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Standard Candles in Astrophysics

Robert Logan

For a very long time I have had a fascination with the stars. As far back as I can remember, I have always thought of them as one of the most beautiful parts of the world we live in. As I grew older, I learned about what exactly those little points of light were, and how large the universe that we live in really is. That the universe is almost thirteen billion years old, that our galaxy alone is almost 120,000 light years across, and that there are trillions upon trillions of stars in the visible universe, are truly mind-blowing facts. As I learned this information, however, I came to wonder how we discovered these things, how we observe and explore our universe today, and what our discoveries mean for the future. Astronomers today have two main methods of determining extreme distances in the universe: Cepheid Variable Stars and Type Ia Supernovas. This is why I have chosen to write about these standard candles of astrophysics: they are our guides in a very large and overwhelming universe. For millennia philosophers have spoken about the heavens, but the first person to try to find a quantitative estimate of the distances between the heavenly bodies was Aristarchus in ~250 BCE. Indeed, he was probably the first modern astronomer. Using simple geometry and a few observations, he came up with (rather good!) estimates of the relative distances between the Earth, Sun, and Moon, and this feat would not be recreated for more than a thousand years (Batten 29). His model of our world was also the first one to put the sun at the center, and thus to neglect mentioning him in any paper on the subject would be akin to heresy. Unfortunately, Aristarchus works were lost to time. The first man to recreate the heliocentric model after him was Copernicus (1473-1543). While Copernicus work was instrumental in reviving modern astronomy, he made the error of assuming that the orbits of the planets were made up of perfect spheres (O'Connor, and Robertson). Johannes Kepler (15711630) was the first person to discover the true nature of planetary motion. Kepler was the assistant mathematician to Tycho Brahe, who was the Imperial Mathematician in Prague (Holy Roman Empire) and an amateur astronomer. Brahe took an excessively large quantity of data on the positions of Mars, and when Kepler succeeded him after his death in 1601, Kepler took advantage of this data to map out the orbit of Mars around the sun. He found that Mars orbit was an ellipse, and discovered the laws of orbital motion named in his honor (Field). The final piece of the planetary puzzle was placed by Cassini, who found the distance to Mars using the phenomenon known as parallax (NASA Space Place). Parallax is the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer (Its also part of how human depth perception works) (HEASARC).

When Cassini measured the distance to Mars, he measured Mars angular position in the sky from Paris, while his colleague went to French Guiana in South America to take the same measurement. Forming a triangle with vertices at the two astronomers and Mars, and using the known distances between the two, they were able to find the actual distance to Mars. From this, all of the interplanetary distances could be determined through geometry (HEASARC). To measure the distance to a star, we can use our motion around the sun to measure the angular displacement of that object in relation to the background of stars. Forming a triangle with vertices at the Earth, Sun and the star, we can use a simple trigonometric ratio to find the distance to the object (Khan Academy).

Figure 1- Stellar Parallax: by viewing a distant object (such as a planet or star) in front of the fixed stellar background, we can measure how much the object appears to shift as we orbit about the sun. From this, along with the known distance between the Earth and Sun, trigonometry gives us the distance to the star.

However, parallax measurement is limited by our ability to observe the angular displacement of an object reliably. While parallax is quite reliable for the planets in the solar system, and even the nearest stars, it starts to become unusable at distances further than a few hundred light years for ground based telescopes, and even for the Hubble Space Telescope, parallax is only useful to a range of about a few thousand light years (UTK). With the Milky Way being more than a hundred thousand light years across, parallax is clearly not good enough for modern astronomy. To measure distances across the galaxy and beyond, astronomers had to discover a new method: Cepheid variables. In 1893, Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921) was hired by Edward Pickering, director of the Harvard College Observatory. Leavitt was hired to be a computer, determining the apparent magnitude (brightness from Earth) of stars on photographic plates by looking at the size of the impression the stars left, a field known as stellar photometry. While doing her work, she was told to pay special attention to variable stars, whose brightness would change over time. She found about thirty of these stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, which we now know is a galaxy

orbiting the Milky Way. She noticed in her survey that variable stars that were brighter during their bright phase had longer periods than the dimmer stars. Knowing that the stars in the Cloud were in roughly the same area, she postulated that there was a direct relationship between the brightness and period length. To be sure this relationship held true, she searched all the photographic plates that she could find, and turned up 1,777 variable stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Graphing this data on a logarithmic chart, she found an almost perfect linear correlation between the brightness of the variable stars and their periods; stars that have this relationship are now called Cepheid Variables. She realized that if we knew the distance to just one single Cepheid, we could find the distance to every Cepheid that we can see (Bartusiak). Henrietta knew that light dispersed, and the luminosity of a source weakened, according to the Inverse Square Law. By combining the inverse square law with the nomenclature for brightness in astronomy, we get the relation: (Zeilik and Gregory 227) Where d is the distance from the object, m is the apparent magnitude of the source of light that the observer measures and M is the absolute magnitude of the source. The magnitude scale is logarithmic, with an increase of one magnitude being equal to an increase in luminosity of 100.2, or 2.512 times (Zeilik and Gregory 227). An absolute magnitude of zero is defined as the brightness of the Sun at a distance of 10 parsecs, or about 3.26 light years, and brightness increases as the value of the magnitude decreases (Confusing, sample calculation & examples at papers end). With this relationship, and knowing that the brightness of a Cepheid is directly and consistently related to their period, Henrietta only had to find the distance to one star to find the distance to them all. Unfortunately she was unable to do this herself due to illness. Ejnard Hertzprung, using Henriettas data and parallax measurements of a nearby Cepheid, was able to calibrate her graph, establishing Cepheids as the first standard candle, and opening up the universe to detailed investigation. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences sought out Henrietta to nominate her for a Nobel Prize, but she had unfortunately died a couple years prior and posthumous nomination was not allowed (Bartusiak). Cepheids are large (mass of about 5 to 20 times that of the sun) and exceptionally luminous (from 30,000 up to 100,000 times the brightness of the Sun) stars. While astronomers recognized the general reliability of Cepheids for distance measurement, the actual mechanism of their variability has been the subject of much debate and research. By observing the emission spectrum of these variables and its changing Doppler shift, we know that as the stars change in brightness they literally expand and contract. According to current theory, this is the result of helium in the outer atmosphere of the star becoming singly and doubly ionized. When the stars radius is at its minimum, the immense heat from the star causes the helium to lose both of its electrons. This doubly ionized helium is much more opaque than normal or singly ionized helium, and this causes the star to appear dim. Because the light is trapped inside, the helium is heated even further, and rapidly expands outward. As this outer region of helium expands and

moves away from the star, it starts to cool, and the gas begins to regain some of the lost electrons. This causes the gas to become less opaque, allowing more of the light to escape, and also causing the helium gas to cool even faster. This is when the star is at its brightest. As the gas cools and allows light to pass, the outward pressure from the star weakens, and gravity takes over. The helium falls back into the star, and as it comes in close it starts to heat up again. As it heats, it becomes doubly ionized, and the process repeats (Khan Academy).

Figure 2- Cepheid Variables: Looking at the different tables, it is possible to see the relationship between expansion and brightness. When the star is at its brightest, it is also at maximum temperature and maximum rate of expansion. This is the point at which the outer atmosphere has spread out and become transparent again. The atmosphere then compresses and the star dims again.

Cepheid variables, along with other variable stars, have been used to map out distances within our Milky Way and help us determine the size and shape of our galaxy. Because of their brightness, Cepheids can be seen up to tens of millions of light-years away (Feurstein), and they have been used to determine the distances to other galaxies and objects within the Local Group, including Andromeda and more than 20 other galaxies (Zeilik and Gregory 447). However, this represents only a small portion of the universe. The edge of the visible universe is estimated to be about 42 billion light-years away (Wright), so astronomers and cosmologists need something even bigger and brighter than the Cepheids. Also, an important goal of astrophysics is to determine the rate at which the Universe is expanding, and to determine that we need to measure over extreme distances. So the question becomes: what is brighter than a Cepheid, and yet usable as a standard candle? Interestingly, the answer has been observed several times in the last few thousand years,

though the observers did not know what they were looking at (this resulted in a very ironic name). One was seen by the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans in 1054. However, the first records of this event in Europe were made by Danish Nobleman and astronomer Tycho Brahe in 1572, and Johannes Kepler in 1604. They recorded seeing a new (nova) star appear in the sky and then slowly fade away. Little did they know that their observations constituted the first detailed records of one of the universes most extreme displays of force. The records they kept were so exacting (and they didnt have telescopes!) that astronomers today have actually found the remnants from the events that those two men saw (Craig 79-84).

Figure 3- Keplers Supernova: This is the remnant of the supernova that Johannes Kepler saw in 1604. When he made his observation it had just exploded; this image is the aftermath 400 years later.

The events that the two men saw, now known as Type Ia Supernovae, are stellar events that occur within a time frame of a few hours or days (Pandian), meaning that observing them at peak brightness is uniquely difficult among cosmological phenomena. When they are observed successfully, however, they are quite a sight to behold. A Type Ia Supernova will outshine its entire galaxy, shining with a brightness of up to 5 billion times that of our sun (Summers). This explains how Brahe and Kepler were able to make the precise measurements that they did. Today, we have the ability to view the light from these events in many different spectrums (the image on the previous page is a composite image over various wavelengths), and also to perform

spectroscopy on the light we receive. One of the first peculiarities astronomers noticed about Type Ias was that they have no Hydrogen emission lines. This is very strange, because stars are almost totally built up of hydrogen, and a supernova explosion should show hydrogen being cast off. The second was that Type Ias have a Silicon II absorption line, which is completely unique. Finally, and most importantly, the emissions from these events follow a distinct brightness curve, almost identical for each event (Falck). These conditions imply that all Type Ia supernovas originate from the same basic initial setup. We know that the events produce very little or none of the hydrogen usually seen from stars. We also know that, along with the silicon previously mentioned, there is also oxygen, magnesium, silicon, calcium, and sulfur present in the emission spectrum at peak brightness, and later on the spectrum becomes dominated by iron and other heavy elements (Craig 102-106). And finally we know that an unprecedented amount of energy is produced. From this information, astrophysicists created their model of the Type Ia supernova. The scenario begins with a binary star system, two stars orbiting each other in close proximity (See next). One star is larger, and ages more quickly (this star is the primary) than the other. The primary expands and becomes a Red Giant, and the companion star begins accreting matter, sucking away its outer layers. After the outer layers are removed, the core of the primary and the companion star orbit each other within a cloud of the accreted gasses, spiraling inward toward each other. The core of the primary collapses becoming a White Dwarf. Normally, a White Dwarf is a dead star in which electron degeneracy prevents gravity from compacting the star any more. The atoms are so crushed together that the electrons would have to occupy equivalent quantum states for any further compression to occur. With the primary in a stable state, time elapses and the companion begins to age. Now, the companion expands, and the primary begins to accrete matter and consume the companion (Falck). This causes a big problem. Electron degeneracy does not allow further compression, until the mass of the Dwarf reaches the Chandrasekhar limit (~1.44 solar masses), at which point the protons and electrons will compress into neutrons, releasing energy in the form of neutrinos and forming a neutron star. This does not occur, however. At about 99% of the Chandrasekhar mass, carbon in the core of the Dwarf ignites and begins to fuse. This releases massive amounts of energy, but because the core is so dense and under the power of electron degeneracy, the star cannot expand to release the energy. The temperature rises at an extreme pace, causing ever faster fusion. This fusion is subsonic deflagration, moving outward from the center, fusing all the matter into radioactive nickel. At some point, the accelerating burn becomes supersonic, causing a detonation. All of the fuel in the star is used up in a flash, and the star explodes. The companion star is blasted away by the explosion, and all that is left of the White Dwarf is a cloud of dust. This explains the spectrum we see: first the spectra from the lighter elements from the outside of the star, and then the spectra from the heavier elements created inside (Craig 102106).

Figure 4- Type Ia Formation: Visual of White Dwarf collapse.

Thats not the entire story, however. Immediately after the explosion, the resultant cloud of dust and debris is far too hot to be transparent. The cloud has to expand and cool before it becomes transparent again, and by that time the light from the initial detonation and burn has been absorbed. Oddly, all of the light we receive from the supernova is a result of radioactive decay. Because of the speed of the detonation, the weak force doesnt have a chance to intercede in the initial reaction. Though iron is the most stable outcome of this sort of reaction, since the fuel is made up of atoms with equal numbers of protons and neutrons, the strong force dictates that the initial result will have the same properties. The first element formed is Nickel-56, a very unstable isotope, which rapidly decays into Cobalt-56, emitting gamma rays. Cobalt-56 is also unstable, and thus decays into Iron-56, which is stable. This decay gives off gamma rays along with a positron. The positron quickly comes into contact with an electron and annihilates, also creating (at least two) gamma rays. These myriad gamma rays emitted during the decay processes fall upon the expanding cloud of gas and dust, and then are absorbed and re-emitted. It is these photons that we see from Earth (Craig 111-113).

Because the reactions within Type Ia supernovas are nearly all the same, the brightness of each supernova is equivalent. Because of their uniformity and brightness, they are perfect standard candles. Beyond our local cluster of galaxies, telescopes have a very hard time picking out individual stars, and so Cepheid variables are no longer useful. Using the same method as is used to find the distance to Cepheids, astronomers can measure extreme distances, even on a cosmological scale (Summers). Astronomers such as Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, and Adam G. Riess (Nobel Prize 2011) hope to use Type Ia supernovas to discover the ultimate fate of our universe. Through measuring the redshift in the spectrums of extremely distant galaxies and supernovas, Perlmutter, Schmidt, and Reiss discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe. By using a clever strategy called Supernova on Demand, they were able to counteract the relative rarity of Type 1a Supernovas. They would watch a wide patch of sky containing thousands of galaxies for two or three nights after the new moon, and then image the same patch of sky again a few weeks later. Using this method they were able to observe dozens of supernovae at a time (Nobel). They found that the farther things are away from us, the faster theyre speeding away. By measuring the redshift of many distant objects, it is possible to quantify this relationship between acceleration and distance, known as the Hubble Constant. The current value is about 65 kilometers per second per million parsecs of distance away (~3.26 million light years). For every distant galaxy and object, we get the same relation between distance and velocity, giving the currently accepted age of the universe: 13.7 billion years (Craig 263-269).

9 Figure 5: Linear relationship between recession velocity and distance in extragalactic nebulae discovered by Edwin Hubble, which resulted in the creation of the Hubble Constant and established the Expanding Universe model. This is Hubbles original data.

For everything that we know, there always seems to be much more that we dont know. We dont know why the universe is expanding more and more rapidly, just that it is. By taking more, and more accurate, measurements of extremely redshifted Type Ia supernovas, astronomers hope to learn more about the so-called Dark Energy causing the expansion of space. From 1998 to 2000, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged 11 Type Ias, and confirmed the accelerating expansion, disproving the theory that the redshifts were caused by intergalactic dust. Hubble also gave more credence to the theory that the universe is made up of about 75% dark matter. This number arises from the amount of, to put it in simple terms, anti-gravity required to cause the universe to expand rather than collapse. Astronomers hope to measure up to a thousand heavily redshifted Type Ia Supernovas in order to glean more information, and to see how Dark Energy is changing over time (Hasler). The nature of Dark Energy, and the fate of our universe, is likely a question that will not be answered for some time yet. These are the questions astrophysicists and theoretical physicists are tackling today, both on Earth with advanced telescopes and the Large Hadron Collider, and in space. New and much more powerful telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (current launch date 2018) are planned to take over older technology like Hubble, and give us a new view into the most distant reaches of the universe (NASA JWST). Hopefully, this new telescope will be able to answer questions about the formation of early galaxies and the Big Bang. However, the JWST and others like it will still need some way to determine distance. Parallax isnt usable at distances beyond our galaxy, much less billions of light years away. Type Ia Supernovas, Cepheids, their brethren, and perhaps even new (very, very old), yet to be discovered standard candles, will always be our guides through the universe.