THE DISTANCE TO THE MASSIVE ECLIPSING BINARY LMC-SC1-105 IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxa and Vas. Pavlou St., P. Penteli, 15236 Athens (Greece)
- George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States)
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
This Letter presents the first distance measurement to the massive, semi-detached, eclipsing binary LMC-SC1-105, located in the LH 81 association of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Previously determined parameters of the system are combined with new near-infrared photometry and a new temperature analysis to constrain the reddening toward the system, and determine a distance of 50.6 {+-} 1.6 kpc (corresponding to a distance modulus of 18.52 {+-} 0.07 mag), in agreement with previous eclipsing binary measurements. Although this is the sixth distance measurement to an eclipsing binary in the LMC, it is the first to an O-type system. We thus demonstrate the suitability of O-type eclipsing binaries (EBs) as distance indicators. We suggest using bright, early-type EBs to measure distances along different sight lines, as an independent way to map the depth of the LMC and resolve the controversy about its three-dimensional structure.
- OSTI ID:
- 21560464
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 729, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/729/1/L9; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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