Determination of the Distance to M33 Based on the Tip of the Red Giant Branch and the Red Clump

We have determined the distance to M33 using the tip of the red giant branch(TRGB) and the red clump (RC), from the VI photometry of stars in ten regionsof M33 based on HST/WFPC2 images. The regions used in this study are located atR=2.6 - 17.8 arcmin from the center of M33. The distance modulus to M33obtained in this study, for an adopted foreground reddening of E(B-V)=0.04, is(m-M)_{0,TRGB}=24.81+/-0.04(random)+0.15/-0.11(systematic) from the TRGB, and(m-M)_{0,RC}=24.80+/-0.04(random)+/-0.05(systematic) from the RC, showing anexcellent agreement between the two (corresponding to a distance of916+/-17(random) kpc and 912+/-17(random) kpc, respectively). These results are\~0.3 mag larger than the Cepheid distances based on the same HST/WFPC2 dataand ground-based data. This difference is considered partially due to theuncertainty in the estimates of the total reddening for Cepheids in M33.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, uses emulateapj5.sty, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa