DISCOVERY OF THE HOST CLUSTER FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL CEPHEID CALIBRATOR ZETA GEMINORUM

Journal Article · Tue Mar 20 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L9· OSTI ID:22047973

Majaess, D; Turner, D; Lane, D ^[1]; Gieren, W ^[2]; Balam, D ^[3]

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1. Department of Astronomy and Physics, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS (Canada)
2. Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion (Chile)
3. Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Victoria, BC (Canada)

New and existing CORAVEL, UBVJHK{sub s} , HST, HIP/Tycho, ARO, KPNO, and DAO observations imply that the fundamental Cepheid calibrator {zeta} Gem is a cluster member. The following parameters were inferred for {zeta} Gem from cluster membership and are tied to new spectral classifications (DAO) established for 26 nearby stars (e.g., HD53588/B7.5IV, HD54692/B9.5IV): E{sub B-V} = 0.02 {+-} 0.02, log {tau} = 7.85 {+-} 0.15, and d = 355 {+-} 15 pc. The mean distance to {zeta} Gem from cluster membership and six recent estimates (e.g., IRSB) is d=363{+-}9({sigma}{sub x}-bar ){+-}26 ({sigma}) pc. The results presented here support the color-excess and HST parallax derived for the Cepheid by Benedict et al. Forthcoming precise proper motions (DASCH) and Chandra/XMM-Newton observations of the broader field may be employed to identify cluster members, bolster the cluster's existence, and provide stronger constraints on the Cepheid's fundamental parameters.

• OSTI ID: 22047973
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 748; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
CEPHEIDS
CLASSIFICATION
COLOR
DIAGRAMS
DISTANCE
PROPER MOTION
STAR CLUSTERS