2010ApJ...709..120M -
Astrophys. J., 709, 120-134 (2010/January-3)
Galactic cepheids with Spitzer. I. Leavitt law and colors.
MARENGO M., EVANS N.R., BARMBY P., BONO G., WELCH D.L. and ROMANIELLO M.
Abstract (from CDS):
Classical Cepheid variable stars have been important indicators of extragalactic distance and Galactic evolution for over a century. The Spitzer Space Telescope has opened the possibility of extending the study of Cepheids into the mid- and far-infrared, where interstellar extinction is reduced. We have obtained photometry from images of a sample of Galactic Cepheids with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Infrared Photometer for Spitzer instruments on Spitzer. Here we present the first mid-infrared period-luminosity relations for Classical Cepheids in the Galaxy, and the first ever Cepheid period-luminosity relations at 24 and 70 µm. We compare these relations with theoretical predictions, and with period-luminosity relations obtained in recent studies of the Large Magellanic Cloud. We find a significant period-color relation for the [3.6] - [8.0] IRAC color. Other mid-infrared colors for both Cepheids and non-variable supergiants are strongly affected by variable molecular spectral features, in particular deep CO absorption bands. We do not find strong evidence for mid-infrared excess caused by warm (∼500 K) circumstellar dust. We discuss the possibility that recent detections with near-infrared interferometers of circumstellar shells around δ Cep, ℓ Car, Polaris, Y Oph, and RS Pup may be a signature of shocked gas emission in a dust-poor wind associated with pulsation-driven mass loss.
Abstract Copyright:
∼
Journal keyword(s):
distance scale - infrared: stars - stars: mass-loss - stars: variables: Cepheids
Simbad objects:
44
Full paper
View the references in ADS
To bookmark this query, right click on this link: simbad:2010ApJ...709..120M and select 'bookmark this link' or equivalent in the popup menu