Universe Colloquium: Gauging the Universe with Cepheid stars: from galactic structure to cosmic expansion

by Martino Romaniello (ESO)

Wednesday 20 May 2015, 16:30 → 17:30 Europe/Berlin

seminar room (Excellence Cluster Universe, Boltzmannstrasse 2, Garching)

If there is one thing in common throughout virtually all of modern astrophysics, that must be the importance of measuring the distance to celestial objects. In fact, hardly any physics can be done without knowing the distance to the objects being studied. Cepheid stars are arguably the best stellar distance indicators: they were key in establishing the nature of the Universe at the beginning of last century and will play a major role into the foreseeable future, as we gain more insight in the physics that regulates them and in the systematics that affect their properties. In this talk Martino will review the physical properties of Cepheid and their numerous applications, from probes of galactic structure and evolution to their role in investigating the nature of cosmic acceleration. The Universe Colloquium is followed by a social gathering with wine and cheese.