A Delta Scuti variable (sometimes termed dwarf cepheid when the V-band amplitude is larger than 0.3 mag.) is a subclass of young

pulsating star Stellar pulsations are caused by expansions and contractions in the outer layers as a star seeks to maintain equilibrium. These fluctuations in stellar radius cause corresponding changes in the luminosity of the star. Astronomers are able to ded ...

. These variables as well as

classical cepheids Classical Cepheids (also known as Population I Cepheids, Type I Cepheids, or Delta Cepheid variables) are a type of Cepheid variable star. They are population I variable stars that exhibit regular radial pulsations with periods of a few days to a ...

are important

standard candles The cosmic distance ladder (also known as the extragalactic distance scale) is the succession of methods by which astronomers determine the distances to celestial objects. A ''direct'' distance measurement of an astronomical object is possible o ...

and have been used to establish the distance to the

Large Magellanic Cloud The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), or Nubecula Major, is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of around 50 kiloparsecs (≈160,000 light-years), the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the ...

globular clusters A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member ...

open clusters An open cluster is a type of star cluster made of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age. More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy, and ...

, and the Galactic Center. The variables follow a period-luminosity relation in certain passbands like other

such as

Cepheids A Cepheid variable () is a type of star that Instability strip, pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature and producing changes in brightness with a well-defined stable frequency, period and amplitude. A strong direct period-l ...

SX Phoenicis variables An SX Phoenicis variable is a type of variable star. These stars exhibit a short period pulsation behavior that varies on time scales of 0.03–0.08 days (0.7–1.9 hours). They have spectral classifications in the range A2-F5 and vary in magnitude ...

are generally considered to be a subclass of Delta Scuti variables that contain old stars, and can be found in globular clusters. SX Phe variables also follow a period-luminosity relation. One last sub-class are the pre-main sequence (PMS) Delta Scuti variables. The

OGLE Ogle may refer to: Places * Ogle County, Illinois, United States * Original name of Ashton, Illinois, a village * Ogle, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Ogle Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States * Ogle, Nor ...

and MACHO surveys have detected nearly 3000 Delta Scuti variables in the

. Typical brightness fluctuations are from 0.003 to 0.9 magnitudes in V over a period of a few hours, although the

amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of amplit ...

and period of the fluctuations can vary greatly. The stars are usually A0 to F5

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

giant or

main sequence In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...

stars. The high-amplitude Delta Scuti variables are also called AI Velorum stars, after the prototype

AI Velorum AI Velorum is a variable star in the southern constellation of Vela (constellation), Vela, abbreviated AI Vel. It is a prototype for a class of high amplitude Delta Scuti variables. The apparent visual magnitude of this star fluctuates ar ...

. Delta Scuti stars exhibit both radial and non-radial luminosity pulsations. Non-radial pulsations are when some parts of the surface move inwards and some outward at the same time. Radial pulsations are a special case, where the star expands and contracts around its equilibrium state by altering the radius to maintain its spherical shape. The variations are due to the swelling and shrinking of the star through the Eddington Valve or Kappa-mechanism. The stars have a helium rich atmosphere. As helium is heated it becomes more ionised, which is more opaque. So at the dimmest part in the cycle the star has highly ionised opaque helium in its atmosphere blocking part of the light from escaping. The energy from this “blocked light” causes the helium to heat up, expand, ionise, become more transparent and therefore allow more light through. As more light is let through the star appears brighter and, with the expansion, the helium begins to cool down. Hence the helium contracts and heats up again and the cyclical process continues. Throughout their lifetime Delta Scuti stars exhibit pulsation when they are situated on the classical Cepheid

instability strip The unqualified term instability strip usually refers to a region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram largely occupied by several related classes of pulsating variable stars: Delta Scuti variables, SX Phoenicis variables, and rapidly oscillati ...

. They then move across from the main sequence into the giant branch. The prototype of these sorts of variable stars is

Delta Scuti Delta Scuti, Latinized from δ Scuti, is a variable star in the southern constellation Scutum. With an apparent visual magnitude that fluctuates around 4.72, it is the fifth-brightest star in this small and otherwise undistinguished con ...

(δ Sct), which exhibits brightness fluctuations from +4.60 to +4.79 in

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's li ...

with a period of 4.65 hours. Other well known Delta Scuti variables include

Altair Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql or ...

, Denebola (β Leonis) and

β Cassiopeiae Beta Cassiopeiae (β Cassiopeiae, abbreviated Beta Cas or β Cas), officially named Caph , is a Delta Scuti variable star in the constellation of Cassiopeia. It is a giant star belonging to the spectral class F2. The white star of second ...

Vega Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, an ...

(α Lyrae) is a suspected Delta Scuti variable, but this remains unconfirmed.

Examples

Other examples include - σ Octantis and

Examples

References

Further reading