The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function at the Dawn of Gaia

The [O III] 5007 Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function (PNLF) is an excellent extragalactic standard candle. In theory, the PNLF method should not work at all, since the luminosities of the brightest planetary nebulae (PNe) should be highly sensitive to the age of their host stellar population. Yet the method appears robust, as it consistently produces < 10% distances to galaxies of all Hubble types, from the earliest ellipticals to the latest-type spirals and irregulars. It is therefore uniquely suited for cross-checking the results of other techniques and finding small offsets between the Population I and Population II distance ladders. We review the calibration of the method and show that the zero points provided by Cepheids and the Tip of the Red Giant Branch are in excellent agreement. We then compare the results of the PNLF with those from Surface Brightness Fluctuation measurements, and show that, although both techniques agree in a relative sense, the latter method yields distances that are ~15% larger than those from the PNLF. We trace this discrepancy back to the calibration galaxies and argue that, due to a small systematic error associated with internal reddening, the true distance scale likely falls between the extremes of the two methods. We also demonstrate how PNLF measurements in the early-type galaxies that have hosted Type Ia supernovae can help calibrate the SN Ia maximum magnitude-rate of decline relation. Finally, we discuss how the results from space missions such as Kepler and Gaia can help our understanding of the PNLF phenomenon and improve our knowledge of the physics of local planetary nebulae.Comment: 12 pages, invited review at the conference "The Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale: State of the Art and Gaia Perspective", to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Asteroseismology of the b Cephei star n Eridani - II. Spectroscopic observations and pulsational frequency analysis

International audienceWe undertook a multisite spectroscopic campaign for the β Cephei star ν Eridani. A total of 2294 high-resolution spectra were obtained from telescopes at 11 different observatories around the world. The time base of dedicated multisite observations is 88 d. To this data set we have added 148 older, previously unpublished spectra, such that the overall time-span of the 2442 spectra is 430 d. The analysis of the radial velocity variations derived from the Si iii triplet centred on 4560 Å leads to 19 significant frequencies, of which seven correspond to independent pulsation frequencies. Five of these are members of multiplets with an average spacing of 0.018 ± 0.002 cd−1 . Our spectroscopic results agree well with those derived from a simultaneous multisite photometric campaign of the star, albeit that we do not recover their low frequency at 0.43218 cd−1. We find three different candidate frequencies below 1 cd−1 instead. We also find that the radial velocity amplitude of the main mode has increased by some 30 per cent over the last 15 years, which is consistent with the photometry data. We derive a relative equivalent width variation of 6.5 per cent, which is completely dominated by the main radial mode. The phase difference between the radial velocity and light variations for the main frequency is , which is clearly deviant from the adiabatic value and confirms the radial nature of the dominant mode. The spectral line broadening leads to an upper limit of 20 km s−1 for v sin i, which is consistent with the long rotation period derived from the frequency splittings

Quasi-periodic Pulsations in Solar and Stellar Flares: An Overview of Recent Results (Invited Review)

Quasi-periodic pulsations (or QPPs) are periodic intensity variations in the flare emission that occur across all wavelength bands. In this article, we review the observational and modelling achievements since the previous review on this topic by Nakariakov and Melnikov (Space Sci. Rev.149, 119, 2009). In recent years, it has become clear that QPPs are an inherent feature of solar flares because almost all flares exhibit QPPs. Moreover, it is now firmly established that QPPs often show multiple periods. We also review possible mechanisms for generating QPPs. Up to now, it has not been possible to conclusively identify the triggering mechanism or cause of QPPs. The lack of this identification currently hampers possible seismological inferences of flare plasma parameters. QPPs in stellar flares have been detected for a long time, and the high-quality data of the Kepler mission allows studying the QPP more systematically. However, it has not been conclusively shown whether the timescales of stellar QPPs are different or the same as those in solar flares