A study on the universality and linearity of the Leavitt law in the LMC and SMC galaxies

The universality and linearity of the Leavitt law are hypotheses commonly adopted in studies of galaxy distances using Cepheid variables as standard candles. In order to test these hypotheses, we obtain slopes of the Leavitt law using linear regressions of fundamental-mode Cepheids observed by the o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2013-05, Vol.431 (3), p.2278-2284
Main Authors: García-Varela, Alejandro, Sabogal, Beatriz E., Ramírez-Tannus, María C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
Gravity
Optical properties
Regression analysis
Stars & galaxies
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Summary:The universality and linearity of the Leavitt law are hypotheses commonly adopted in studies of galaxy distances using Cepheid variables as standard candles. In order to test these hypotheses, we obtain slopes of the Leavitt law using linear regressions of fundamental-mode Cepheids observed by the optical gravitational lensing experiment project in the Magellanic Clouds. We find that the slopes in VI  bands and in the Wesenheit index behave exponentially, indicating non-linearity. We also find that the slopes obtained using long-period Cepheids can be considered as universal in the VI bands, but not in the Wesenheit index.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/stt325