259 research outputs found
The [Y/Mg] clock works for evolved solar metallicity stars
Previously [Y/Mg] has been proven to be an age indicator for solar twins.
Here, we investigate if this relation also holds for helium-core-burning stars
of solar metallicity. High resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)
spectroscopic data of stars in the helium-core-burning phase have been obtained
with the FIES spectrograph on the NOT 2.56m telescope and the HIRES
spectrograph on the Keck I 10 m telescope. They have been analyzed to determine
the chemical abundances of four open clusters with close to solar metallicity;
NGC 6811, NGC 6819, M67 and NGC 188. The abundances are derived from equivalent
widths of spectral lines using ATLAS9 model atmospheres with parameters
determined from the excitation and ionization balance of Fe lines. Results from
asteroseismology and binary studies were used as priors on the atmospheric
parameters, where especially the is determined to much higher
precision than what is possible with spectroscopy. It is confirmed that the
four open clusters are close to solar metallicity and they follow the [Y/Mg]
vs. age trend previously found for solar twins. The [Y/Mg] vs. age clock also
works for giant stars in the helium-core burning phase, which vastly increases
the possibilities to estimate the age of stars not only in the solar
neighborhood, but in large parts of the Galaxy, due to the brighter nature of
evolved stars compared to dwarfs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication as a Letter to A&
Old puzzle, new insights: a lithium rich giant quietly burning helium in its core
About 1% of giant stars have been shown to have large surface Li abundances,
which is unexpected according to standard stellar evolution models. Several
scenarios for lithium production have been proposed, but it is still unclear
why these Li-rich giants exist. A missing piece in this puzzle is the knowledge
of the exact stage of evolution of these stars. Using low-and-high-resolution
spectroscopic observations, we have undertaken a survey of lithium-rich giants
in the Kepler field. In this letter, we report the finding of the first
confirmed Li-rich core-helium-burning giant, as revealed by asteroseismic
analysis. The evolutionary timescales constrained by its mass suggest that
Li-production most likely took place through non-canonical mixing at the
RGB-tip, possibly during the helium flash.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted in ApJ Letter
Oscillations in the Sun with SONG: Setting the scale for asteroseismic investigations
Context. We present the first high-cadence multi-wavelength radial-velocity
observations of the Sun-as-a-star, carried out during 57 consecutive days using
the stellar \'echelle spectrograph at the Hertzsprung SONG Telescope operating
at the Teide Observatory. Aims. The aim was to produce a high-quality data set
and reference values for the global helioseismic parameters {\nu_{max}}, and
{\Delta \nu} of the solar p-modes using the SONG instrument. The obtained data
set or the inferred values should then be used when the scaling relations are
applied to other stars showing solar-like oscillations which are observed with
SONG or similar instruments. Methods. We used different approaches to analyse
the power spectrum of the time series to determine {\nu_{max}}; simple Gaussian
fitting and heavy smoothing of the power spectrum. {\Delta\nu} was determined
using the method of autocorrelation of the power spectrum. The amplitude per
radial mode was determined using the method described in Kjeldsen et al.
(2008). Results. We found the following values for the solar oscillations using
the SONG spectrograph: {\nu_{max}} = 3141 {\pm} 12 {\mu}Hz, {\Delta\nu} =
134.98 {\pm} 0.04 {\mu}Hz and an average amplitude of the strongest radial
modes of 16.6 {\pm} 0.4 cm/s. These values are consistent with previous
measurements with other techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, letter accepted for A&
What asteroseismology can do for exoplanets
We describe three useful applications of asteroseismology in the context of
exoplanet science: (1) the detailed characterisation of exoplanet host stars;
(2) the measurement of stellar inclinations; and (3) the determination of
orbital eccentricity from transit duration making use of asteroseismic stellar
densities. We do so using the example system Kepler-410 (Van Eylen et al.
2014). This is one of the brightest (V = 9.4) Kepler exoplanet host stars,
containing a small (2.8 Rearth) transiting planet in a long orbit (17.8 days),
and one or more additional non-transiting planets as indicated by transit
timing variations. The validation of Kepler-410 (KOI-42) was complicated due to
the presence of a companion star, and the planetary nature of the system was
confirmed after analyzing a Spitzer transit observation as well as ground-based
follow-up observations.Comment: 4 pages, Proceedings of the CoRoT Symposium 3 / Kepler KASC-7 joint
meeting, Toulouse, 7-11 July 2014. To be published by EPJ Web of Conference
Observing the changing surface structures of the active K giant sigma Gem with SONG
Aims: We aim to study the spot evolution and differential rotation in the
magnetically active cool K-type giant star sigma Gem from broadband photometry
and continuous spectroscopic observations that span 150 nights. Methods: We use
high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained with the
Hertzsprung SONG telescope to reconstruct surface (photospheric) temperature
maps with Doppler imaging techniques. The 303 observations span 150 nights and
allow for a detailed analysis of the spot evolution and surface differential
rotation. The Doppler imaging results are compared to simultaneous broadband
photometry from the Tennessee State University T3 0.4 m Automated Photometric
Telescope. The activity from the stellar chromosphere, which is higher in the
stellar atmosphere, is also studied using SONG observations of Balmer H alpha
line profiles and correlated with the photospheric activity. Results: The
temperature maps obtained during eight consecutive stellar rotations show
mainly high-latitude or polar spots, with the main spot concentrations above
latitude 45 deg. The spots concentrate around phase 0.25 near the beginning of
our observations and around phase 0.75 towards the end. The photometric
observations confirm a small jump in spot phases that occurred in February
2016. The cross-correlation of the temperature maps reveals rather strong
solar-like differential rotation, giving a relative surface differential
rotation coefficient of = 0.10 +/- 0.02. There is a weak correlation
between the locations of starspots and enhanced emission in the chromosphere at
some epochs.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics, in the published version the Tables B1 and B2 will only be
available via CD
Detection of solar-like oscillations in relics of the Milky Way: asteroseismology of K giants in M4 using data from the NASA K2 mission
Asteroseismic constraints on K giants make it possible to infer radii, masses
and ages of tens of thousands of field stars. Tests against independent
estimates of these properties are however scarce, especially in the metal-poor
regime. Here, we report the detection of solar-like oscillations in 8 stars
belonging to the red-giant branch and red-horizontal branch of the globular
cluster M4. The detections were made in photometric observations from the K2
Mission during its Campaign 2. Making use of independent constraints on the
distance, we estimate masses of the 8 stars by utilising different combinations
of seismic and non-seismic inputs. When introducing a correction to the Delta
nu scaling relation as suggested by stellar models, for RGB stars we find
excellent agreement with the expected masses from isochrone fitting, and with a
distance modulus derived using independent methods. The offset with respect to
independent masses is lower, or comparable with, the uncertainties on the
average RGB mass (4-10%, depending on the combination of constraints used). Our
results lend confidence to asteroseismic masses in the metal poor regime. We
note that a larger sample will be needed to allow more stringent tests to be
made of systematic uncertainties in all the observables (both seismic and
non-seismic), and to explore the properties of RHB stars, and of different
populations in the cluster.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Asteroseismology of the Hyades red giant and planet host epsilon Tauri
Asteroseismic analysis of solar-like stars allows us to determine physical
parameters such as stellar mass, with a higher precision compared to most other
methods. Even in a well-studied cluster such as the Hyades, the masses of the
red giant stars are not well known, and previous mass estimates are based on
model calculations (isochrones). The four known red giants in the Hyades are
assumed to be clump (core-helium-burning) stars based on their positions in
colour-magnitude diagrams, however asteroseismology offers an opportunity to
test this assumption. Using asteroseismic techniques combined with other
methods, we aim to derive physical parameters and the evolutionary stage for
the planet hosting star epsilon Tau, which is one of the four red giants
located in the Hyades. We analysed time-series data from both ground and space
to perform the asteroseismic analysis. By combining high signal-to-noise (S/N)
radial-velocity data from the ground-based SONG network with continuous
space-based data from the revised Kepler mission K2, we derive and characterize
27 individual oscillation modes for epsilon Tau, along with global oscillation
parameters such as the large frequency separation and the ratio between the
amplitude of the oscillations measured in radial velocity and intensity as a
function of frequency. The latter has been measured previously for only two
stars, the Sun and Procyon. Combining the seismic analysis with interferometric
and spectroscopic measurements, we derive physical parameters for epsilon Tau,
and discuss its evolutionary status.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysic
The Transiting System GJ1214: High-Precision Defocused Transit Observations and a Search for Evidence of Transit Timing Variation
Aims: We present 11 high-precision photometric transit observations of the
transiting super-Earth planet GJ1214b. Combining these data with observations
from other authors, we investigate the ephemeris for possible signs of transit
timing variations (TTVs) using a Bayesian approach.
Methods: The observations were obtained using telescope-defocusing
techniques, and achieve a high precision with random errors in the photometry
as low as 1mmag per point. To investigate the possibility of TTVs in the light
curve, we calculate the overall probability of a TTV signal using Bayesian
methods.
Results: The observations are used to determine the photometric parameters
and the physical properties of the GJ1214 system. Our results are in good
agreement with published values. Individual times of mid-transit are measured
with uncertainties as low as 10s, allowing us to reduce the uncertainty in the
orbital period by a factor of two.
Conclusions: A Bayesian analysis reveals that it is highly improbable that
the observed transit times is explained by TTV, when compared with the simpler
alternative of a linear ephemeris.Comment: Submitted to A&
Spectroscopic survey of Kepler stars – II. FIES/NOT observations of A- and F-type stars
We have analysed high-resolution spectra of 28 A and 22 F stars in the Kepler field, observed using the Fibre-Fed Échelle Spectrograph at the Nordic Optical Telescope. We provide spectral types, atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances for 50 stars. Balmer, Fe I and Fe II lines were used to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities and microturbulent velocities. We determined chemical abundances and projected rotational velocities using a spectrum synthesis technique. Effective temperatures calculated by spectral energy distribution fitting are in good agreement with those determined from the spectral line analysis. The stars analysed include chemically peculiar stars of the Am and λ Boo types, as well as stars with approximately solar chemical abundances. The wide distribution of projected rotational velocity, vsin i, is typical for A and F stars. The microturbulence velocities obtained are typical for stars in the observed temperature and surface gravity ranges. Moreover, we affirm the results of Niemczura et al. that Am stars do not have systematically higher microturbulent velocities than normal stars of the same temperature
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