Magellanic Cloud Cepheids: Abundances

Abstract

We have determined parameters and abundances for three SMC and nine LMC Cepheids that have not been previously studied spectroscopically for metallicity, as well as three SMC and one LMC Cepheids observed previously by Luck & Lambert. This work nearly doubles the number of Cepheids with spectroscopic metallicities in the SMC and triples the number in the LMC. For Galactic reference stars we have determined the abundances of 11 supergiants of spectral type F0 to K1. These abundances are used herein to examine the dispersion in cosmic [Fe/H] values found in LMC Cepheids by Luck & Lambert, and in later papers will be used to correct the distance moduli obtained by us for these Cepheids using the visual surface brightness technique.