Interferometry of Classical Pulsators

Interferometry of Classical Pulsators

Pierre Kervella, Antoine Mérand, Alexandre Gallenne, Simon Borgniet, Boris Trahin, Nicolas Nardetto, Grzegorz Pietrzyński and Wolfgang Gieren

Long baseline interferometry at optical and infrared wavelengths can now routinely reach milliarcsecond angular resolutions, and thus resolve the apparent disk of nearby pulsating stars. We here discuss the type of pulsating stars whose angular diameter can be measured by interferometry. Their changing photospheric angular diameter is a particularly valuable observable, as it is insensitive to interstellar reddening. Angular diameter measurements thus allow for an accurate calibration of their effective temperature. We integrated the interpretation of this novel observable, together with radial velocities and photometric measurements, in the “Spectro-Photo-Interferometry of Pulsating Stars” (SPIPS) modeling tool. We briefly present the SPIPS algorithm and its application to the long period Cepheid RS Puppis.

Proceedings of the Polish Astronomical Society, vol. 6, 201-207 (2018)

Download full article as PDF file: