Are Luminous Variable Stars That Radially Pulsating?

Cepheids radially pulsate and are high luminosity variables with periods in the range of about 1-135 days.

What kind of stars pulsate?

Cepheid Variables are very luminous stars, 500 to 300,000 times greater than the sun, with short periods of change that range from 1 to 100 days. They are pulsating variables that expand and shrink dramatically within a short period of time, following a specific pattern.

What causes variable stars to pulse?

Pulsating variable stars are intrinsic variables as their variation in brightness is due to a physical change within the star. In the case of pulsating variables this is due to the periodic expansion and contraction of the surface layers of the stars.