Abstract
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 Telescope. We also compared currently empirical P-L relations for Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds to the synthetic MIR P-L relations derived from pulsational models.
For the study of multi-phase P-L relations, we present convincing evidence that the Cepheid P-L relations in the Magellanic Clouds are highly dynamic quantities that vary significantly when considered as a function of pulsational phase. We found that there is a difference in P-L relations as a function of phase between the Cepheids in each of the Clouds; the most likely cause for this is the metallicity difference between the two galaxies. We also investigated the dispersion of the multi-phase P-L relations, and found that the minimum dispersions do not differ significantly from the mean light P-L dispersion.
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Notes
This is because the evolutionary effects on this P-L break, if exist, should be independent of observed band-passes.
The other four criteria, as quoted from Aaronson and Mould (1986), are: “sound physical basis, quantitative observables, measurables needing minimal corrections, and applicability over a wide distance range”.
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CCN thanks the funding from National Science Council (of Taiwan) under the contract NSC 98-2112-M-008-013-MY3.
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Ngeow, CC., Kanbur, S.M., Bellinger, E.P. et al. Period-luminosity relations for Cepheid variables: from mid-infrared to multi-phase. Astrophys Space Sci 341, 105–113 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-012-1018-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-012-1018-5