284 research outputs found
The connection between stellar granulation and oscillation as seen by the Kepler mission
The long and almost continuous observations by Kepler show clear evidence of
a granulation background signal in a large sample of stars, which is
interpreted as the surface manifestation of convection. It has been shown that
its characteristic timescale and rms intensity fluctuation scale with the peak
frequency (\nu_{max}) of the solar-like oscillations. Various attempts have
been made to quantify the observed signal, to determine scaling relations, and
to compare them to theoretical predictions. We use a probabilistic method to
compare different approaches to extracting the granulation signal. We fit the
power density spectra of a large set of Kepler targets, determine the
granulation and global oscillation parameter, and quantify scaling relations
between them. We establish that a depression in power at about \nu_{max}/2,
known from the Sun and a few other main-sequence stars, is also statistically
significant in red giants and that a super-Lorentzian function with two
components is best suited to reproducing the granulation signal in the broader
vicinity of the pulsation power excess. We also establish that the specific
choice of the background model can affect the determination of \nu_{max},
introducing systematic uncertainties that can significantly exceed the random
uncertainties. We find the characteristic background frequency and amplitude to
tightly scale with \nu_{max} for a wide variety of stars, and quantify a mass
dependency of the latter. To enable comparison with theoretical predictions, we
computed effective timescales and intensity fluctuations and found them to
approximately scale as \tau_{eff} \propto g^{-0.85}\,T^{-0.4} and A_{gran}
\propto (g^2M)^{-1/4}, respectively. Similarly, the bolometric pulsation
amplitude scales approximately as A_{puls} \propto (g^2M)^{-1/3}, which
implicitly verifies a separate mass and luminosity dependence of A_{puls}.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, accepted for A&
Recent MOST space photometry
The Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) photometric satellite
has already undertaken more than 64 primary campaigns which include some
clusters and has obtained observations of >850 secondary stars of which ~180
are variable. More than half of the variables pulsate, with the majority being
of B-type. Since 2006 January, MOST has operated with only a single CCD for
both guiding and science. The resulting increase in read-out cadence has
improved precision for the brightest stars. The 2007 light curve for Procyon
confirms the lack of predicted p-modes with photometric amplitudes exceeding 8
ppm as we found in 2004 and 2005. p-modes have been detected in other
solar-type stars as well as pre-main sequence objects, roAp and delta Scuti
variables. g-modes have been detected in a range of slowly pulsating B stars,
Be stars and beta Cephei variables. Differential rotation has been defined for
several spotted solar-type stars and limits set to the albedo of certain
transiting planets and the presence of other perturbing planets. The mission is
expected to continue as long as the experiment operates.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, from HELAS-II meetin
Atmospheric parameters of 82 red giants in the Kepler field
Context: Accurate fundamental parameters of stars are essential for the
asteroseismic analysis of data from the NASA Kepler mission. Aims: We aim at
determining accurate atmospheric parameters and the abundance pattern for a
sample of 82 red giants that are targets for the Kepler mission. Methods: We
have used high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra from three different
spectrographs. We used the iterative spectral synthesis method VWA to derive
the fundamental parameters from carefully selected high-quality iron lines.
After determination of the fundamental parameters, abundances of 13 elements
were measured using equivalent widths of the spectral lines. Results: We
identify discrepancies in log g and [Fe/H], compared to the parameters based on
photometric indices in the Kepler Input Catalogue (larger than 2.0 dex for log
g and [Fe/H] for individual stars). The Teff found from spectroscopy and
photometry shows good agreement within the uncertainties. We find good
agreement between the spectroscopic log g and the log g derived from
asteroseismology. Also, we see indications of a potential metallicity effect on
the stellar oscillations. Conclusions: We have determined the fundamental
parameters and element abundances of 82 red giants. The large discrepancies
between the spectroscopic log g and [Fe/H] and values in the Kepler Input
Catalogue emphasize the need for further detailed spectroscopic follow-up of
the Kepler targets in order to produce reliable results from the asteroseismic
analysis.Comment: 16 Pages, 12 Figures, accepted for publication in A&
Modelling a high-mass red giant observed by CoRoT
The G6 giant HR\,2582 (HD\,50890) was observed by CoRoT for approximately 55
days. Mode frequencies are extracted from the observed Fourier spectrum of the
light curve. Numerical stellar models are then computed to determine the
characteristics of the star (mass, age, etc...) from the comparison with
observational constraints. We provide evidence for the presence of solar-like
oscillations at low frequency, between 10 and 20\,Hz, with a regular
spacing of Hz between consecutive radial orders. Only radial
modes are clearly visible. From the models compatible with the observational
constraints used here, We find that HR\,2582 (HD\,50890) is a massive star with
a mass in the range (3--\,5\,), clearly above the red clump. It
oscillates with rather low radial order ( = 5\,--\,12) modes. Its
evolutionary stage cannot be determined with precision: the star could be on
the ascending red giant branch (hydrogen shell burning) with an age of
approximately 155 Myr or in a later phase (helium burning). In order to obtain
a reasonable helium amount, the metallicity of the star must be quite subsolar.
Our best models are obtained with a mixing length significantly smaller than
that obtained for the Sun with the same physical description (except
overshoot). The amount of core overshoot during the main-sequence phase is
found to be mild, of the order of 0.1\,.Comment: Accepted in A&
Oscillating red giants in the CoRoT exo-field: Asteroseismic mass and radius determination
Context. Observations and analysis of solar-type oscillations in red-giant
stars is an emerging aspect of asteroseismic analysis with a number of open
questions yet to be explored. Although stochastic oscillations have previously
been detected in red giants from both radial velocity and photometric
measurements, those data were either too short or had sampling that was not
complete enough to perform a detailed data analysis of the variability. The
quality and quantity of photometric data as provided by the CoRoT satellite is
necessary to provide a breakthrough in observing p-mode oscillations in red
giants. We have analyzed continuous photometric time-series of about 11 400
relatively faint stars obtained in the exofield of CoRoT during the first 150
days long-run campaign from May to October 2007. We find several hundred stars
showing a clear power excess in a frequency and amplitude range expected for
red-giant pulsators. In this paper we present first results on a sub-sample of
these stars. Aims. Knowing reliable fundamental parameters like mass and radius
is essential for detailed asteroseismic studies of red-giant stars. As the
CoRoT exofield targets are relatively faint (11-16 mag) there are no (or only
weak) constraints on the star's location in the H-R diagram. We therefore aim
to extract information about such fundamental parameters solely from the
available time series. Methods. We model the convective background noise and
the power excess hump due to pulsation with a global model fit and deduce
reliable estimates for the stellar mass and radius from scaling relations for
the frequency of maximum oscillation power and the characteristic frequency
separation.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Characterisation of red-giant stars in the public Kepler data
The first public release of long-cadence stellar photometric data collected
by the NASA Kepler mission has now been made available. In this paper we
characterise the red-giant (G-K) stars in this large sample in terms of their
solar-like oscillations. We use published methods and well-known scaling
relations in the analysis. Just over 70% of the red giants in the sample show
detectable solar-like oscillations, and from these oscillations we are able to
estimate the fundamental properties of the stars. This asteroseismic analysis
reveals different populations: low-luminosity H-shell burning red-giant branch
stars, cool high-luminosity red giants on the red-giant branch and He-core
burning clump and secondary-clump giants.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society Main Journa
Solar-like oscillations in red giants observed with Kepler: comparison of global oscillation parameters from different methods
The large number of stars for which uninterrupted high-precision photometric
timeseries data are being collected with \textit{Kepler} and CoRoT initiated
the development of automated methods to analyse the stochastically excited
oscillations in main-sequence, subgiant and red-giant stars. Aims: We
investigate the differences in results for global oscillation parameters of G
and K red-giant stars due to different methods and definitions. We also
investigate uncertainties originating from the stochastic nature of the
oscillations. Methods: For this investigation we use Kepler data obtained
during the first four months of operation. These data have been analysed by
different groups using already published methods and the results are compared.
We also performed simulations to investigate the uncertainty on the resulting
parameters due to different realizations of the stochastic signal. Results: We
obtain results for the frequency of maximum oscillation power (nu_max) and the
mean large separation () from different methods for over one thousand
red-giant stars. The results for these parameters agree within a few percent
and seem therefore robust to the different analysis methods and definitions
used here. The uncertainties for nu_max and due to differences in
realization noise are not negligible and should be taken into account when
using these results for stellar modelling.Comment: 11 pages, 9 Figures and 7 tables, accepted for publication in
Astronomy and Astrophysic
The universal red-giant oscillation pattern; an automated determination with CoRoT data
The CoRoT and Kepler satellites have provided thousands of red-giant
oscillation spectra. The analysis of these spectra requires efficient methods
for identifying all eigenmode parameters. The assumption of new scaling laws
allows us to construct a theoretical oscillation pattern. We then obtain a
highly precise determination of the large separation by correlating the
observed patterns with this reference. We demonstrate that this pattern is
universal and are able to unambiguously assign the eigenmode radial orders and
angular degrees. This solves one of the current outstanding problems of
asteroseismology hence allowing precise theoretical investigation of red-giant
interiors.Comment: Accepted in A&A letter
Non-radial oscillations in the red giant HR7349 measured by CoRoT
Convection in red giant stars excites resonant acoustic waves whose
frequencies depend on the sound speed inside the star, which in turn depends on
the properties of the stellar interior. Therefore, asteroseismology is the most
robust available method for probing the internal structure of red giant stars.
Solar-like oscillations in the red giant HR7349 are investigated. Our study is
based on a time series of 380760 photometric measurements spread over 5 months
obtained with the CoRoT satellite. Mode parameters were estimated using maximum
likelihood estimation of the power spectrum. The power spectrum of the
high-precision time series clearly exhibits several identifiable peaks between
19 and 40 uHz showing regularity with a mean large and small spacing of Dnu =
3.47+-0.12 uHz and dnu_02 = 0.65+-0.10 uHz. Nineteen individual modes are
identified with amplitudes in the range from 35 to 115 ppm. The mode damping
time is estimated to be 14.7+4.7-2.9 days.Comment: 8 pages, A&A accepte
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