Some Characteristics of Galactic Cepheids Relevant to the Calibration of the Distance Scale

Abstract

An analysis of the observed characteristics of the Galactic Cepheid variables is carried out in the framework of their period-luminosity relation being used as a standard candle for distance measurement. The variation of the observed number density of Galactic Cepheids as function of their period and amplitude along with stellar pulsation characteristics is used to divide the population into two groups: one with low periods, probably multi-mode or higher mode oscillators, and another of high period variables which should be dominantly fundamental mode radial pulsators. Methods to obtain extinction-corrected colors from multi-wavelength observations of the second group of variables are described and templates of the (V-I) light curves are obtained from the V light curves. Colors computed from the model atmospheres are compared with the extinction-corrected colors to determine the Cepheid instability strip in the mean surface gravity--effective temperature diagram, and relations are derived between mean colors (B-V) vs period of pulsation, (V-I) vs period, and (V-I) at the brightest phase vs amplitude of pulsation. The strength of the kappa-mechanism in the envelope models is used to estimate the metal dependency of the instability strip from which an idea of the sensitivity of the period-luminosity relation to the helium and metal abundance is given. Some estimate of the mass of Cepheids along the instability strip is provided.