A Segmented Period-Luminosity Relation for Nearby Extragalactic Delta Scuti Stars

Abstract
The period-luminosity relations (PLRs) of Milky Way δ Scuti (δ Sct) stars have been described to the present day by a linear relation. However, when studying extragalactic systems such as the Magellanic Clouds and several dwarf galaxies, we notice for the first time a nonlinear behavior in the PLR of δ Sct stars. Using the largest sample of ~3700 extragalactic δ Sct stars from data available in the literature-mainly based on the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment and the Super MAssive Compact Halo Object project in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)-we obtain that the best fit to the period-luminosity (M V ) plane is given by the following piecewise linear relation with a break at logP = -1.03 ± 0.01 (or 0.093 ± 0.002 days) for shorter periods (sp) and longer periods (lp) than the break-point:...
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