THE ARAUCARIA PROJECT: THE DISTANCE TO THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD FROM NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF RR LYRAE VARIABLES

Szewczyk O.; Pietrzynski G.; Gieren, W.; Ciechanowska, A; Bresolin, F; Kudritzki, RP

Abstract

We have obtained deep infrared J- and K-band observations of nine 4.9 × 4.9 arcmin fields in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the ESO New Technology Telescope equipped with the SOFI infrared camera. In these fields, 34 RR Lyrae stars cataloged by the OGLE collaboration were identified. Using different theoretical and empirical calibrations of the infrared period-luminosity-metallicity relation, we find consistent SMC distance moduli, and find a best true distance modulus to the SMC of 18.97 ± 0.03 (statistical) ±0.12 (systematic) mag, which agrees well with most independent distance determinations to this galaxy, and puts the SMC 0.39 mag more distant than the Large Magellanic Cloud for which our group has recently derived, from the same technique, a distance of 18.58 mag. © 2009 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Más información

Título según WOS: THE ARAUCARIA PROJECT: THE DISTANCE TO THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD FROM NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF RR LYRAE VARIABLES
Título según SCOPUS: The araucaria project: The distance to the small magellanic cloud from near-infrared photometry of RR Lyrae variables
Título de la Revista: ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
Volumen: 138
Número: 6
Editorial: IOP PUBLISHING LTD
Fecha de publicación: 2009
Página de inicio: 1661
Página final: 1666
Idioma: English
URL: http://stacks.iop.org/1538-3881/138/i=6/a=1661?key=crossref.fc0a60d3badcb69abc6568cfff8262fb
DOI:

10.1088/0004-6256/138/6/1661

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS