Related papers: Rotation, convective core overshooting, and period…
We explore the role of mass loss and convective core overshoot in the evolution of Classical Cepheids. Stellar evolution models are computed with a recipe for pulsation-driven mass loss and it is found that mass loss alone is unable to…
Classical Cepheid variable stars are high-sensitivity probes of stellar evolution and fundamental tracers of cosmic distances. While rotational mixing significantly affects the evolution of Cepheid progenitors (intermediate-mass stars), the…
Classical Cepheid variable stars are both sensitive astrophysical laboratories and accurate cosmic distance tracers. We have recently investigated how the evolutionary effects of rotation impact the properties of these important stars and…
Context. A longstanding challenge for understanding classical Cepheids is the Cepheid mass discrepancy, where theoretical mass estimates using stellar evolution and stellar pulsation calculations have been found to differ by approximately…
The $\beta$ Cephei stars represent an important class of massive star pulsators probing the evolution of B-type stars and the transition from main sequence to hydrogen-shell burning evolution. By understanding $\beta$ Cep stars, we gain…
Measurements of rates of period change of Classical Cepheids probe stellar physics and evolution. Additionally, better understanding of Cepheid structure and evolution provides greater insight into their use as standard candles and tools…
[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…
Evolutionary tracks for $2-8M_\odot$ stars, with metallicities of $Z=0.014$, $0.006$, and $0.002$, including rotation, are computed with Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). We study how rotation impacts the evolutionary…
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…
Evolutionary tracks for 2-8M$_\odot$ models, covering a [Fe/H]=$-$1.0 ($Z=0.0014$) to [Fe/H]=+0.2 ($Z=0.02$) metallicity range are computed with Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics, MESA, to investigate evolutionary and…
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…
The Cepheid mass discrepancy, the difference between mass estimates from stellar pulsation and stellar evolution models, is a long standing challenge for the understanding of stellar astrophysics. We discuss the current state of the mass…
Cepheids have long been used as standard candles to determine distances around the Milky Way and to nearby galaxies. A discrepancy still remains for Hubble Constant determinations using Cepheids vs. the cosmic microwave background or…
We recently showed that rotation significantly affects most observable Cepheid quantities, and that rotation, in combination with the evolutionary status of the star, can resolve the long-standing Cepheid mass discrepancy problem. We…
Polaris is one of the most observed stars in the night sky, with recorded observations spanning more than 200 years. From these observations, one can study the real-time evolution of Polaris via the secular rate of change of the pulsation…
Polaris the Cepheid has been observed for centuries, presenting surprises and changing our view of Cepheids and stellar astrophysics, in general. Specifically, understanding Polaris helps anchor the Cepheid Leavitt law, but the distance…
We have selected a sample of Galactic Cepheids for which accurate estimates of radii, distances, and photometric parameters are available. The comparison between their pulsation masses, based on new Period-Mass-Radius (PMR) relations, and…
In spite of the great effort made in the last decades to improve our understanding of stellar evolution, significant uncertainties remain due to our poor knowledge of some complex physical processes that require an empirical calibration,…
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 ($M \ge 8$…
Context. The Cepheid mass discrepancy, the difference between masses predicted from stellar evolution and stellar pulsation calculations, is a challenge for the understanding of stellar astrophysics. Recent models of the eclipsing binary…