Issue |
A&A
Volume 530, June 2011
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A76 | |
Number of page(s) | 7 | |
Section | Astronomical instrumentation | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201116929 | |
Published online | 12 May 2011 |
Using Galactic Cepheids to verify Gaia parallaxes
1
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie Königstuhl 17, 69117
Heidelberg,
Germany
e-mail: windmark@mpia.de
2
Lund Observatory, Box 43, 221 00
Lund,
Sweden
Received:
20
March
2011
Accepted:
8
April
2011
Context. The Gaia satellite will measure highly accurate absolute parallaxes of hundreds of millions of stars by comparing the parallactic displacements in the two fields of view of the optical instrument. The requirements on the stability of the “basic angle” between the two fields are correspondingly strict, and possible variations (on the microarcsec level) are therefore monitored by an on-board metrology system. Nevertheless, since even very small periodic variations of the basic angle might cause a global offset of the measured parallaxes, it is important to find independent verification methods.
Aims. We investigate the potential use of Galactic Cepheids as standard candles for verifying the Gaia parallax zero point.
Methods. We simulate the complete population of Galactic Cepheids and their observations by Gaia. Using the simulated data, simultaneous fits are made of the parameters of the period–luminosity relation and a global parallax zero point.
Results. The total number of Galactic Cepheids is estimated at about 20 000, of which nearly half could be observed by Gaia. In the most favourable circumstances, including negligible intrinsic scatter and extinction errors, the determined parallax zero point has an uncertainty of 0.2 microarcsec. With more realistic assumptions the uncertainty is several times larger, and the result is very sensitive to errors in the applied extinction corrections.
Conclusions. The use of Galactic Cepheids alone will not be sufficient to determine a possible parallax zero-point error to the full potential systematic accuracy of Gaia. The global verification of Gaia parallaxes will most likely depend on a combination of many different methods, including this one.
Key words: stars: variables: Cepheids / space vehicles: instruments / parallaxes
© ESO, 2011
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.