The "Tip" of the Red Giant Branch as a distance indicator: results from evolutionary models

Abstract

New theoretical evaluations of the Red Giant Branch Tip (TRGB) luminosity, by adopting the most updated physical inputs in computing canonical stellar models, are presented. Theoretical relations for the run of the TRGB bolometric and I magnitude with the metallicity are provided together with a comparison of the distance scale based on these relations and the RR Lyrae distance scale presented in Cassisi & Salaris (1996) and the Cepheid distance scale adopted by Lee, Freedman & Madore (1993). The result of this comparison - performed by adopting a sample of galactic globular clusters and a sample of resolved galaxies - discloses a satisfactory agreement between theory and observations at the level of 0.1 mag. This occurrence can be regarded as an evidence for the consistency between theoretical Red Giant, Horizontal Branch stellar models and independent Cepheid observations, and allows to safely use the provided TRGB luminosity relations as an alternative primary distance indicator for galaxies in which the stellar component has been resolved.