Theoretical Fits of the δ Cephei Light, Radius, and Radial Velocity Curves

Abstract

We present a theoretical investigation of the light, radius, and radial velocity variations of the prototype delta Cephei. We find that the best-fit model accounts for luminosity and velocity amplitudes with an accuracy better than 0.8 sigma, and for the radius amplitude with an accuracy of 1.7 sigma. The chemical composition of this model suggests a decrease in both helium (0.26 vs. 0.28) and metal (0.01 vs. 0.02) content in the solar neighborhood. Moreover, distance determinations based on the fit of light curves agree at the 0.8 sigma level with the trigonometric parallax measured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). On the other hand, distance determinations based on angular diameter variations, which are independent of interstellar extinction and of the p-factor value, indicate an increase of the order of 5% in the HST parallax.