THE ARAUCARIA PROJECT. DETERMINATION OF THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD DISTANCE FROM LATE-TYPE ECLIPSING BINARY SYSTEMS. I. OGLE-051019.64-685812.3

Journal Article · Wed May 20 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/697/1/862; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21300537

Pietrzynski, Grzegorz; Graczyk, Dariusz; Gieren, Wolfgang; Szewczyk, Olaf; Kolaczkowski, Zbigniew ^[1]; Thompson, Ian B ^[2]; Udalski, Andrzej ^[3]; Minniti, Dante ^[4]; Bresolin, Fabio; Kudritzki, Rolf-Peter ^[5]

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1. Universidad de Concepcion, Departamento de Astronomia, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion (Chile)
2. Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 911101-1292 (United States)
3. Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478, Warsaw (Poland)
4. Departamento de Astronomia y Astrofisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)
5. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

We have analyzed the double-lined eclipsing binary system OGLE-051019.64-685812.3 in the LMC which consists of two G4 giant components with very similar effective temperatures. A detailed analysis of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment I-band light curve of the system, radial velocity curves for both components derived from high-resolution spectra, and near-infrared magnitudes of the binary system measured outside the eclipses has allowed us to obtain an accurate orbit solution for this eclipsing binary and its fundamental physical parameters. Using a surface brightness (V - K)-color relation for giant stars we have calculated the distance to the system and obtained a true distance modulus of 18.50 mag, with an estimated total uncertainty of {+-}3%. More similar eclipsing binary systems in the LMC which we have discovered and for which we are currently obtaining the relevant data will allow us to better check on the systematics of the method and eventually provide a distance determination to the LMC accurate to 1%, much needed for the calibration of the distance scale.

• OSTI ID: 21300537
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 697, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/697/1/862; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
CALIBRATION
COLOR
ECLIPSE
GIANT STARS
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
RADIAL VELOCITY
RED SHIFT