Related papers: Verifying the Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function…

We explore the shape of the galaxy luminosity function (LF) in groups of different mass by creating composite LFs over large numbers of groups. Following previous work using total group luminosity as the mass indicator, here we split our…

Globular clusters are among the first objects used to establish the distance scale of the Universe. In the 1970-ies it has been recognized that the differential magnitude distribution of old globular clusters is very similar in different…

The ``Synthetic Field Method'' (SFM) was introduced by Gonzalez et al. (1998) to calibrate numbers of distant galaxies as a probe of extinction in a foreground spiral disk. Gonzalez et al. (2003) studied the effect of the foreground disk on…

The rationale behind recent calibrations of the Cepheid PL relation using the Wesenheit formulation is reviewed and reanalyzed, and it is shown that recent conclusions regarding a possible change in slope of the PL relation for short-period…

This review highlights the properties of the planetary nebulae in external galaxies as tracers of light, of the stellar population properties, and of the distances and kinematics of the parent galaxies. Recent results on the kinematics of…

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to…

This is the first of two papers reporting measurements from a program to determine the Hubble constant to 5% precision from a refurbished distance ladder. We present new observations of 110 Cepheid variables in the host galaxies of two…

The primary distance indicators are established in our Galaxy and the Local Group. There are at least four different methods which give good distances: methods using proper motions, RR Lyraes, Cepheid variables, and Type II supernovae.…

The Abell 780 cluster, better known as the Hydra A cluster, has been thouroughly analyzed in X-rays. However, little is known on its optical properties. We derive the galaxy luminosity function (GLF) in this apparently relaxed cluster, and…

Redshift-independent distances underpin much of astrophysics, and there exists a plethora of methods to estimate them. However, the extent to which the distances they imply are consistent, while crucial for the integrity of the distance…

This paper introduces a statistical treatment to use Cepheid variable stars as distance indicators. The expansion rate of the Universe is also studied here through deriving the value of the Hubble constant H0. A Gaussian function…

We present the results from a CCD survey of the B-band luminosity functions of 9 nine clusters of galaxies, and compare them with published photographic luminosity functions of nearby poor clusters like Virgo and Fornax and also to the…

The extragalactic distance scale relies heavily on Cepheids. However, it has become clear from observations and pulsation models that the slope and zero point of their P-L relations differ from galaxy to galaxy. This makes the determination…

We use the two-point correlation function in redshift space, $\xi(s)$, to study the clustering of the galaxies and groups of the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) Sample, which is a nearly all-sky, complete, magnitude-limited sample of \~7000…

Recent progress on Baade-Wesselink (BW)-type techniques to determine the distances to classical Cepheids is reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on the near-infrared surface-brightness (IRSB) version of the BW method. Its most recent…

Distances of galaxies in the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project are based on the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. An alternative basis is the tip of the red giant branch. Using archival HST data, we calibrate the infrared Tully-Fisher…

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…

It is well-known that the peak brightness of the Type Ia supernovae calibrated with Cepheid distances can be used to determine the Hubble constant. The Cepheid distances to host galaxies of the calibrating supernovae are usually obtained…

We have developed a new procedure for the generation of a planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF), improving on previous work. The procedure is based, as before, on an exponential central star mass distribution, on H-burning post-AGB…

The shape of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) is measured for a sample of 14 elliptical galaxies, predominantly low-luminosity ellipticals. The sample is dominated by galaxies in the Virgo cluster but also contains…