Direct detection of pulsations of the Cepheid star ζ Gem and an independent calibration of the period–luminosity relation

B. F. Lane, M. J. Kuchner, A. F. Boden, M. Creech-Eakman and S. R. Kulkarni ()
Additional contact information
B. F. Lane: Palomar Observatory 105-24,
M. J. Kuchner: Palomar Observatory 105-24,
A. F. Boden: Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
M. Creech-Eakman: California Institute of Technology
S. R. Kulkarni: Palomar Observatory 105-24,

Nature, 2000, vol. 407, issue 6803, 485-487

Abstract: Abstract Cepheids are a class of variable (pulsating) stars whose absolute luminosities are related in a simple manner to their pulsational periods. By measuring the period and using the ‘period–luminosity’ relationship, astronomers can use the observed visual brightness to determine the distance to the star. Because these stars are very luminous, they can be observed in other galaxies, and therefore can be used to help determine the expansion rate of the Universe1 (the Hubble constant). Calibration of the period–luminosity relation is a necessary first step, but the small number of sufficiently nearby Cepheids has forced the use of a number of indirect means, with associated systematic uncertainties. Here we present a distance to the Cepheid ζ Geminorum, determined using a direct measurement (by an optical interferometer) of its changes in diameter as it pulsates. Within our uncertainty of 15 per cent, our distance is in agreement with previous indirect determinations. Planned improvements to the instrument will allow us to calibrate directly the period–luminosity relation to better than a few per cent.

Date: 2000
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/35035015 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:407:y:2000:i:6803:d:10.1038_35035015

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/35035015

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().