Related papers: A new look at the primary distance indicators

We review the use of Cepheids as distance indicators with particular emphasis on the methods which have been applied to HST observations of Cepheids. The calibration of the period-luminosity relations is examined in detail and we identify…

Like Hipparcos, Gaia is designed to give absolute parallaxes, independent of any astrophysical reference system. And indeed, Gaia's internal zero-point error for parallaxes is likely to be smaller than any individual parallax error.…

A summary is given of the calibration of the Cepheid scale required in the derivation of distances from observations at V and I, as in the HST work on extragalactic Cepheids. There is some evidence that a small metallicity correction may be…

Preliminary evidence is presented reaffirming that SX Phe, RR Lyrae, and Type II Cepheid variables may be characterized by a common Wesenheit period-magnitude relation, to first order. Reliable distance estimates to RR Lyrae variables and…

A summary is given of an analysis of the Hipparcos trigonometrical parallaxes and proper motions of classical Cepheids. It is possible for the first time to derive zero-points for the period-luminosity and period-luminosity-colour relations…

RR Lyrae stars are one of the primary distance indicators for old stellar populations such as globular clusters, dwarf galaxies and galaxies. Typically, fundamental-mode RR Lyr stars are used for distance measurements, and their accuracy is…

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…

Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of…

Determining the expansion of the universe, i.e. the Hubble constant (H0) to better than 2% is required in order to understand the nature of dark energy. However, the two most accurate methods to do it, the cosmic microwave background and…

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…

We infer distances and their asymmetric uncertainties for two million stars using the parallaxes published in the Gaia DR1 (GDR1) catalogue. We do this with two distance priors: A minimalist, isotropic prior assuming an exponentially…

Context. The Gaia satellite will measure highly accurate absolute parallaxes of hundreds of millions of stars by comparing the parallactic displacements in the two fields of view of the optical instrument. The requirements on the stability…

The Cepheid period-luminosity relation is the primary distance indicator used in most determinations of the Hubble constant. The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is an alternative basis. Using the new ANU SkyMapper Telescope, we calibrate…

The separation between RR Lyrae (RRLs) and Type II Cepheid (T2Cs) variables based on their period is debated. Both types of variable stars are distance indicators and we aim to promote the use of T2Cs as distance indicators in synergy with…

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…

We document the presence of a few Cepheid and RR Lyrae variable stars with previously unrecognized characteristics. These stars exhibit the property of a period ratio of main pulsation divided by secondary pulsation P1/P2 very close to…

Classical Cepheids are well-known and widely used distance indicators. As distance and extinction are usually degenerate, it is important to develop suitable methods to robustly anchor the distance scale. Here, we introduce a near-infrared…

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}},…

RR Lyrae (RRL) variable stars are cornerstone distance indicators. In particular, double-mode RR Lyrae (RRd) stars enable period--luminosity relations (PLRs) that are less sensitive to metallicity, reducing systematic biases in distance…

The Galactic calibration of the period-luminosity (PL) relation for classical Cepheids is examined using trigonometric, open cluster, and pulsation parallaxes, which help establish independent versions of the relationship. The calibration…