No Arabic abstract
We present the modeling tool we developed to incorporate multi-technique observations of Cepheids in a single pulsation model: the Spectro-Photo-Interferometry of Pulsating Stars (SPIPS). The combination of angular diameters from optical interferometry, radial velocities and photometry with the coming Gaia DR2 parallaxes of nearby Galactic Cepheids will soon enable us to calibrate the projection factor of the classical Parallax-of-Pulsation method. This will extend its applicability to Cepheids too distant for accurate Gaia parallax measurements, and allow us to precisely calibrate the Leavitt laws zero point. As an example application, we present the SPIPS model of the long-period Cepheid RS Pup that provides a measurement of its projection factor, using the independent distance estimated from its light echoes.
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 observables (radial velocimetry, photometry, angular diameters from interferometry) to derive the relevant physical parameters of the star (effective temperature, infrared ex- cess, reddening,...) and the ratio of the distance and the projection factor d/p. We present the application of SPIPS to the long-period Cepheid RS Pup, for which we derive p = 1.25 +/- 0.06. The addition of this massive Cepheid consolidates the existing sample of p-factor measurements towards long-period pulsators. This allows us to conclude that p is constant or mildly variable around p = 1.29 +/- 0.04 (+/-3%) as a function of the pulsation period. The forthcoming Gaia DR2 will provide a considerable improvement in quantity and accuracy of the trigonometric parallaxes of Cepheids. From this sample, the SPIPS modeling tool will enable a robust calibration of the Cepheid distance scale.
There is an $approx9pm2.5$% tension between the value of Hubbles Constant, $H_0=67.4pm0.5$km,s$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-1}$, implied by the {it Planck} microwave background power spectrum and that given by the distance scale of $H_0=73.4pm1.7$km,s$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-1}$. But with a plausible assumption about a {it Gaia} DR2 parallax systematic offset, we find that {it Gaia} parallax distances of Milky Way Cepheid calibrators are $approx12-15$% longer than previously estimated. Similarly, {it Gaia} also implies $approx4.7pm1.7$% longer distances for 46 Cepheids than previous distances on the scale of Riess et al. Then we show that the existence of an $approx150$h$^{-1}$Mpc `Local Hole in the galaxy distribution implies an outflow of $approx500$km,s$^{-1}$. Accounting for this in the recession velocities of SNIa standard candles out to $zapprox0.15$ reduces $H_0$ by a further $approx1.8$%. Combining the above two results would reduce the distance scale $H_0$ estimate by $approx7$% from $H_0approx73.4pm1.7$ to $approx68.9pm1.6$ km,s$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-1}$, in reasonable agreement with the {it Planck} value. We conclude that the discrepancy between distance scale and {it Planck} $H_0$ measurements remains unconfirmed due to uncertainties caused by {it Gaia} systematics and an unexpectedly inhomogeneous local galaxy distribution.
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 brightness method, interferometric pulsation method, and trigonometric measurements. The three techniques are found to be in excellent agreement for distance measures in the Galaxy. The velocity p-factor is of crucial importance in the first two of these methods. A comparison of recent determinations of the p-factor for Cepheids demonstrates that observational measures of p and theoretical predictions agree within their uncertainties for Galactic Cepheids.
Classical Cepheids provide the foundation for the empirical extragalactic distance ladder. Milky Way Cepheids are the only stars in this class accessible to trigonometric parallax measurements. However, the parallaxes of Cepheids from the second Gaia data release (GDR2) are affected by systematics because of the absence of chromaticity correction, and occasionally by saturation. As a proxy for the parallaxes of 36 Galactic Cepheids, we adopt either the GDR2 parallaxes of their spatially resolved companions or the GDR2 parallax of their host open cluster. This novel approach allows us to bypass the systematics on the GDR2 Cepheids parallaxes that is induced by saturation and variability. We adopt a GDR2 parallax zero-point (ZP) of -0.046 mas with an uncertainty of 0.015 mas that covers most of the recent estimates. We present new Galactic calibrations of the Leavitt law in the V, J, H, K_S , and Wesenheit W_H bands. We compare our results with previous calibrations based on non-Gaia measurements and compute a revised value for the Hubble constant anchored to Milky Way Cepheids. From an initial Hubble constant of 76.18 +/- 2.37 km/s/Mpc based on parallax measurements without Gaia, we derive a revised value by adopting companion and average cluster parallaxes in place of direct Cepheid parallaxes, and we find H_0 = 72.8 +/- 1.9 (statistical + systematics) +/- 1.9 (ZP) km/s/Mpc when all Cepheids are considered and H0 = 73.0 +/- 1.9 (statistical + systematics) +/- 1.9 (ZP) km/s/Mpc for fundamental mode pulsators only.