8,138 research outputs found
Tidal interaction of a rotating 1 Msun star with a binary companion
We calculate the tidal torque on a uniformly rotating 1 Msun star at various
stages of core hydrogen burning by an orbiting companion. We apply the
`traditional approximation' and solve the radial part of the tidal
perturbations by matrix inversion of the set of finite difference equations on
a very fine grid. We have identified resonances with gravity- and
quasi-toroidal modes with up to 1000 radial nodes in the more evolved stellar
models. For low forcing frequencies we find significant tidal response due to
viscous damping of inertial modes in the convective envelope of the solar-type
star. We conclude that effects due to stellar rotation (including resonance
locking) may considerably enhance the speed of tidal evolution in solar-type
stars.Comment: accepted for publ. in A&A, 11 pages, 6 figure
On the interpretation of echelle diagrams for solar-like oscillations. Effect of centrifugal distortion
This work aims at determining the impact of slow to moderate rotation on the
regular patterns often present in solar-like oscillation spectra. We focus on
the well-known asteroseismic diagnostic echelle diagrams, examining how
rotation may modify the estimates of the large and small spacings, as well as
the identification of modes. We illustrate the work with a real case: the
solar-like star Bootis. The modeling takes into account rotation effects
on the equilibrium models through an effective gravity and on the oscillation
frequencies through both perturbative and non-perturbative calculations. We
compare the results of both type of calculations in the context of the regular
spacings (like the small spacings and the scaled small spacings) and echelle
diagrams. We show that for echelle diagrams the perturbative approach remains
valid for rotational velocities up to 40-50 km/s. We show that for the
rotational velocities measured in solar-like stars, theoretical oscillation
frequencies must be corrected up to the second-order in terms of rotation rate,
including near degeneracy effects. For rotational velocities of about 16 km/S
and higher, diagnostics on large spacings and on modal identification through
echelle diagrams can be significantly altered by the presence of the
components of the rotationally split modes. We found these effects to be
detectable in the observed frequency range. Analysis of the effects of rotation
on small spacings and scaled small spacings reveals that these can be of the
order of, or even larger than surface effects, typically turbulence,
microscopic diffusion, etc. Furthermore, we show that scaled spacings are
significantly affected by stellar distortion even for small stellar rotational
velocities (from 10-15 km/s) and therefore some care must be taken when using
them as indicators for probing deep stellar interiors.Comment: 10 pages,5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ;
http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/721/1/537
Seismology of beta Cephei stars: differentially-rotating models for interpreting the oscillation spectrum of nu-Eridani
A method for the asteroseismic analysis of beta Cephei stars is presented and
applied to the star nu Eridani. The method is based on the analysis of
rotational splittings, and their asymmetries using differentially-rotating
asteroseismic models. Models with masses around 7.13 M_sun, and ages around
14.9 Myr, were found to fit better 10 of the 14 observed frequencies, which
were identified as the fundamental radial mode and the three L=1 triplets g, p,
and p. The splittings and aymmetries found for these modes recover those
provided in the literature, except for p. For this last mode, all its
non-axysimmetric components are predicted by the models. Moreover, opposite
signs of the observed and predicted splitting asymmetries are found. If
identification is confirmed, this can be a very interesting source of
information about the internal rotation profile, in particular in the outer
regions of the star.
In general, the seismic models which include a description for shellular
rotation yield slightly better results as compared with those given by
uniformly-rotating models. Furthermore, we show that asymmetries are quite
dependent on the overshooting of the convective core, which make the present
technique suitable for testing the theories describing the angular momentum
redistribution and chemical mixing due to rotationally-induced turbulence.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 8 tables. ApJ (in press
Asteroseismology
Asteroseismology is the determination of the interior structures of stars by
using their oscillations as seismic waves. Simple explanations of the
astrophysical background and some basic theoretical considerations needed in
this rapidly evolving field are followed by introductions to the most important
concepts and methods on the basis of example. Previous and potential
applications of asteroseismology are reviewed and future trends are attempted
to be foreseen.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, to appear in: "Planets, Stars and Stellar
Systems", eds. T. D. Oswalt et al., Springer Verla
Tidal evolution of eccentric orbits in massive binary systems; a study of resonance locking
We study the tidal evolution of a binary system consisting of a 1.4 Msun
compact object in elliptic orbit about a 10 Msun uniformly rotating main
sequence star for various values of the initial orbital parameters. We apply
our previously published results of 2D non-adiabatic calculations of the
non-radial g- and r-mode oscillations of the uniformly rotating MS star, and
include the effects of resonant excitation of these modes in the tidal
evolution calculations. A high orbital eccentricity enhances the effectiveness
of the tidal interaction because of the large number of harmonic components of
the tidal potential and the reduced orbital separation near periastron. By
including the evolution of the MS star, especially of its rotation rate, many
resonance crossings occur with enhanced tidal interaction. We analyse the
phenomenon of resonance locking whereby a particular tidal harmonic is kept
resonant with a stellar oscillation mode. Resonance locking of prograde g-modes
appears an effective mechanism for orbital circularization of eccentric orbits.
We consider the orbital evolution of the binary pulsar PSR J0045-7319 and
conclude that resonance locking could explain the observed short orbital decay
time of this system if the B-star spins in the direction counter to the orbital
motion.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures; some at reduced resolution, accepted for
publication in A&
Sounding stellar cycles with Kepler - I. Strategy for selecting targets
The long-term monitoring and high photometric precision of the Kepler
satellite will provide a unique opportunity to sound the stellar cycles of many
solar-type stars using asteroseismology. This can be achieved by studying
periodic changes in the amplitudes and frequencies of the oscillation modes
observed in these stars. By comparing these measurements with conventional
ground-based chromospheric activity indices, we can improve our understanding
of the relationship between chromospheric changes and those taking place deep
in the interior throughout the stellar activity cycle. In addition,
asteroseismic measurements of the convection zone depth and differential
rotation may help us determine whether stellar cycles are driven at the top or
at the base of the convection zone. In this paper, we analyze the precision
that will be possible using Kepler to measure stellar cycles, convection zone
depths, and differential rotation. Based on this analysis, we describe a
strategy for selecting specific targets to be observed by the Kepler
Asteroseismic Investigation for the full length of the mission, to optimize
their suitability for probing stellar cycles in a wide variety of solar-type
stars.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Visibility of unstable oscillation modes in a rapidly rotating B star
Space missions like CoRoT and Kepler have provided numerous new observations
of stellar oscillations in a multitude of stars by high precision photometry.
This work compares the observed rich oscillation spectrum of the rapidly
rotating B3 IV star HD 43317 with the first results obtained by a new method to
calculate unstable oscillation modes in rapidly rotating stars in order to see
whether some of the observed modes can be identified. The new numerical method
consists of two parts. We first search for modes resonant with a prescribed
forcing symmetry by moving through relevant regions of complex frequency space
and monitoring any increase of the stellar response to the applied forcing and
zooming in onto the resonance. These resonant non-adiabatic 2D-solutions are
then fed into a 2D relaxation code with the same equations but without forcing
terms. The complex oscillation frequency used in the forcing is now no longer
prescribed, but added as an extra unknown. The corresponding free oscillation
mode is usually obtained after a few () iterations with only minor
adjustment of the complex oscillation frequency. To compare with the observed
light variations we calculate the `visibility' of the found unstable
oscillation modes, taking into account the cancellation of the various parts of
the radiating oscillating stellar surface as seen by the observer. The
frequencies of unstable axisymmetric g-modes, which have the highest
visibility, appear to nearly coincide with the observed largest amplitude
photometric variations of HD 43317, making an identification of the latter
oscillations as =0 modes plausible. The identification of =1 g-modes is
less straightforward, while many of the unstable even =2 g-modes may
correspond to observed weaker photometric variations.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
FILOU oscillation code
The present paper provides a description of the oscillation code FILOU, its
main features, type of applications it can be used for, and some representative
solutions. The code is actively involved in CoRoT/ESTA exercises (this volume)
for the preparation for the proper interpretation of space data from the CoRoT
mission. Although CoRoT/ESTA exercises have been limited to the oscillations
computations for non-rotating models, the main characteristic of FILOU is,
however, the computation of radial and non-radial oscillation frequencies in
presence of rotation. In particular, FILOU calculates (in a perturbative
approach) adiabatic oscillation frequencies corrected for the effects of
rotation (up to the second order in the rotation rate) including near
degeneracy effects. Furthermore, FILOU works with either a uniform rotation or
a radial differential rotation profile (shellular rotation), feature which
makes the code singular in the field.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Astrophysics and Space Science (in press
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