Detection of Cepheid variables by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite

Using the IRAS Point-Source Catalog (PSC) as a data base, midand far-IR emission near Cepheids were searched for. Of the more than 700 Cepheid variables listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, sixty-eight confirmed detections have been made in the PSC. The vast majority of Cepheids detected are bright, nearby classical Cepheids, whose IR flux is simply that produced by the stellar photosphere. For those Cepheids that show IR excesses, it is speculated that the excesses are caused by thermal emission from dust formed by mass loss. The results are discussed in the framework of simple mass-loss models for stars with masses comparable to Cepheid variables. 63 references