Speaker
Lawrence Short
(Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University)
Description
Stellar evolution theory shows that massive stars evolve more rapidly than low mass stars reaching the instability strip at a younger age. The relatively low density of more massive stars also means that they will experience longer pulsation periods. Therefore long period Cepheids are of higher stellar mass than their short period counterparts hence they are younger. This mean that a period-age relation exists for Cepheids. Stellar clusters provide the ideal laboratory for calibrating the period-age relation as the distance, composition and age for each star is the same. Once the period-age relation in calibrated it allows us attribute an age to any Cepheid in the field. We will present an empirical Cepheid period-age relation derived from data we have obtained of young and massive clusters in the LMC using the Faulkes Telescope South at the Siding Spring node of the Las Cumbres Observatory. This will also be cross-calibrated with other available data of LMC clusters.
Primary author
Lawrence Short
(Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University)
