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Random forest automated supervised classification of Hipparcos periodic variable stars
We present an evaluation of the performance of an automatedclassification of the Hipparcos periodic variable stars into 26 types.The sub-sample with the most reliable variability types available in theliterature is used to train supervised algorithms to characterize thetype dependencies on a number of attributes. The most useful attributesevaluated with the random forest methodology include, in decreasingorder of importance, the period, the amplitude, the V-I colour index,the absolute magnitude, the residual around the folded light-curvemodel, the magnitude distribution skewness and the amplitude of thesecond harmonic of the Fourier series model relative to that of thefundamental frequency. Random forests and a multi-stage scheme involvingBayesian network and Gaussian mixture methods lead to statisticallyequivalent results. In standard 10-fold cross-validation (CV)experiments, the rate of correct classification is between 90 and 100per cent, depending on the variability type. The main mis-classificationcases, up to a rate of about 10 per cent, arise due to confusion betweenSPB and ACV blue variables and between eclipsing binaries, ellipsoidalvariables and other variability types. Our training set and thepredicted types for the other Hipparcos periodic stars are availableonline.
| Bayesian inference of stellar parameters and interstellar extinction using parallaxes and multiband photometry
Astrometric surveys provide the opportunity to measure the absolutemagnitudes of large numbers of stars, but only if the individualline-of-sight extinctions are known. Unfortunately, extinction is highlydegenerate with stellar effective temperature when estimated frombroad-band optical/infrared photometry. To address this problem, Iintroduce a Bayesian method for estimating the intrinsic parameters of astar and its line-of-sight extinction. It uses both photometry andparallaxes in a self-consistent manner in order to provide anon-parametric posterior probability distribution over the parameters.The method makes explicit use of domain knowledge by employing theHertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD) to constrain solutions and to ensurethat they respect stellar physics. I first demonstrate this method byusing it to estimate effective temperature and extinction from BVJHKdata for a set of artificially reddened Hipparcos stars, for whichaccurate effective temperatures have been estimated from high-resolutionspectroscopy. Using just the four colours, we see the expected strongdegeneracy (positive correlation) between the temperature andextinction. Introducing the parallax, apparent magnitude and the HRDreduces this degeneracy and improves both the precision (reduces theerror bars) and the accuracy of the parameter estimates, the latter byabout 35 per cent. The resulting accuracy is about 200 K in temperatureand 0.2 mag in extinction. I then apply the method to estimate theseparameters and absolute magnitudes for some 47 000 F, G, K Hipparcosstars which have been cross-matched with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey(2MASS). The method can easily be extended to incorporate the estimationof other parameters, in particular metallicity and surface gravity,making it particularly suitable for the analysis of the 109stars from Gaia.
| Observational studies of Cepheid amplitudes. I. Period-amplitude relationships for Galactic Cepheids and interrelation of amplitudes
Context: The dependence of amplitude on the pulsation period differsfrom other Cepheid-related relationships. Aims: We attempt torevise the period-amplitude (P-A) relationship of Galactic Cepheidsbased on multi-colour photometric and radial velocity data. Reliable P-Agraphs for Galactic Cepheids constructed for the U, B, V, R_C, andIC photometric bands and pulsational radial velocityvariations facilitate investigations of previously poorly studiedinterrelations between observable amplitudes. The effects of bothbinarity and metallicity on the observed amplitude, and the dichotomybetween short- and long-period Cepheids can both be studied. Methods: A homogeneous data set was created that contains basicphysical and phenomenological properties of 369 Galactic Cepheids.Pulsation periods were revised and amplitudes were determined by theFourier method. P-A graphs were constructed and an upper envelope to thedata points was determined in each graph. Correlations between variousamplitudes and amplitude-related parameters were searched for, usingCepheids without known companions. Results: Large amplitudeCepheids with companions exhibit smaller photometric amplitudes onaverage than solitary ones, as expected, while s-Cepheids pulsate withan arbitrary (although small) amplitude. The ratio of the observedradial velocity to blue photometric amplitudes, AV_RAD/A_B,is not as good an indicator of the pulsation mode as predictedtheoretically. This may be caused by an incorrect mode assignment to anumber of small amplitude Cepheids, which are not necessarily firstovertone pulsators. The dependence of the pulsation amplitudes onwavelength is used to identify duplicity of Cepheids. More than twentystars previously classified as solitary Cepheids are now suspected tohave a companion. The ratio of photometric amplitudes observed invarious bands confirms the existence of a dichotomy among normalamplitude Cepheids. The limiting period separating short- andlong-period Cepheids is 10.47 days. Conclusions:Interdependences of pulsational amplitudes, the period dependence of theamplitude parameters, and the dichotomy have to be taken into account asconstraints in modelling the structure and pulsation of Cepheids.Studies of the P-L relationship must comply with the break at 10.47°instead of the currently used “convenient” value of 10 days.Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/504/959
| Galactic abundance gradients from Cepheids. On the iron abundance gradient around 10-12 kpc
Context: Classical Cepheids are excellent tracers of intermediate-massstars, since their distances can be estimated with very high accuracy.In particular, they can be adopted to trace the chemical evolution ofthe Galactic disk. Aims: Homogeneous iron abundance measurements for 33Galactic Cepheids located in the outer disk together with accuratedistance determinations based on near-infrared photometry are adopted toconstrain the Galactic iron gradient beyond 10 kpc. Methods: Ironabundances were determined using high resolution Cepheid spectracollected with three different observational instruments: ESPaDOnS@CFHT,Narval@TBL and FEROS@2.2m ESO/MPG telescope. Cepheid distances wereestimated using near-infrared (J,H,K-band) period-luminosity relationsand data from SAAO and the 2MASS catalog. Results: The least squaressolution over the entire data set indicates that the iron gradient inthe Galactic disk presents a slope of -0.052±0.003 textrm {dexkpc}-1 in the 5-17 kpc range. However, the change of the ironabundance across the disk seems to be better described by a linearregime inside the solar circle and a flattening of the gradient towardthe outer disk (beyond 10 kpc). In the latter region the iron gradientpresents a shallower slope, i.e. -0.012±0.014 textrm {dexkpc}-1. In the outer disk (10-12 kpc) we also found thatCepheids present an increase in the spread in iron abundance. Currentevidence indicates that the spread in metallicity depends on theGalactocentric longitude. Finally, current data do not support thehypothesis of a discontinuity in the iron gradient at Galactocentricdistances of 10-12 kpc. Conclusions: The occurrence of a spread in ironabundance as a function of the Galactocentric longitude indicates thatlinear radial gradients should be cautiously treated to constrain thechemical evolution across the disk.
| Reddenings of FGK supergiants and classical Cepheids from spectroscopic data
Accurate and homogeneous atmospheric parameters(Teff,logg,Vt, [Fe/H]) are derived for 74 FGKnon-variable supergiants from high-resolution, high signal-to-noiseratio, echelle spectra. Extremely high precision for the inferredeffective temperatures (10-40K) is achieved by using the line-depthratio method. The new data are combined with atmospheric values for 164classical Cepheids, observed at 675 different pulsation phases, takenfrom our previously published studies. The derived values are correlatedwith unreddened B - V colours compiled from the literature for theinvestigated stars in order to obtain an empirical relationship of theform (B - V)0 = 57.984 -10.3587(logTeff)2 +1.67572(logTeff)3 - 3.356logg +0.0321Vt + 0.2615[Fe/H] + 0.8833(logg)(logTeff).The expression is used to estimate colour excesses E(B - V) forindividual supergiants and classical Cepheids, with a precision of+/-0.05 mag for supergiants and Cepheids with n = 1-2 spectra, reaching+/-0.025mag for Cepheids with n > 2 spectra, matching uncertaintiesfor the most sophisticated photometric techniques. The reddening scaleis also a close match to the system of space reddenings for Cepheids.The application range is for spectral types F0-K0 and luminosity classesI and II.
| Photoelectric observations of Cepheids in UBV(RI)c (Berdnikov, 2008)
This catalog gathers the observation of 894 Cepheids made between 1986to 2004.Observations are listed in alphabetical order of the constellations. Thestandard deviation for every magnitude and color is 0.01mag.This version supersedes the 1997 edition (Cat. )(3 data files).
| A new calibration of Galactic Cepheid period-luminosity relations from B to K bands, and a comparison to LMC relations
Context: The universality of the Cepheid period-luminosity (PL)relations has been under discussion since metallicity effects wereassumed to play a role in the value of the intercept and, more recently,of the slope of these relations. Aims: The goal of the present study isto calibrate the Galactic PL relations in various photometric bands(from B to K) and to compare the results to the well-established PLrelations in the LMC. Methods: We use a set of 59 calibrating stars,the distances of which are measured using five different distanceindicators: Hubble Space Telescope and revised Hipparcos parallaxes,infrared surface brightness and interferometric Baade-Wesselinkparallaxes, and classical Zero-Age-Main-Sequence-fitting parallaxes forCepheids belonging to open clusters or OB stars associations. A detaileddiscussion of absorption corrections and projection factor to be used isgiven. Results: We find no significant difference in the slopes of thePL relations between LMC and our Galaxy. Conclusions: We conclude thatthe Cepheid PL relations have universal slopes in all photometric bands,not depending on the galaxy under study (at least for LMC and MilkyWay). The possible zero-point variation with metal content is notdiscussed in the present work, but an upper limit of 18.50 for the LMCdistance modulus can be deduced from our data.Tables 2, 6 and 7 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.aanda.org
| Cepheid parallaxes and the Hubble constant
Revised Hipparcos parallaxes for classical Cepheids are analysedtogether with 10 Hubble Space Telescope (HST)-based parallaxes. In areddening-free V, I relation we find that the coefficient of logP is thesame within the uncertainties in our Galaxy as in the Large MagellanicCloud (LMC), contrary to some previous suggestions. Cepheids in theinner region of NGC4258 with near solar metallicities confirm thisresult. We obtain a zero-point for the reddening-free relation and applyit to the Cepheids in galaxies used by Sandage et al. to calibrate theabsolute magnitudes of Type Ia supernova (SNIa) and to derive the Hubbleconstant. We revise their result for H0 from 62 to 70 +/-5kms-1Mpc-1. The Freedman et al. value is revisedfrom 72 to 76 +/- 8kms-1Mpc-1. These results areinsensitive to Cepheid metallicity corrections. The Cepheids in theinner region of NGC4258 yield a modulus of 29.22 +/- 0.03 (int.)compared with a maser-based modulus of 29.29 +/- 0.15. Distance modulifor the LMC, uncorrected for any metallicity effects, are 18.52 +/- 0.03from a reddening-free relation in V, I; 18.47 +/- 0.03 from aperiod-luminosity relation at K; 18.45 +/- 0.04 from aperiod-luminosity-colour relation in J, K. Adopting a metallicitycorrection in V, I from Macri et al. leads to a true LMC modulus of18.39 +/- 0.05.
| The reliability of Cepheid reddenings based on BVIC photometry
Externally determined values of E(B - V) (Espacered) for 40Galactic Cepheids are compared to reddenings determined using B - V andV - IC colour indices and the method of Dean, Warren &Cousins (EBVIC), updated to allow for metallicitycorrections. With three stars omitted on the grounds of uncertainty intheir space reddenings, we find thatThe two scales agree well in scale and zero-point, and there is nosignificant trend with period. Given the non-zero errors in the Cepheidspace reddenings, the estimated error in BVIC Cepheidreddenings is no more than 0.02.The above results are not significantly changed whether one corrects thereddenings for metallicity using older Bell models, or using more recentmodels by Sandage, Bell & Tripicco. Using the SBT models to correctthe reddenings of Cloud Cepheids for metallicity gives slightly smallerreddenings at a given metal deficiency, yielding `new' median reddeningsof 0.056 (Small Magellanic Cloud) and 0.076 (Large Magellanic Cloud) ifwe assume the same metal deficiencies as Caldwell and Coulson. Withmetal deficiencies of [M/H] = -0.7 and -0.25, the median reddenings are0.040 and 0.058.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| New Estimates of the Solar-Neighborhood Massive Star Birthrate and the Galactic Supernova Rate
The birthrate of stars of masses >=10 Msolar is estimatedfrom a sample of just over 400 O3-B2 dwarfs within 1.5 kpc of the Sunand the result extrapolated to estimate the Galactic supernova ratecontributed by such stars. The solar-neighborhood Galactic-plane massivestar birthrate is estimated at ~176 stars kpc-3Myr-1. On the basis of a model in which the Galactic stellardensity distribution comprises a ``disk+central hole'' like that of thedust infrared emission (as proposed by Drimmel and Spergel), theGalactic supernova rate is estimated at probably not less than ~1 normore than ~2 per century and the number of O3-B2 dwarfs within the solarcircle at ~200,000.
| Sodium enrichment of the stellar atmospheres. II. Galactic Cepheids
The present paper is a continuation of our study of the sodium abundancein supergiant atmospheres (Andrievsky et al. 2002a). We present theresults on the NLTE abundance determination in Cepheids, and the derivedrelation between the sodium overabundance and their masses.
| Catalog of Galactic OB Stars
An all-sky catalog of Galactic OB stars has been created by extendingthe Case-Hamburg Galactic plane luminous-stars surveys to include 5500additional objects drawn from the literature. This work brings the totalnumber of known or reasonably suspected OB stars to over 16,000.Companion databases of UBVβ photometry and MK classifications forthese objects include nearly 30,000 and 20,000 entries, respectively.
| Using Cepheids to determine the galactic abundance gradient. I. The solar neighbourhood
A number of studies of abundance gradients in the galactic disk havebeen performed in recent years. The results obtained are ratherdisparate: from no detectable gradient to a rather significant slope ofabout -0.1 dex kpc-1. The present study concerns theabundance gradient based on the spectroscopic analysis of a sample ofclassical Cepheids. These stars enable one to obtain reliable abundancesof a variety of chemical elements. Additionally, they have welldetermined distances which allow an accurate determination of abundancedistributions in the galactic disc. Using 236 high resolution spectra of77 galactic Cepheids, the radial elemental distribution in the galacticdisc between galactocentric distances in the range 6-11 kpc has beeninvestigated. Gradients for 25 chemical elements (from carbon togadolinium) are derived. The following results were obtained in thisstudy. Almost all investigated elements show rather flat abundancedistributions in the middle part of galactic disc. Typical values foriron-group elements lie within an interval from ~-0.02 to ~-0.04 dexkpc-1 (in particular, for iron we obtainedd[Fe/H]/dRG =-0.029 dex kpc-1). Similar gradientswere also obtained for O, Mg, Al, Si, and Ca. For sulphur we have founda steeper gradient (-0.05 dex kpc-1). For elements from Zr toGd we obtained (within the error bars) a near to zero gradient value.This result is reported for the first time. Those elements whoseabundance is not expected to be altered during the early stellarevolution (e.g. the iron-group elements) show at the solargalactocentric distance [El/H] values which are essentially solar.Therefore, there is no apparent reason to consider our Sun as ametal-rich star. The gradient values obtained in the present studyindicate that the radial abundance distribution within 6-11 kpc is quitehomogeneous, and this result favors a galactic model including a barstructure which may induce radial flows in the disc, and thus may beresponsible for abundance homogenization. Based on spectra collected atMcDonald - USA, SAORAS - Russia, KPNO - USA, CTIO - Chile, MSO -Australia, OHP - France. Full Table 1 is only available in electronicform at http://www.edpsciences.org Table A1 (Appendix) is only, andTable 2 also, available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftpto cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/381/32
| Fourier Analysis of Hipparcos Photometry of Cepheid Variables
Fourier parameters have been computed for 240 field Cepheids observed bythe Hipparcos satellite. We have identified three new PopulationIovertone Cepheids: V411Lac, V898 Cen and V572 Aql. We have comparedFourier progressions of Population I and Population II Cepheids. Thepossibility of using Fourier parameters to distinguish between the twotypes is discussed.
| Galactic Cepheids. Catalogue of light-curve parameters and distances
We report a new version of the catalogue of distances and light-curveparameters for Galactic classical Cepheids. The catalogue listsamplitudes, magnitudes at maximum light, and intensity means for 455stars in BVRI filters of the Johnson system and (RI)_C filters of theCron-Cousins system. The distances are based on our new multicolour setof PL relations and on our Cepheid-based solution for interstellarextinction law parameters and are referred to an LMC distance modulus of18.25. The catalogue is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Multi-colour PL-relations of Cepheids in the bt HIPPARCOS catalogue and the distance to the LMC
We analyse a sample of 236 Cepheids from the hipparcos catalog, usingthe method of ``reduced parallaxes'' in V, I, K and the reddening-free``Wesenheit-index''. We compare our sample to those considered by Feast& Catchpole (1997) and Lanoix et al. (1999), and argue that oursample is the most carefully selected one with respect to completeness,the flagging of overtone pulsators, and the removal of Cepheids that mayinfluence the analyses for various reasons (double-mode Cepheids,unreliable hipparcos solutions, possible contaminated photometry due tobinary companions). From numerical simulations, and confirmed by theobserved parallax distribution, we derive a (vertical) scale height ofCepheids of 70 pc, as expected for a population of 3-10 Msunstars. This has consequences for Malmquist- and Lutz-Kelker (Lutz &Kelker 1973, Oudmaijer et al. 1998) type corrections which are smallerfor a disk population than for a spherical population. The V and I datasuggest that the slope of the Galactic PL-relations may be shallowerthan that observed for LMC Cepheids, either for the whole period range,or that there is a break at short periods (near log P_0 ~ 0.7-0.8). Westress the importance of two systematic effects which influence thedistance to the LMC: the slopes of the Galactic PL-relations andmetallicity corrections. In order to assess the influence of thesevarious effects, we present 27 distance moduli (DM) to the LMC. Theseare based on three different colours (V,I,K), three different slopes(the slope observed for Cepheids in the LMC, a shallower slope predictedfrom one set of theoretical models, and a steeper slope as derived forGalactic Cepheids from the surface-brightness technique), and threedifferent metallicity corrections (no correction as predicted by one setof theoretical models, one implying larger DM as predicted by anotherset of theoretical models, and one implying shorter DM based onempirical evidence). We derive DM between 18.45 +/- 0.18 and 18.86 +/-0.12. The DM based on K are shorter than those based on V and I andrange from 18.45 +/- 0.18 to 18.62 +/- 0.19, but the DM in K could besystematically too low by about 0.1 magnitude because of a bias due tothe fact that NIR photometry is available only for a limited number ofstars. From the Wesenheit-index we derive a DM of 18.60 +/- 0.11,assuming the observed slope of LMC Cepheids and no metallicitycorrection, for want of more information. The DM to the LMC based on theparallax data can be summarised as follows. Based on the PL-relation inV and I, and the Wesenheit-index, the DM is 18.60 ± 0.11(± 0.08 slope)(^{+0.08}_{-0.15} ;metallicity), which is ourcurrent best estimate. Based on the PL-relation in K the DM is ;;;;18.52 +/- 0.18 (± 0.03 ;slope) (± 0.06 ;metallicity)(^{+0.10}_{-0} ;sampling ;bias). The random error is mostly due to thegiven accuracy of the hipparcos parallaxes and the number of Cepheids inthe respective samples. The terms between parentheses indicate thepossible systematic uncertainties due to the slope of the GalacticPL-relations, the metallicity corrections, and in the K-band, due to thelimited number of stars. Recent work by Sandage et al. (1999) indicatesthat the effect of metallicity towards shorter distances may be smallerin V and I than indicated here. From this, we point out the importanceof obtaining NIR photometry for more (closeby) Cepheids, as for themoment NIR photometry is only available for 27% of the total sample.This would eliminate the possible bias due to the limited number ofstars, and would reduce the random error estimate from 0.18 to about0.10 mag. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the DM to reddening,metallicity correction and slope are smallest in the K-band. Based ondata from the ESA HP astrometry satellite.
| Direct calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation
After the first release of Hipparcos data, Feast & Catchpole gave anew value for the zero-point of the visual Cepheid period-luminosityrelation, based on trigonometric parallaxes. Because of the largeuncertainties on these parallaxes, the way in which individualmeasurements are weighted is of crucial importance. We thereforeconclude that the choice of the best weighting system can be aided by aMonte Carlo simulation. On the basis of such a simulation, it is shownthat (i) a cut-off in π or in σ_ππ introduces a strongbias; (ii) the zero-point is more stable when only the brightestCepheids are used; and (iii) the Feast & Catchpole weighting givesthe best zero-point and the lowest dispersion. After correction, theadopted visual period-luminosity relation is=-2.77logP-1.44+/-0.05. Moreover, we extend this study to thephotometric I band (Cousins) and obtain=-3.05logP-1.81+/-0.09.
| I- and JHK-band photometry of classical Cepheids in the HIPPARCOS catalog
By correlating the \cite[Fernie et al. (1995)]{F95} electronic databaseon Cepheids with the ``resolved variable catalog'' of the hipparcosmission and the simbad catalog one finds that there are 280 Cepheids inthe hipparcos catalog. By removing W Vir stars (Type ii Cepheids),double-mode Cepheids, Cepheids with an unreliable solution in thehipparcos catalog, and stars without photometry, it turns out that thereare 248 classical Cepheids left, of which 32 are classified asfirst-overtone pulsators. For these stars the literature was searchedfor I-band and near-infrared data. Intensity-mean I-band photometry onthe Cousins system is derived for 189 stars, and intensity-mean JHK dataon the Carter system is presented for 69 stars.
| Monitoring Cepheid Period Changes From Saint Mary's University
CCD observations in blue light with the 0.4m telescope at Saint Mary'sUniversity are presented for the Cepheids SU Cyg, V402 Cyg, V1154 Cyg,V386 Cyg, V924 Cyg, MW Cyg, BB Her, GH Cyg, VY Cyg, TX Cyg, SZ Cyg, XCyg, CD Cyg, and CV Vul. The data are used to establish new times oflight maximum for the sample, and analyses of the new andpreviously-published O-C residuals are used to derive improved valuesfor the rates of period change for each program object. The new valuesagree closely with predictions from stellar evolutionary theory for therates at which intermediate-mass stars evolve through the Cepheidinstability strip, and provide an excellent means of establishing theinstability strip crossing mode for each variable.
| A catalog of Cepheid radial velocities measured in 1995-1998 with the correlation spectrometer
We present a catalog of 2444 original radial-velocity measurements for108 Cepheids based on the 1995-1998 observations with the correlationspectrometer. Detailed radial-velocity curves are given for 12 Cepheidsfor the first time.
| UVBY beta Photometric Data and Fourier Coefficients for Galactic Population I and Population II Cepheids
Photometric data in the uvby beta system are presented for a sample of98 Population I Cepheids and seven W Virginis or Population II Cepheids.The importance of the Fourier decomposition technique in the study ofthe structure of pulsating stars is stressed. Mean values and Fourierdecomposition coefficients for the V, b - y, m1, and c1 variations arecalculated. Also, mean values of H beta are provided. New times ofmaximum V light are reported for the majority of the stars in thesample. Significant shifts of the light and color curves were found insome Cepheids; these are explained by their period variations. Thesestars are highlighted in the text.
| BA II lines as luminosity indicators: s-Cepheids and non-variable supergiants
Ba II line equivalent widths appear to be well correlated with theabsolute magnitudes for yellow supergiants. Two Ba II lines 5853.6Angstroms and 6141.7 Angstroms were applied for investigation of thepossible relation between their equivalent widths and Mv forsmall-amplitude Cepheids and non-variable supergiants.
| UBV beta Database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars
A database of photoelectric UBV beta photometry for stars listed in theCase-Hamburg northern and southern Milky Way luminous stars surveys hasbeen compiled from the original research literature. Consisting of over16,000 observations of some 7300 stars from over 500 sources, thisdatabase constitutes the most complete compilation of such photometryavailable for intrinsically luminous stars around the Galactic plane.Over 5000 stars listed in the Case-Hamburg surveys still lackfundamental photometric data.
| Ba II line as Cepheid luminosity indicator. I
Ba II lines are proposed as luminosity indicators for yellowsupergiants. In particular, it is shown that equivalent width of BaII5853.6 line is well correlated with for sCepheids.
| Monitoring the Evolution of Cepheid Variables
Described here are preliminary results of a pilot project to monitorchanges in the ephemerides of northern hemisphere Cepheid's using anSBIG camera attached to the 0.4-m telescope of the campus obversatory atSaint Mary's University. Epochs of maximum light for fifteen Cepheid'shave been derived using published light curves for each variable astemplates, and the results are being used to update the O-C ephemeridesfor the program stars. Results for BB Her are presented here. Periodchanges for Cepheid variables are demonstrated to be an excellent meansof pinpointing their evolutionary status, as well as for investigatingother peculiarities of the class.
| Galactic kinematics of Cepheids from HIPPARCOS proper motions
The Hipparcos proper motions of 220 Galactic Cepheids, together withrelevant ground-based photometry, have been analyzed. The effects ofGalactic rotation are very clearly seen. Mean values of the Oortconstants, A = 14.82 +/- 0.84 km/s kpc, and B = -12.37 +/- 0.64 km/skpc, and of the angular velocity of circular rotation at the sun, 27.19+/- 0.87 km/s kpc, are derived. A comparison of the value of A withvalues derived from recent radial velocity solutions confirms, withinthe errors, the zero-points of the period-luminosity andperiod-luminosity-color relations derived directly from the Hipparcostrigonometrical parallaxes of the same stars. The proper motion resultssuggest that the Galactic rotation curve is declining slowly at thesolar distance from the Galactic Center (-2.4 +/- 1.2 km/s kpc). Thecomponent of the solar motion towards the North Galactic Pole is foundto be +7.61 +/- 0.64 km/s. Based on the increased distance scale deducedin the present paper, the distance to the Galactic Center derived in aprevious radial velocity study is increased to 8.5 +/- 0.5 kpc.
| A search for evolutionary changes in the periods of low-amplitude Cepheids
Not Available
| Structural Properties of Pulsating Star Light Curves Through Fuzzy Divisive Hierarchical Clustering
Not Available
| The chemical composition of the s-Cepheids. III.
The hypothesis about s-Cepheids' first time crossing of the instabilitystrip is checked by spectroscopic testing. On the basis of CCD spectraanalysis, we have derived the abundances for seven s-Cepheids. Thefollowing results have been obtained: 1) V473 Lyr, IR Cep, UY Mon, BYCas, V636 Cas have solar iron abundance, while V526 Mon and V924 Cygshow moderate iron deficiency. 2) The absolute carbon deficiency(relatively to the solar (C/H) value) found for all program stars(excepting V636 Cas) and a nitrogen overabundance show that theses-Cepheids are not crossing the instability strip for the first time. 3)Similarly to previously investigated Cepheid V1162 Aql, V636 Cas alsodemonstrates rather high carbon content. The plausible explanation ofthis phenomenon is that this star is crossing the instability strip forthe first time. 4) Na and Al are overabundant for all program starswhere these elements were measured. Sodium overabundance takes placealso for two first- time crossing Cepheids. Possibly such anoverabundance arises during the main-sequence phase. 5) α-elementsshow practically solar ratios with respect to Fe. 6) For iron-groupelements the (M/Fe) values are close to the solar ones. 7) s-processelements are perhaps slightly enhanced in the program stars. The resultsof the present paper are discussed together with the results of therecent paper by Andrievsky et al. (1996A&A...305..551A) devoted tos-Cepheids.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Κύκνος |
| Right ascension: | 19h38m11.58s |
| Declination: | +32°29'22.3" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.755 |
| Proper motion RA: | -2.5 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -8.6 |
| B-T magnitude: | 11.656 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.83 |
Catalogs and designations:
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INHABITED SKY
