Discovery of the Longest-period Classical Cepheid in the Milky Way

Abstract

We report the discovery of the classical Cepheid OGLE-GD-CEP-1884 (= GDS_J1535467-555656) with the longest pulsation period known in our Galaxy. The period of 78.14 days is nearly 10 days longer than that of the previous record-holding Cepheid, S Vulpeculae, and thus, OGLE-GD-CEP-1884 can be categorized as the first ultra-long-period Cepheid in the Milky Way. This star is present in the ASAS-SN and Gaia DR3 catalogs of variable stars, but it has been classified as a long-period variable in those catalogs. Based on more than 10 yr of the photometric monitoring of this star carried out by the OGLE project in the I and V bands and a radial velocity curve from the Gaia Focused Product Release, we unequivocally demonstrate that this object is a fundamental-mode classical Cepheid. By employing the mid-infrared period–luminosity relation, we determine the distance to OGLE-GD-CEP-1884 (4.47 ± 0.34 kpc) and place it on the Milky Way map, along with about 2400 other classical Cepheids. We also discuss the potential of finding additional ultra-long-period Cepheids in our Galaxy.