A distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud that is precise to one per cent

Area of Science:

• Cosmology
• Astrophysics
• Stellar Astronomy

Background:

• Determining the Hubble constant requires precise empirical measurements.
• The Cepheid period-luminosity relationship is crucial for cosmic distance scale calibration.
• The Large Magellanic Cloud is a key anchor for this calibration, traditionally studied using Cepheid variables.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve the precision of the surface brightness-color relation calibration.
• To determine a more accurate geometrical distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud.
• To reduce uncertainties in the cosmic distance scale and Hubble constant measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 20 eclipsing binary systems composed of late-type stars.
• Calibrated the surface brightness-color relation with 0.8% precision.
• Applied this calibration to derive a precise distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 0.8% precision in the surface brightness-color relation calibration.
• Determined a geometrical distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud with 1% precision.
• The final distance is 49.59 ± 0.09 (statistical) ± 0.54 (systematic) kiloparsecs.

Conclusions:

• The new calibration significantly enhances the accuracy of Large Magellanic Cloud distance measurements.
• This advancement provides a more precise anchor for the cosmic distance ladder.
• Contributes to more accurate determination of the Hubble constant in the era of precision cosmology.