Verifying asteroseismically determined parameters of Kepler stars using
  hipparcos parallaxes: self-consistent stellar properties and distances
  Accurately determining the properties of stars is of prime importance for
characterizing stellar populations in our Galaxy. The field of asteroseismology
has been thought to be particularly successful in such an endeavor for stars in
different evolutionary stages. However, to fully exploit its potential, robust
methods for estimating stellar parameters are required and independent
verification of the results is mandatory. With this purpose, we present a new
technique to obtain stellar properties by coupling asteroseismic analysis with
the InfraRed Flux Method. By using two global seismic observables and
multi-band photometry, the technique allows us to obtain masses, radii,
effective temperatures, bolometric fluxes, and hence distances for field stars
in a self-consistent manner. We apply our method to 22 solar-like oscillators
in the Kepler short-cadence sample, that have accurate Hipparcos parallaxes.
Our distance determinations agree to better than 5%, while measurements of
spectroscopic effective temperatures and interferometric radii also validate
our results. We briefly discuss the potential of our technique for stellar
population analysis and models of Galactic Chemical Evolution.
