cepheid binaries, and assess the relevance of input parameters on the results. We introduce a collection of synthetic populations, which vary in metal content, in…
Multi-mode Cepheids pulsate simultaneously in more than one mode of oscillation. They provide an independent means to test stellar models and pulsation theories. They can also be used to derive metallicities. In recent years, the number of known multi-mode Cepheids has increased dramatically with the discovery of a large number of Galactic double-mode Cepheids. To date, 209 double-mode Cepheids have been detected in the Galactic bulge and disk, mostly based on the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment's (OGLE) catalog. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive search for double-mode Cepheid…
The mid-infrared period-luminosity (P-L) relation for Cepheids will be important in the JWST era, as it holds the promise of deriving the Hubble constant within 2% accuracy. We present the synthetic P-L and period-color (P-C) relations, derived from a series of stellar pulsation models with varying helium and metallicity abundance, in the Spitzer IRAC bands. Selected synthetic P-L and P-C relations were compared to the empirical relations derived from Galactic and Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheids. We also present the empirical P-L relations based on the latest distance measurements using infrar…
We present the first gri-band period-luminosity (PL) and period-Wesenheit (PW) relations for 37 Type II Cepheids (hereafter TIIC) located in 18 globular clusters based on photometric data from the Zwicky Transient Facility. We also updated BV IJHK-band absolute magnitudes for 58 TIIC in 24 globular clusters using the latest homogeneous distances to the globular clusters. The slopes of g/r/i and B/V/I band PL relations are found to be statistically consistent when using the same sample of distance and reddening. We employed the calibration of ri-band PL/PW relations in globular clusters to esti…
[Abridged] We aim to improve the understanding of Cepheids from an evolutionary perspective and establish the role of rotation in the Cepheid paradigm. In particular, we are interested in the contribution of rotation to the problem of Cepheid masses, and explore testable predictions of quantities that can be confronted with observations. Evolutionary models including a homogeneous and self-consistent treatment of rotation are studied in detail during the crossings of the classical instability strip (IS). The dependence of several parameters on initial rotation is studied. These parameters incl…
The Galactic calibration of the period-luminosity (PL) relation for classical Cepheids is examined using trigonometric, open cluster, and pulsation parallaxes, which help establish independent versions of the relationship. The calibration is important for the continued use of classical Cepheids in constraining cosmological models (by refining estimates for H_0), for defining zero-points for the SNe Ia and population II (Type II Cepheids/RR Lyrae variables) distance scales, for clarifying properties of the Milky Way's spiral structure, and for characterizing dust extinction affecting Cepheids i…
In this paper we derive the Spitzer IRAC band period-luminosity (P-L) relations for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Cepheids, by matching the Spitzer archival SAGE-SMC data with the OGLE-III SMC Cepheids. We find that the 3.6micron and 4.5micron band P-L relations can be better described using two P-L relations with a break period at log(P)=0.4: this is consistent with similar results at optical wavelengths for SMC P-L relations. The 5.8micron and 8.0micron band P-L relations do not extend to sufficiently short periods to enable a similar detection of a slope change at log(P)=0.4. The slopes …
The mid-infrared (MIR) period-luminosity (P-L) relations for Cepheids will be important in the JWST era, as it holds the promise of deriving the Hubble constant within 2% accuracy. It is expected that the MIR P-L to be insensitive to metallicity. In this work, we test this assumption of metallicity independent of the IRAC band P-L relation by applying well-known statistical methods to the synthetic P-L slopes from a series of pulsating models with known metallicity. The statistical tests suggest that the P-L slopes in MIR are linearly depending on metallicity.
In this work we matched the AKARI archival data to the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment-III (OGLE-III) catalog to derive the mid-infrared period luminosity (PL) relations for Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Cepheids. Mismatched AKARI sources were eliminated using random-phase colors obtained from the full I-band light curves from OGLE-III. It was possible to derive PL relations in the N3 and N4 bands only, although the S7, S11, L15, and L24 band data were also tested. Random-phase correction was included when deriving the PL relation in the N3 and N4 bands using the available time of obse…
In this paper, we derive the period-luminosity (P-L) relation for Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Cepheids based on mid-infrared AKARI observations. AKARI's IRC sources were matched to the OGLE-III LMC Cepheid catalog. Together with the available I band light curves from the OGLE-III catalog, potential false matches were removed from the sample. This procedure excluded most of the sources in the S7 and S11 bands: hence only the P-L relation in the N3 band was derived in this paper. Random-phase corrections were included in deriving the P-L relation for the single epoch AKARI data, even though the…
The dependency of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity Relation on chemical composition at different wavelengths is assessed via direct detailed abundance analysis of Galactic and Magellanic Cepheids, as derived from high resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra. Our measurements span one order of magnitude in iron content and allow to rule out at the ~ 9 sigma level the universality of the Period-Luminosity Relation in the V band, with metal rich stars being fainter than metal poor ones by ~0.3 mag. The dependency is less pronounced in the K band. Its magnitude and statistical significance decisivel…
This paper discusses two aspects of current research on the Cepheid period-luminosity (P-L) relation: the derivation of mid-infrared (MIR) P-L relations and the investigation of multi-phase P-L relations. The MIR P-L relations for Cepheids are important in the James Webb Space Telescope era for the distance scale issue, as the relations have potential to derive the Hubble constant within ~ 2% accuracy - a critical constraint in precision cosmology. Consequently, we have derived the MIR P-L relations for Cepheids in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, using archival data from Spitzer Space T…
Analyses of recent observations of the sole classical Cepheid in the Kepler field, V1154 Cygni, found random changes of about 30 minutes in the pulsation period. These period changes challenge standard theories of pulsation and evolution because the period change is non-secular, and explaining this period jitter is necessary for understanding stellar evolution and the role of Cepheids as precise standard candles. We suggest that convection and convective hot spots can explain the observed period jitter. Convective hot spots alter the timing of flux maximum and minimum in the Cepheid light curv…
Measurements of secular period change probe real-time stellar evolution of classical Cepheids making these measurements powerful constraints for stellar evolution models, especially when coupled with interferometric measurements. In this work, we present stellar evolution models and measured rates of period change for two Galactic Cepheids: Polaris and l Carinae, both important Cepheids for anchoring the Cepheid Leavitt law (period-luminosity relation). The combination of previously-measured parallaxes, interferometric angular diameters and rates of period change allows for predictions of Ceph…
Aims: We attempt to revise the period-amplitude (P-A) relationship of Galactic Cepheids based on multi-colour photometric and radial velocity data. Reliable P-A graphs for Galactic Cepheids constructed for the U, B, V, R_C, and I_C photometric bands and pulsational radial velocity variations facilitate investigations of previously poorly studied interrelations between observable amplitudes. The effects of both binarity and metallicity on the observed amplitude, and the dichotomy between short- and long-period Cepheids can both be studied. Results: Large amplitude Cepheids with companions exhib…
We determine Period-Luminosity relations for Milky Way Cepheids in the optical and near-IR bands. These relations can be used directly as reference for extra-galactic distance determination to Cepheid populations with solar metallicity, and they form the basis for a direct comparison with relations obtained in exactly the same manner for stars in the Magellanic Clouds, presented in an accompanying paper. In that paper we show that the metallicity effect is very small and consistent with a null effect, particularly in the near-IR bands, and we combine here all 111 Cepheids from the Milky Way, t…
V371 Per was found to be a double-mode Cepheid with a fundamental mode period of 1.738 days, the shortest among Galactic beat Cepheids, and an unusually high period ratio of 0.731, while the other Galactic beat Cepheids have period ratios between 0.697 and 0.713. The latter suggests that the star has a metallicity [Fe/H] between -1 and -0.7. The derived distance from the Galactic Plane places it in the Thick Disk or the Halo, while all other Galactic beat Cepheids belong to the Thin Disk. There are indications from historical data that both the fundamental and first overtone periods have lengt…
The classical Cepheid $l$ Carinae is an essential calibrator of the Cepheid Leavitt Law as a rare long-period Galactic Cepheid. Understanding the properties of this star will also constrain the physics and evolution of massive ($M \ge 8$ $M_\odot$) Cepheids. The challenge, however, is precisely measuring the star's pulsation period and its rate of period change. The former is important for calibrating the Leavitt Law and the latter for stellar evolution modeling. In this work, we combine previous time-series observations spanning more than a century with new observations to remeasure the pulsa…
We undertake a new test of the metallicity sensitivity of the Leavitt Law for Classical Cepheids. We derive an empirical calibration of the apparent luminosities of Cepheids as measured from the optical through the mid-infrared (0.45-8.0um) as a function of spectroscopic [Fe/H] abundances of individual Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud from Romaniello et al. (2008). The cumulative trend over the entire wavelength range shows a nearly monotonic behavior. The sense of the trend is consistent with differential line-blanketing in the optical, leading to stars of high metallicity being fainter…
Classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae-type stars are usually considered to be textbook examples of purely radial, strictly periodic pulsators. Not all the variables, however, conform to this simple picture. In this review I discuss different forms of multi-periodicity observed in Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars, including Blazhko effect and various types of radial and nonradial multi-mode oscillations.
Classical variables like RR Lyrae, classical and Type-II Cepheids and Mira variables all follow period-luminosity relations that make them interesting as distance indicators. Especially the RR Lyrae and delta Cepheids are crucial in establishing the distance scale in the Universe, and all classes of variables can be used as tracers of galactic structure. I will present an overview of recent period-luminosity relations and review the work that has been done using the Gaia DR1 data so far, and discuss possibilities for the future
We present multiphase Period-Color/Amplitude-Color/Period-Luminosity relations using OGLE III and Galactic Cepheid data and compare with state of the art theoretical pulsation models. Using this new way to compare models and observations, we find convincing evidence that both Period-Color and Period-Luminosity Relations as a function of phase are dynamic and highly nonlinear at certain pulsation phases. We extend this to a multiphase Wesenheit function and find the same result. Hence our results cannot be due to reddening errors. We present statistical tests and the urls of movies depicting th…
Investigating period changes of classical Cepheids through the framework of $O-C$ diagrams provides a unique insight to the evolution and nature of these variable stars. In this work, the new or extended $O-C$ diagrams for 148 Galactic classical Cepheids are presented. By correlating the calculated period change rates with the Gaia EDR3 colours, we obtain observational indications for the non-negligible dependence of the period change rate on the horizontal position within the instability strip. We find period fluctuations in 59 Cepheids with a confidence level of 99%, which are distributed un…
