Primary distance measurement to the Virgo Cluster

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Hst Proposal Id #6105 Galaxies &Amp, Clusters

Scientific paper

The I-band luminosity of the brightest red giant stars in old, metal-poor, halo populations, M_I{tip}, is a primary standard candle accurate to +/-0.1 mag, and offers several distinct advantages over other Population II distance indicators. A critical feature of M_I{tip} is that the metallicity of the galaxy's underlying halo population must be less than Fe/H -0.7 dex. However, giant elliptical galaxies like those at the core of the Virgo Cluster possess a metal-rich stellar halo; as a result, any M_I{tip} distance to the Virgo core which is based upon these giant galaxies will suffer an intrinsic bias towards larger distance if compared to local, metal-poor calibrators. We will use WFPC2 in I to resolve the brightest RGB stars in two metal-poor nucleated dwarf ellipticals near M87 {the cD galaxy at the center of the main Virgo Cluster core}. Because of its high intrinsic precision, reliance on basic stellar physics, and independence from the current collection of secondary distance estimators, the resulting M_I{tip} Virgo distance will be the most nearly definitive to date, providing a stepping stone to more remote clusters and {eventually} H_0.

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