On the Age Distribution of Classical Cepheids in the Galaxy

Abstract

We revisit the problem of the positive correlation between age and Galactocentric distance seen in Galactic Classical Cepheids, which at first sight may seem counter-intuitive in the context of inside-out galaxy formation. To explain it, we use the Besançon Galaxy Model and a simulation of star particles in the Galactic disc coupled with stellar evolutionary models. We then select Classical Cepheids from this simulation and test in qualitative terms which ingredients are necessary to find agreement with the observational data. We show that the interplay of the Galactic disc's metallicity gradient and the metallicity dependence of the Cepheids' life-time in the instability strip results in a pronounced positive age-Galactocentric distance relation. This renders a reconstruction of the recent star-formation history based on Classical Cepheids unrealistic. It also has important consequences on our interpretation of the observed scatter about the radial metallicity gradient measured with Galactic Classical Cepheids.