Related papers: Cosmic Distances: Current Odds and Future Perspect…

Cepheids are fundamental distance indicators, playing a crucial role not only in the cosmic distance ladder but also in mapping the structure, kinematics, and extinction properties of the Milky Way. Using high-precision photometry and…

We discuss the impact of possible differences in the slope of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation on the determination of extragalactic distances in the context of recent studies that suggest changes in this slope. We show that the…

We use data on variable stars from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE III) survey to determine the three-dimensional structure of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Deriving individual distances to RR Lyrae stars and Cepheids…

Significant progress has been made during the last 10 years toward resolving the debate over the expansion rate of the Universe. The current value of the Hubble parameter, Ho, is now arguably known with an accuracy of 10%, largely due to…

Hipparcos parallaxes have recently become available for a sample of Galactic Cepheids, and we have used these new distances to calibrate the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL) relation at six wavelengths (BVIJHK). Comparing these calibrations…

We present the results of a comprehensive theoretical investigation on the Period-Radius (PR) relation of classical Cepheids based on new sequences of full amplitude, nonlinear convective models constructed by adopting a wide range of both…

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…

The cosmological distance ladder crucially depends on classical Cepheids (with P=3-80 days), which are primary distance indicators up to 33 Mpc. Within this volume, very few SNe Ia have been calibrated through classical Cepheids, with…

This review examines progress on the Pop I, fundamental-mode Cepheid distance scale with emphasis on recent developments in geometric and quasi-geometric techniques for Cepheid distance determination. Specifically I examine the surface…

Type II Cepheids are pulsating stars that can be used as standard candles for old stellar populations due to their characteristic Period-Luminosity and Period-Luminosity-Colour relations. They are traditionally divided in 3 sub-classes,…

We present an investigation of Cepheid distances using theory and observations. Cepheid models indicate that the slope of the Period-Luminosity (P-L) relation covering the entire period range (0.40<= logP <=2.0) becomes steeper when moving…

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…

Estimating metallicity of classical Cepheids is of prime importance for studying metallicity effect on stellar evolution, chemical evolution of galaxies, and ultimately its impact on period-luminosity relation used in the extragalactic…

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…

High-precision (sigma < 0.01) new JHK observations of 226 of the brightest and nearest red clump stars in the solar neighbourhood are used to determine distance moduli for the LMC. The resulting K- and H-band values of 18.47\pm0.02 and…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the metallicity dependence of the $PL$-relation in $V$ and $K$ based on a sample of 68 Galactic Cepheids with individual Baade-Wesselink distances (some of the stars also have an HST-based parallax)…

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…

I summarize recent work comparing relative distances measured to individual galaxies with independent methods. The comparisons include: ground-based surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) and fundamental plane distances to 170 galaxies,…

Milky-Way and intergalactic dust extinction and reddening must be accounted for in measurements of distances throughout the universe. This work provides a comprehensive review of the various impacts of cosmic dust focusing specifically on…

We use parallax data from the Gaia second data release (GDR2), combined with parallax data based on Hipparcos and HST data, to derive the period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) relation for Galactic classical cepheids (CCs) in the V,K, and…