Top panel: α exponent (L ∝ M^α) of zero-age main sequence stars derived from stellar models of Georgy et al. (2013) computed without rotation (filled circles connected with dotted lines) or with a near-critical rotation rate corresponding to an angular momentum ratio Ω/Ω_crit = 0.95 (open circles connected with solid lines). Middle panel: same as top panel, but for the β exponent (R ∝ M^β). Bottom panel: slopes of PL relations (in units of 1/mag) using Eqs. (3) (lower blue lines) and 2 (upper red lines) derived from analytical arguments that assume an origin of the PL relation linked to rotation and Cepheid-like pulsation, respectively. The horizontal shaded area represents the slope value of (− 0.11 ± 0.01)/mag obtained from observations.