Related papers: Variable stars as standard candles and stellar tra…
We present some recent findings concerning the use of RR Lyrae as distance indicators and stellar tracers. We outline pros and cons of field and cluster RR Lyrae stars and discuss recent theoretical findings concerning the use of the Bailey…
In this invited review I discuss the calibration and applications of the period-luminosity relation of classical Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars. After a brief introduction, starting with results from Hipparcos and discussing some post-Hipparcos…
Context. Cepheids are pulsating stars that play a crucial role in several astrophysical contexts. Among the different types, the Classical Cepheids are fundamental tools for the calibration of the extragalactic distance ladder. They are…
The RR Lyrae distance scale is reviewed. In particular, we discuss theoretical and empirical methods currently adopted in the literature. Moreover, we also outline pros and cons of optical and near-infrared mean magnitudes to overcome some…
We present the results of a search for short-period variable stars in Leo A. We have found 92 candidate variables, including eight candidate RR Lyrae stars. From the RR Lyraes, we measure a distance modulus of (m-M)_0 = 24.51 +/- 0.12, or…
The extragalactic distance scale is perhaps the most important application of stellar distance indicators. Among these, classical Cepheids are high-accuracy standard candles that support a $1.4\%$ measurement of Hubble's constant, $H_0$.…
We examine the overall consistency of the primary distance indicators and ways for a satisfactory resolution of the Cepheid-RR Lyrae zero point discrepancy.
Developments of this far-reaching research field are summarized from an observational point of view, mentioning important and interesting phenomena discovered recently by photometry of stellar oscillations of any kind. A special emphasis is…
Gaia Data Release 1 contains parallaxes for more than 700 Galactic Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars, computed as part of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). We have used TGAS parallaxes, along with literature ($V, I, J, {K_\mathrm{s}},…
We review the phenomenology of classical Cepheids (CCs), Anomalous Cepheids (ACs) and type II Cepheids (TIICs) in the Milky Way (MW) and in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). We also examine the Hertzsprung progression in different stellar…
The popularity of pulsating stars resides in their capacity of determining several crucial and relevant parameters such as heliocentric distances, ages, metallicity gradients and reddening. RR Lyrae stars are old stellar tracers and have…
Variable stars with well-calibrated period-luminosity relationships provide accurate distance measurements to nearby galaxies and are therefore a vital tool for cosmology and astrophysics. While these measurements typically rely on samples…
Recent surveys have detected RR Lyrae stars in M33, the Triangulum Galaxy. These variable stars are excellent tracers of ancient stellar populations. The RR Lyrae stars have been used to estimate metallicities at various locations within…
The present status of the distance scale to Galactic globular clusters is reviewed. Six distance determination techniques which are deemed to be most reliable are discussed in depth. These different techniques are used to calibrate the…
Long-period variables are bright, evolved red giant stars showing periodic photometric changes due to stellar pulsation. They follow one or more period-luminosity and period-age relations, which make them highly promising distance…
Classical Cepheids (CCs) and RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) are important classes of variable stars used as standard candles to estimate galactic and extragalactic distances. Their multiplicity is imperfectly known, particularly for RRLs.…
Old-aged stellar distance indicators are present in all Galactic structures (halo, bulge, disk) and in galaxies of all Hubble types and, thus, are immensely powerful tools for understanding our Universe. Here we present a comprehensive…
We present an overview of our study of the short period variable stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and in the dwarf galaxies Fornax, Leo I, and NGC 6822. Light curves are presented for RR Lyrae stars, Anomalous Cepheids and, for the…
We present a search for X-ray counterparts to RR Lyrae and Cepheid variables using data from the first eROSITA all-sky survey. We identify seven RR Lyrae and eight Cepheid variables with positional matches to X-ray sources. While most…
Parallaxes for 331 classical Cepheids, 31 Type II Cepheids and 364 RR Lyrae stars in common between Gaia and the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues are published in Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1) as part of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution…