A Distance Determination to the Small Magellanic Cloud with an Accuracy of Better than Two Percent Based on Late-type Eclipsing Binary Stars

Graczyk, D.; Pietrzyński, G.; Thompson, I. B.; Gieren, W.; Zgirski, Bartłomiej; Villanova, S.; Górski, Marek; Wielgórski, Piotr; Karczmarek, P.; Narloch, W.; Pilecki, B.; Taormina, M.; Smolec, R.; Suchomska, K.; Gallenne, A.; Nardetto, N.; Storm, J.; Kudritzki, R. P.; Kałuszyński, Mikołaj; Pych, W.

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abbb2b

Cited by 120 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…An important observed feature of the SMC structure that has been detected by different surveys is the large line-ofsight depth of the stellar distribution in the north-eastern SMC, revealing a population at the mean distance of the SMC at about 62 kpc (de Grijs & Bono 2015; Graczyk et al 2020) and a foreground population at about 50 kpc (e.g. Nidever et al 2013;Mackey et al 2018;Omkumar et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The VISCACHA survey

Dias

Angelo²,

Oliveira

et al. 2021

A&A

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Context. The interactions between the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (SMC and LMC) created the Magellanic Bridge; a stream of gas and stars pulled out of the SMC towards the LMC about 150 Myr ago. The tidal counterpart of this structure, which should include a trailing arm, has been predicted by models but no compelling observational evidence has confirmed the Counter-Bridge so far. Aims. The main goal of this work is to find the stellar counterpart of the Magellanic Bridge and Counter-Bridge. We use star clusters in the SMC outskirts as they provide a 6D phase-space vector, age, and metallicity which help characterise the outskirts of the SMC. Methods. Distances, ages, and photometric metallicities were derived from fitting isochrones to the colour-magnitude diagrams from the VISCACHA survey. Radial velocities and spectroscopic metallicities were derived from the spectroscopic follow-up using GMOS in the CaII triplet region. Results. Among the seven clusters analysed in this work, five belong to the Magellanic Bridge, one belongs to the Counter-Bridge, and the other belongs to the transition region. Conclusions. The existence of the tidal counterpart of the Magellanic Bridge is evidenced by star clusters. The stellar component of the Magellanic Bridge and Counter-Bridge are confirmed in the SMC outskirts. These results are an important constraint for models that seek to reconstruct the history of the orbit and interactions between the LMC and SMC as well as constrain their future interaction including with the Milky Way.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The VISCACHA survey

Dias

Angelo²,

Oliveira

et al. 2021

A&A

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“…The latter approach, in particular, has resulted in very precise dis-tance determinations to the Magellanic Clouds (e.g. Pietrzyński et al 2019;Graczyk et al 2020), setting the zero-point of the extragalactic distance ladder with a precision of ∼ 1%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The surface brightness–colour relations based on eclipsing binary stars and calibrated withGaiaEDR3

Graczyk

Pietrzyński

Gałan

et al. 2021

A&A

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Aims. The surface brightness–colour relation (SBCR) is a basic tool for establishing precise and accurate distances within the Local Group. Detached eclipsing binary stars with accurately determined radii and trigonometric parallaxes allow calibration of the SBCRs with unprecedented accuracy. Methods. We analysed four nearby eclipsing binary stars containing late F-type main sequence components: AL Ari, AL Dor, FM Leo, and BN Scl. We determined very precise spectroscopic orbits and combined them with high-precision ground- and space-based photometry. We derived the astrophysical parameters of their components with mean errors of 0.1% for mass and 0.4% for radius. We combined those four systems with another 24 nearby eclipsing binaries with accurately known radii from the literature for which Gaia EDR3 parallaxes are available in order to derive the SBCRs. Results. The resulting SBCRs cover stellar spectral types from B9 V to G7 V. For calibrations, we used Johnson optical B and V, Gaia GBP and G, and 2MASS JHK bands. The most precise relations are calibrated using the infrared K band and allow angular diameters of A-, F-, and G-type dwarf and subgiant stars to be predicted with a precision of 1%.

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“…Their precision of 1% is mostly due to the precision of the surface brightness-color relation (SBCR), calibrated on 41 nearby red clump giant stars using infrared interferometry (Gallenne et al 2018). The same was done to derive the distance of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with a precision of better than 2% (Graczyk et al 2020). Deriving the distance from eclipsing binaries is simple: the radius of both components is estimated from the combination of photometry and spectroscopy, and angular diameters are estimated from the magnitude and color of stars through a SBCR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The combination of radii and angular diameters provides the distance. The influence of interstellar attenuation in neighboring galaxies has been studied using several techniques so far (Bonanos et al 2006;Pietrzyński et al 2019;Graczyk et al 2020), and it is still under investigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress on the calibration of surface brightness-color relations for early- and late-type stars

Salsi

Nardetto

Mourard

et al. 2021

A&A

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Context. Surface brightness-color relations (SBCRs) are widely used for estimating angular diameters and deriving stellar properties. They are critical to derive extragalactic distances of early-type and late-type eclipsing binaries or, potentially, for extracting planetary parameters of late-type stars hosting planets. Various SBCRs have been implemented so far, but strong discrepancies in terms of precision and accuracy still exist in the literature. Aims. We aim to develop a precise SBCR for early-type B and A stars using selection criteria, based on stellar characteristics, and combined with homogeneous interferometric angular diameter measurements. We also improve SBCRs for late-type stars, in particular in the Gaia photometric band. Methods. We observed 18 early-type stars with the VEGA interferometric instrument, installed on the CHARA array. We then applied additional criteria on the photometric measurements, together with stellar characteristics diagnostics in order to build the SBCRs. Results. We calibrated a SBCR for subgiant and dwarf early-type stars. The RMS of the relation is σFV0 = 0.0051 mag, leading to an average precision of 2.3% on the estimation of angular diameters, with 3.1% for V −K < −0.2 mag and 1.8% for V −K > −0.2 mag. We found that the conversion between Johnson-K and 2MASS-Ks photometries is a key issue for early-type stars. Following this result, we have revisited our previous SBCRs for late-type stars by calibrating them with either converted Johnson-K or 2MASS-Ks photometries. We also improve the calibration of these SBCRs based on the Gaia photometry. The expected precision on the angular diameter using our SBCRs for late-type stars ranges from 1.0 to 2.7%. Conclusions. By reaching a precision of 2.3% on the estimation of angular diameters for early-type stars, significant progress has been made to determine extragalactic distances, such as M31 and M33 galaxies, using early-type eclipsing binaries.

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A Distance Determination to the Small Magellanic Cloud with an Accuracy of Better than Two Percent Based on Late-type Eclipsing Binary Stars

Cited by 120 publications

References 80 publications

The VISCACHA survey

The VISCACHA survey

The surface brightness–colour relations based on eclipsing binary stars and calibrated withGaiaEDR3

Progress on the calibration of surface brightness-color relations for early- and late-type stars

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