RT Aurigae

RT Aurigae
Location of RT Aur (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Auriga
Right ascension 06h 28m 34.08818s[1]
Declination +30° 29′ 34.9296″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 5.75[2] (5.00 - 5.82[3])
Characteristics
Spectral type F8Ib[4] (F4Ib - G4Ib[3])
U−B color index 0.5[5]
B−V color index 0.74[2]
Variable type δ Cep[3]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)20.30[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −0.492 mas/yr[1]
Dec.: −13.441 mas/yr[1]
Parallax (π)1.8153 ± 0.1222 mas[1]
Distance1,540 ly
(473[7] pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−3.09[7]
Details
Mass4.4[8] M☉
Radius35.1[7] R☉
Luminosity1,186[9] L☉
Surface gravity (log g)1.42[8] cgs
Temperature6,151[9] K
Metallicity0.1[7]
Rotational velocity (v sin i)8.8[10] km/s
Age85[11] Myr
Other designations
48 Aurigae, HD 45412, BD+30°1238, HIP 30827, SAO 59128, HR 2332
Database references
SIMBADdata
Data sources:
Hipparcos Catalogue,
CCDM (2002),
Bright Star Catalogue (5th rev. ed.)

RT Aurigae (RT Aur, 48 Aurigae) is a yellow supergiant variable star in the constellation Auriga, about 1,500 light years from Earth.

A visual band light curve for RT Aurigae, adapted from Kiss (1998)[12]

RT Aurigae is an F to G type Classical Cepheid variable which varies from magnitude +5.00 to +5.82 with a period of 3.728309 days.[7] The variability was discovered in 1905.[13] It was quickly recognised as a member of the class of Cepheid variables, but their nature was not understood at that time. Radial velocity changes were detected corresponding to the brightness variations, but the idea that these were caused by stellar pulsations and temperature changes was largely dismissed in favour of orbital motions of a binary star.[14] More accurate observations eventually proved beyond doubt that the brightness variations were caused by pulsations in the atmospheres of the stars, with the stars being smallest and hottest near maximum brightness.[15]

RT Aurigae has been suspected to be a spectroscopic binary system, but this has not been confirmed.[16][17] The strongest evidence was found in 2013 using CHARA array optical interferometry. The companion would be 6.7 magnitudes fainter than the supergiant primary, cooler and fainter than an F0 main sequence star. The two stars are separated by 2.1 milli-arc seconds.[18]

  1. ^ a b c d Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 649: A1. arXiv:2012.01533. Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657. S2CID 227254300. (Erratum: doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657e). Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. ^ a b Soubiran, C.; Le Campion, J. -F.; Cayrel De Strobel, G.; Caillo, A. (2010). "The PASTEL catalogue of stellar parameters". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 515: A111. arXiv:1004.1069. Bibcode:2010A&A...515A.111S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014247. S2CID 118362423.
  3. ^ a b c Samus, N. N.; Durlevich, O. V.; et al. (2009). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: General Catalogue of Variable Stars (Samus+ 2007-2013)". VizieR On-line Data Catalog: B/GCVS. Originally Published in: 2009yCat....102025S. 1. Bibcode:2009yCat....102025S.
  4. ^ Eggleton, P. P.; Tokovinin, A. A. (2008). "A catalogue of multiplicity among bright stellar systems". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 389 (2): 869. arXiv:0806.2878. Bibcode:2008MNRAS.389..869E. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13596.x. S2CID 14878976.
  5. ^ Ducati, J. R. (2002). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: Catalogue of Stellar Photometry in Johnson's 11-color system". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues. 2237: 0. Bibcode:2002yCat.2237....0D.
  6. ^ Gontcharov, G. A. (2006). "Pulkovo Compilation of Radial Velocities for 35 495 Hipparcos stars in a common system". Astronomy Letters. 32 (11): 759–771. arXiv:1606.08053. Bibcode:2006AstL...32..759G. doi:10.1134/S1063773706110065. S2CID 119231169.
  7. ^ a b c d e Groenewegen, M. A. T. (2013). "Baade-Wesselink distances to Galactic and Magellanic Cloud Cepheids and the effect of metallicity". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 550: A70. arXiv:1212.5478. Bibcode:2013A&A...550A..70G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220446. S2CID 118665355.
  8. ^ a b Anders, F.; Khalatyan, A.; Chiappini, C.; Queiroz, A. B.; Santiago, B. X.; Jordi, C.; Girardi, L.; Brown, A. G. A.; Matijevič, G.; Monari, G.; Cantat-Gaudin, T.; Weiler, M.; Khan, S.; Miglio, A.; Carrillo, I.; Romero-Gómez, M.; Minchev, I.; de Jong, R. S.; Antoja, T.; Ramos, P.; Steinmetz, M.; Enke, H. (August 2019). "Photo-astrometric distances, extinctions, and astrophysical parameters for Gaia DR2 stars brighter than G = 18". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 628: A94. arXiv:1904.11302. Bibcode:2019A&A...628A..94A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201935765. ISSN 0004-6361.
  9. ^ a b Turner, D. G. (2010). "The PL calibration for Milky Way Cepheids and its implications for the distance scale". Astrophysics and Space Science. 326 (2): 219–231. arXiv:0912.4864. Bibcode:2010Ap&SS.326..219T. doi:10.1007/s10509-009-0258-5. S2CID 119264970.
  10. ^ De Medeiros, J. R.; Alves, S.; Udry, S.; Andersen, J.; Nordström, B.; Mayor, M. (January 2014). "A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars: V. Southern stars⋆⋆⋆". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 561: A126. arXiv:1312.3474. Bibcode:2014A&A...561A.126D. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220762. ISSN 0004-6361.
  11. ^ Acharova, I. A.; Mishurov, Yu. N.; Kovtyukh, V. V. (2012). "Galactic restrictions on iron production by various types of supernovae". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 420 (2): 1590–1605. arXiv:1111.2152. Bibcode:2012MNRAS.420.1590A. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20161.x. S2CID 118404944.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kiss was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Turner, H. H. (1905). "New Variable 47.1905 Aurigae". Astronomische Nachrichten. 168 (2): 29–30. Bibcode:1905AN....168...29T. doi:10.1002/asna.19051680209.
  14. ^ Duncan, J. C. (1909). "The Orbits of the Cepheid Variables Y Sagittarii and RT Auriga; with a Discussion of the Possible Causes of this Type of Stellar Variation". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 21 (126): 119–136. Bibcode:1909PASP...21..119D. doi:10.1086/121905.
  15. ^ Shapley, H. (1916). "The variations in spectral type of twenty Cepheid variables". Astrophysical Journal. 44: 273. Bibcode:1916ApJ....44..273S. doi:10.1086/142295.
  16. ^ Evans, Nancy R. (1992). "A magnitude-limited survey of Cepheid companions in the ultraviolet". Astrophysical Journal. 384: 220. Bibcode:1992ApJ...384..220E. doi:10.1086/170865.
  17. ^ Turner, D. G.; Bryukhanov, I. S.; Balyuk, I. I.; Gain, A. M.; Grabovsky, R. A.; Grigorenko, V. D.; Klochko, I. V.; Kosa-Kiss, A.; Kosinsky, A. S.; Kushmar, I. J.; Mamedov, V. T.; Narkevich, N. A.; Pogosyants, A. J.; Semenyuta, A. S.; Sergey, I. M.; Schukin, V. V.; Strigelsky, J. B.; Tamello, V. G.; Lane, D. J.; Majaess, D. J. (2007). "The Period Changes of the Cepheid RT Aurigae". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 119 (861): 1247. arXiv:0709.3085. Bibcode:2007PASP..119.1247T. doi:10.1086/523656. S2CID 18243829.
  18. ^ Gallenne, A.; Mérand, A.; Kervella, P.; Monnier, J. D.; Schaefer, G. H.; Baron, F.; Breitfelder, J.; Le Bouquin, J. B.; Roettenbacher, R. M.; Gieren, W.; Pietrzyński, G.; McAlister, H.; Ten Brummelaar, T.; Sturmann, J.; Sturmann, L.; Turner, N.; Ridgway, S.; Kraus, S. (2015). "Robust high-contrast companion detection from interferometric observations. The CANDID algorithm and an application to six binary Cepheids". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 579: A68. arXiv:1505.02715. Bibcode:2015A&A...579A..68G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201525917. S2CID 1118066.