Distribution Of Cepheids Research Articles

Cepheids help to map the Galaxy

Milky Way Cepheid variable stars pulsate, which allows their distances to be determined from the periodic variations in brightness. Skowron et al. constructed a catalog of thousands of Cepheids covering a large fraction of the Milky Way. They combined optical and infrared data to determine the stars' pulsation periods and mapped the distribution of Cepheids and the associated young stellar populations across the Galaxy. Their three-dimensional map demonstrates the warping of the Milky Way's disc. A simple model of star formation in the spiral arms reproduced the positions and ages of the Cepheid population. Science , this issue p. [478][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aau3181

Classical Cepheids in the Galactic outer ring R1R ′2

AbstractThe kinematics and distribution of classical Cepheids within ∼3 kpc from the Sun suggest the existence of the outer ring R1R ′2 in the Galaxy. The optimum value of the solar position angle with respect to the major axis of the bar, θb, providing the best agreement between the distribution of Cepheids and model particles, is θb = 37° ±13°. The kinematical features obtained for Cepheids with negative galactocentric radial velocity VR are consistent with the solar location near the descending segment of the outer ring R2. The sharp rise of extinction toward of the Galactic center can be explained by the presence of the outer ring R1 near the Sun. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

New Cepheid variables in the Crux-Centaurus region

Two star fields in the southern Milky Way, between galactic longitudes of approximately 294 and 320 deg, have been searched for new variables. At least three long-period (periods greater than 9 days) classical Cepheids have been tentatively identified, as well as one Virginis star. The resultant distribution of Cepheids along the Milky Way in the Crux-Centaurus region indicates a concentration of spiral tracers near a longitude of about 307 deg.