ON THE PERIOD AND AMPLITUDE CHANGES IN POLARIS AND OTHER SHORT-PERIOD CEPHEIDS

Journal Article · Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Astrophysical Journal (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/696/1/L37; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21300756

Stothers, Richard B ^[1]

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1. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025 (United States)

The observed modulation of the period and amplitude of Polaris, the short-period classical Cepheid, may be cyclical, though irregular, and superimposed on the continuing evolutionary changes of this star. If so, it curiously resembles the Blazhko effect seen in RR Lyrae stars, as Evans and her colleagues have noted. The present author's recent theory of the Blazhko effect based on a solar-like magnetoconvective cycle in the stellar envelope is here applied to Polaris, with some limited success. The theory may also explain the slow cycle seen in another short-period Cepheid, V473 Lyr. It is therefore possible to predict, tentatively, an entire new class of short-period 'Blazhko Cepheids'.

• OSTI ID: 21300756
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal (Online), Vol. 696, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/696/1/L37; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-4357
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
CEPHEIDS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MODULATION
OSCILLATIONS
TURBULENCE