Dynamical masses of Cepheids from the GAIA parallaxes

Abstract

The mass of a Cepheid is a fundamental parameter for studying the pulsation and evolution of intermediate-mass stars. But determining this variable has been a long-standing problem for decades. Detecting the companions (by spectroscopy or imaging) is a difficult task because of the brightness of the Cepheids and the close orbit of the components. So most of the Cepheid masses are derived using stellar evolution or pulsation modeling, but they differ by 10-20 %. Measurements of dynamical masses offer the unique opportunity to make progress in resolving this mass discrepancy.

The first problem in studying binary Cepheids is the high contrast between the components for wavelengths longer than 0.5 μm, which make them single-line spectroscopic binaries. In addition, the close orbit of the companions (<40 mas) prevents us from spatially resolving the systems with a single-dish 8m-class telescope. A technique able to reach high spatial resolution and high-dynamic range is long-baseline interferometry. We have started a long-term program that aims at detecting, monitoring and characterizing physical parameters of the Cepheid companions. The GAIA parallaxes will enable us to combine interferometry with single-line velocities to provide unique dynamical mass measurements of Cepheids.