163 research outputs found
Precise determination of stellar parameters of the ZZ Ceti and DAZ white dwarf GD 133 through asteroseismology
An increasing number of white dwarf stars show atmospheric chemical
composition polluted by heavy elements accreted from debris disk material. The
existence of such debris disks strongly suggests the presence of one or more
planet(s) whose gravitational interaction with rocky planetesimals is
responsible for their disruption by tidal effect. The ZZ Ceti pulsator and
polluted DAZ white dwarf GD 133 is a good candidate for searching for such a
potential planet. We started in 2011 a photometric follow-up of its pulsations.
As a result of this work in progress, we used the data gathered from 2011 to
2015 to make an asteroseismological analysis of GD 133, providing the star
parameters from a best fit model with / = 0.630 0.002,
= 12400 K 70 K, log() = -2.00 0.02,
log() = -4.50 0.02 and determining a rotation period of
7 days.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, accepted by MNRA
Mode Identification from Combination Frequency Amplitudes in ZZ Ceti Stars
The lightcurves of variable DA stars are usually multi-periodic and
non-sinusoidal, so that their Fourier transforms show peaks at eigenfrequencies
of the pulsation modes and at sums and differences of these frequencies. These
combination frequencies provide extra information about the pulsations, both
physical and geometrical, that is lost unless they are analyzed. Several
theories provide a context for this analysis by predicting combination
frequency amplitudes. In these theories, the combination frequencies arise from
nonlinear mixing of oscillation modes in the outer layers of the white dwarf,
so their analysis cannot yield direct information on the global structure of
the star as eigenmodes provide. However, their sensitivity to mode geometry
does make them a useful tool for identifying the spherical degree of the modes
that mix to produce them. In this paper, we analyze data from eight hot,
low-amplitude DAV white dwarfs and measure the amplitudes of combination
frequencies present. By comparing these amplitudes to the predictions of the
theory of Goldreich & Wu, we have verified that the theory is crudely
consistent with the measurements. We have also investigated to what extent the
combination frequencies can be used to measure the spherical degree (ell) of
the modes that produce them. We find that modes with ell > 2 are easily
identifiable as high ell based on their combination frequencies alone.
Distinguishing between ell=1 and 2 is also possible using harmonics. These
results will be useful for conducting seismological analysis of large ensembles
of ZZ Ceti stars, such as those being discovered using the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey. Because this method relies only on photometry at optical wavelengths,
it can be applied to faint stars using 4 m class telescopes.Comment: 73 pages, 22 figures, accepted in the Ap
High Resolution Spectroscopy of the Pulsating White Dwarf G29-38
We present the analysis of time-resolved, high resolution spectra of the cool
white dwarf pulsator, G29-38. From measuring the Doppler shifts of the H-alpha
core, we detect velocity changes as large as 16.5 km/s and conclude that they
are due to the horizontal motions associated with the g-mode pulsations on the
star. We detect seven pulsation modes from the velocity time-series and
identify the same modes in the flux variations. We discuss the properties of
these modes and use the advantage of having both velocity and flux measurements
of the pulsations to test the convective driving theory proposed for DAV stars.
Our data show limited agreement with the expected relationships between the
amplitude and phases of the velocity and flux modes. Unexpectedly, the velocity
curve shows evidence for harmonic distortion, in the form of a peak in the
Fourier transform whose frequency is the exact sum of the two largest
frequencies. Combination frequencies are a characteristic feature of the
Fourier transforms of light curves of G29-38, but before now have not been
detected in the velocities, nor does published theory predict that they should
exist. We compare our velocity combination frequency to combination frequencies
found in the analysis of light curves of G29-38, and discuss what might account
for the existence of velocity combinations with the properties we observe.
We also use our high-resolution spectra to determine if either rotation or
pulsation can explain the truncated shape observed for the DAV star's line
core. We are able to eliminate both mechanisms: the average spectrum does not
fit the rotationally broadened model and the time-series of spectra provides
proof that the pulsations do not significantly truncate the line.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ (June
Gravity-Modes in ZZ Ceti Stars: I.Quasiadiabatic Analysis of Overstability
We analyze the stability of g-modes in variable white dwarfs with hydrogen
envelopes. In these stars, the radiative layer contributes to mode damping
because its opacity decreases upon compression and the amplitude of the
Lagrangian pressure perturbation increases outward. The overlying convective
envelope is the seat of mode excitation because it acts as an insulating
blanket with respect to the perturbed flux that enters it from below. A crucial
point is that the convective motions respond to the instantaneous pulsational
state. Driving exceeds damping by as much as a factor of two provided
, where is the radian frequency of the mode and
with being the thermal time constant
evaluated at the base of the convective envelope. As a white dwarf cools, its
convection zone deepens, and modes of lower frequency become overstable.
However, the deeper convection zone impedes the passage of flux perturbations
from the base of the convection zone to the photosphere. Thus the photometric
variation of a mode with constant velocity amplitude decreases. These factors
account for the observed trend that longer period modes are found in cooler
DAVs. The linear growth time, ranging from hours for the longest period
observed modes ( minutes) to thousands of years for those of
shortest period ( minutes), probably sets the time-scale for
variations of mode amplitude and phase. This is consistent with observations
showing that longer period modes are more variable than shorter period ones.
Our investigation confirms many results obtained by Brickhill in his pioneering
studies of ZZ Cetis.Comment: 26 pages, including 5 figures, uses aaspp4.sty, submitted to Ap
The period and amplitude changes in the coolest GW Virginis variable star (PG 1159-type) PG 0122+200
Context: The PG 1159 pre-white dwarf stars experiment a rapidly cooling phase with a time scale of a few 10 6 years. Theoretical models predict that the neutrinos produced in their core should play a dominant role in the cooling, mainly at the cool end of the PG 1159 sequence. Measuring the evolutionary time scale of the coolest PG 1159 stars could offer a unique opportunity to empirically constrain the neutrino emission rate. Aims. A subgroup of the PG 1159 stars are nonradial pulsators, the GW Vir type of variable stars. They exhibit g-mode pulsations with periods of a few hundred seconds. As the stars cool, the pulsation frequencies evolve according to the change in their internal structure. It was anticipated that the measurement of their rate of change would directly determine the evolution time scale and so constrain the neutrino emission rates. As PG 0122+200 (BB Psc) defines the red edge of the GW Vir instability strip, it is a good candidate for such a measurement. Methods. The pulsations of PG 0122+200 have been observed during 22 years from 1986 to 2008, through the fast photometry technique. We used those data to measure the rate of change of its frequencies and amplitudes. Results. Among the 24 identified â = 1 modes, the frequency and amplitude variations have been obtained for the seven largest amplitude ones. We find changes of their frequency of much larger amplitudes and shorter time scales than the one predicted by theoretical models that assume that the cooling dominates the frequency variations. In the case of the largest amplitude mode at 2497 ÎŒHz (400 s), its variations are best fitted by a combination of two terms: one long term with a time scale of 5.4 Ă 10 4 years, which is significantly shorter than the predicted evolutionary time scale of 8 Ă 10 6 years; and one additional periodic term with a period of either 261 or 211 days. Some other mechanism(s) than the cooling must be responsible for such variations. We suggest that the resonant coupling induced within triplets by the star rotation could be such a mechanism. As a consequence, no useful constraints on the neutrino emission rate can presently be derived as long as the dominant mechanism is not properly understood. Conclusions. The temporal variations in the pulsation frequencies observed in PG 0122+200 cannot be simply attributed to the cooling of the star, regardless of the contribution of the neutrino losses. Our results suggest that the resonant coupling induced by the rotation plays a dominant role which must be further investigated.Facultad de Ciencias AstronĂłmicas y GeofĂsica
White dwarf spins from low mass stellar evolution models
The prediction of the spins of the compact remnants is a fundamental goal of
the theory of stellar evolution. Here, we confront the predictions for white
dwarf spins from evolutionary models including rotation with observational
constraints. We perform stellar evolution calculations for stars in the mass
range 1... 3\mso, including the physics of rotation, from the zero age main
sequence into the TP-AGB stage. We calculate two sets of model sequences, with
and without inclusion of magnetic fields. From the final computed models of
each sequence, we deduce the angular momenta and rotational velocities of the
emerging white dwarfs. While models including magnetic torques predict white
dwarf rotational velocities between 2 and 10 km s, those from the
non-magnetic sequences are found to be one to two orders of magnitude larger,
well above empirical upper limits. We find the situation analogous to that in
the neutron star progenitor mass range, and conclude that magnetic torques may
be required in order to understand the slow rotation of compact stellar
remnants in general.Comment: Accepted for A&A Letter
HD 51106 and HD 50747: an ellipsoidal binary and a triple system observed with CoRoT
We present an analysis of the observations of HD 51106 and HD 50747 by the
satellite CoRoT, obtained during its initial run, and of the spectroscopic
preparatory observations.
AIMS: We complete an analysis of the light curve, extract the main
frequencies observed, and discuss some preliminary interpretations about the
stars.
Methods: We used standard Fourier transform and pre-whitening methods to
extract information about the periodicities of the stars.
Results: HD 51106 is an ellipsoidal binary, the light curve of which can be
completely explained by the tidal deformation of the star and smaller secondary
effects. HD 50747 is a triple system containing a variable star, which exhibits
many modes of oscillation with periods in the range of a few hours. On the
basis of this period range and the analysis of the physical parameters of the
star, we conclude that HD 50747 is a Gamma-Doradus star.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, use (Astronomy-Astrophysics format/macro LAtex
Precise Modeling of the Exoplanet Host Star and CoRoT Main Target HD 52265
This paper presents a detailed and precise study of the characteristics of
the Exoplanet Host Star and CoRoT main target HD 52265, as derived from
asteroseismic studies. The results are compared with previous estimates, with a
comprehensive summary and discussion. The basic method is similar to that
previously used by the Toulouse group for solar-type stars. Models are computed
with various initial chemical compositions and the computed p-mode frequencies
are compared with the observed ones. All models include atomic diffusion and
the importance of radiative accelerations is discussed. Several tests are used,
including the usual frequency combinations and the fits of the \'echelle
diagrams. The possible surface effects are introduced and discussed. Automatic
codes are also used to find the best model for this star (SEEK, AMP) and their
results are compared with that obtained with the detailed method. We find
precise results for the mass, radius and age of this star, as well as its
effective temperature and luminosity. We also give an estimate of the initial
helium abundance. These results are important for the characterization of the
star-planet system.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 7 tables, to be published in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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