Abstract
This is a written version of the closing talk at the 22nd Los Alamos Stellar pulsation conference on wide field variability surveys. It comments on some of the issues which arise from the meeting. These include the need for attention to photometric standardization (especially in the infrared) and the somewhat controversial problem of statistical bias in the use of parallaxes (and other methods of distance determination). Some major advances in the use of pulsating variables to study Galactic structure are mentioned. The paper includes a clarification of apparently conflicting results from classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars in the inner Galaxy and bulge. The importance of understanding non-periodic phenomena in variable stars,particularly AGB variables and RCB stars is stressed, especially for its relevance to mass-loss, in which pulsation may only play a minor role.
Highlights
This has been a meeting full of interest
The field to which this term applies has made remarkable advances for our understanding of stars. This new asteroseismology is expanding into the area of Galactic structure by giving us ages, masses and luminosities of large numbers of stars
An interesting and relevant example is in the papers by Benedict et al ([2, 3]) which deal with the calibration of the absolute magnitudes of classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae variables using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) parallaxes
Summary
This has been a meeting full of interest In part, this is due to the range of topics discussed which reflect the overlapping areas in which large scale variability surveys are having a major impact. The traditional pulsators (RR Lyraes, Cepheids, Miras, etc.) remain of major importance for our understanding of stellar structure and evolution. They are increasingly important elements in our understanding of the structure and evolution of our own and nearby galaxies as well as being a key to the cosmic distance scale. The field to which this term applies has made remarkable advances for our understanding of stars This new asteroseismology is expanding into the area of Galactic structure by giving us ages, masses and luminosities of large numbers of stars. Rather than trying to summarize all the topics discussed at this meeting, I would like to mention a few issues which arise, as well as a relevant area which has only been mentioned briefly
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