Photometric solutions for semidetached eclipsing binaries: Selection of distance indicators in the small magellanic cloud

Abstract

Estimation of distances to nearby galaxies by the use of eclipsing binaries as standard candles has recently become feasible because of new large-scale instruments and the discovery of thousands of eclipsing binaries as spin-off from Galactic microlensing surveys. Published measurements of distances to detached eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud combine stellar surface areas (in absolute units) determined from photometric light and radial velocity curves with surface brightnesses from model atmospheres and observed spectra. The method does not require the stars to be normal or undistorted and is not limited in its applicability to the well-detached systems that have traditional..