Related papers: A Bayesian Analysis of the Cepheid Distance Scale
Recent studies have revealed a hitherto unknown complexity of Cepheid pulsation. We implement local kernel regression to search for both period and amplitude modulations simultaneously in continuous time and to investigate their…
The extragalactic distance scale builds directly on the Cepheid Period-Luminosity (PL) relation as delineated by the sample of Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). However, the LMC is a dwarf irregular galaxy, quite different from…
Through an innovative combination of multiple observing techniques and mod- eling, we are assembling a comprehensive understanding of the pulsation and close environment of Cepheids. We developed the SPIPS modeling tool that combines all…
Recent work on the luminosities of type II Cepheids (CephIIs) and RR Lyrae variables is reviewed.In the near infrared (JHKs) the CephIIs in globular clusters show a narrow, linear, period-luminosity relation over their whole period range…
Recent photometric observations of first-overtone classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars have led to the discovery of additional frequencies showing a characteristic period ratio of 0.60-0.65 with the main pulsation mode. In a promising…
Near infrared (IR) studies of Cepheid variables in the LMC take advantage of the reduced light curve amplitude and metallicity dependence at these wavelengths. This work presents such photometry for two young clusters known to contain…
We developed a code that estimates distances to stars using measured spectroscopic and photometric quantities. We employ a Bayesian approach to build the probability distribution function over stellar evolutionary models given these data,…
We present a theoretical investigation of multifilter (U,B,V, I and K) light and radial velocity curves of five Classical Cepheids in NGC 1866, a young massive cluster of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The best fit models accounting for the…
We present the first extensive and detailed theoretical scenario for the interpretation of Cepheid properties observed in the SDSS filters. Three sets of nonlinear convective pulsation models, corresponding to the chemical compositions of…
A new fine grid of nonlinear convective pulsation models for the so-called "bump Cepheids" is presented to investigate the Hertzprung progression (HP) phenomenon shown by their light and radial pulsation velocity curves. The period…
We review the use of Bayesian Model Averaging in astrophysics. We first introduce the statistical basis of Bayesian Model Selection and Model Averaging. We discuss methods to calculate the model-averaged posteriors, including Markov Chain…
We present a new method to compute wavelength- and phase-dependent limb darkening corrections for classical Cepheids. These corrections are derived from hydrodynamic simulations and radiative transfer modeling with a full set of atomic and…
We present a technique for decomposing Cepheid light curves into their fundamental constituent parts; that is, their radius and temperature variations. We demonstrate that any given pair of optical luminosity and color curves can be used to…
We develop a method for separating quasars from other variable point sources using SDSS Stripe 82 light curve data for ~10,000 variable objects. To statistically describe quasar variability, we use a damped random walk model parametrized by…
Context. One challenge for measuring the Hubble constant using Classical Cepheids is the calibration of the Leavitt Law or period-luminosity relationship. The Baade-Wesselink method for distance determination to Cepheids relies on the ratio…
We present a new derivation of the CORS Baade-Wesselink method in the Walraven photometric system. We solved the complete Baade-Wesselink equation by calibrating the surface brightness function with a recent grid of atmosphere models. The…
The discovery of a large number of beat Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud in the MACHO survey, provides an opportunity to compare the characteristics of such Cepheids over a range of metallicities. We produced a large grid of linear…
We present a detailed analysis of the light curves and pulsation properties of First Overtone (FO) Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) obtained using observations and predictions from stellar pulsation models. Multiwavelength…
The weak-field approximation is one of the simplest models that allows us to relate the observed polarization induced by the Zeeman effect with the magnetic field vector present on the plasma of interest. It is usually applied for…
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,…