Post-AGB Stars and the Population II Distance Ladder

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Hst Proposal Id #9191 Stellar Populations

Scientific paper

The visually brightest members of Population II are post-AGB {PAGB} stars evolving through spectral types F and ANull. They are easily recognized through their huge Balmer jumps, if a filter at 3400 Angstrom is used, such as the F336W filter on WFPC2. PAGB stars are superb candidates for building a Population II distance scale because of their sharply peaked luminosity function, high luminosities, ease of detection, and relative freedom from reddening, metallicity, and age issues. PAGB stars are 4 visual magnitudes brighter than RR Lyrae variables and 1.5 mag brighter than the red-giant tip. Unlike RR Lyrae stars {and Population I Cepheids}, PAGB stars only require a single epoch of observation and are thus extremely efficient in terms of telescope usage. In this Archival program, we will use existing HST WFPC2 images to find PAGB A-F type stars in the Local Group dwarf ellipticals M32 and NGC 205, and in the more distant, massive elliptical Centaurus A {NGC 5128}, all of which of course lack Cepheid variables. We expect to establish distances with <10 Moreover, we will demonstrate the feasibility of our technique with HST, laying the foundation to find PAGB stars in more distant ellipticals as far away as the Virgo Cluster.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Post-AGB Stars and the Population II Distance Ladder does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Post-AGB Stars and the Population II Distance Ladder, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Post-AGB Stars and the Population II Distance Ladder will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1200656

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.