A δ Scuti Distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present results from a well studied delta Scuti star discovered in theLMC. The absolute magnitude of the variable was determined from the PL relationfor Galactic delta Scuti stars and from the theoretical modeling of theobserved B,V,I light curves. The two methods give distance moduli for the LMCof 18.46+-0.19 and 18.48+-0.15, respectively, for a consistent value of thestellar reddening of E(B-V)=0.08+-0.02. We have also analyzed 24 delta Scuticandidates discovered in the OGLE II survey of the LMC, and 7 variablesidentified in the open cluster LW 55 and in the galaxy disk by Kaluzny et al.(2003, 2006). We find that the LMC delta Scuti stars define a PL relation whoseslope is very similar to that defined by the Galactic delta Scuti variables,and yield a distance modulus for the LMC of 18.50+-0.22 mag. We compare theresults obtained from the delta Scuti variables with those derived from the LMCRR Lyrae stars and Cepheids. Within the observational uncertainties, the threegroups of pulsating stars yield very similar distance moduli. These moduli areall consistent with the "long" astronomical distance scale for the LargeMagellanic Cloud.Comment: Accepted for publication on A