484 research outputs found
A prescription for the asteroseismic surface correction
In asteroseismology, the surface effect is a disparity between the observed
and the modelled oscillation frequencies. It originates from improper modelling
of the surface layers in stars with solar-like oscillations. Correcting the
surface effect usually requires using functions with free parameters, which are
conventionally fitted to the observed frequencies. On the basis that the
correction should vary smoothly across the H--R diagram, we parameterize it as
a simple function of three stellar surface properties: surface gravity,
effective temperature, and metallicity. We determine this function by fitting
stars ranging from main-sequence dwarfs to red-giant-branch stars. The absolute
amount of the surface correction increases with surface gravity, but the ratio
between it and decreases. Applying the prescription has an
advantage of eliminating unrealistic surface correction, which improves
parameter estimations with stellar modelling. Using two open clusters, we found
that adopting the prescription can help reduce the scatter of the model-derived
ages for each star in the same cluster. For an application, we provide a new
revision for the scaling relation, using our prescription to
account for the surface effect in models. The values of the correction factor,
, are up to 2\% smaller than those determined without the
surface effect considered, suggesting decreases of up to 4\% in asteroseismic
scaling radii and up to 8\% in asteroseismic scaling masses. This revision
brings the asteroseismic properties into agreement with those determined from
eclipsing binaries. Finally, the new correction factor and the stellar models
with the corrected frequencies are made publicly available.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. All comments (including on
refs) are welcom
The K2-HERMES Survey: Age and Metallicity of the Thick Disc
Asteroseismology is a promising tool to study Galactic structure and
evolution because it can probe the ages of stars. Earlier attempts comparing
seismic data from the {\it Kepler} satellite with predictions from Galaxy
models found that the models predicted more low-mass stars compared to the
observed distribution of masses. It was unclear if the mismatch was due to
inaccuracies in the Galactic models, or the unknown aspects of the selection
function of the stars. Using new data from the K2 mission, which has a
well-defined selection function, we find that an old metal-poor thick disc, as
used in previous Galactic models, is incompatible with the asteroseismic
information. We show that spectroscopic measurements of [Fe/H] and
[/Fe] elemental abundances from the GALAH survey indicate a mean
metallicity of for the thick disc. Here is the
effective solar-scaled metallicity, which is a function of [Fe/H] and
[/Fe]. With the revised disc metallicities, for the first time, the
theoretically predicted distribution of seismic masses show excellent agreement
with the observed distribution of masses. This provides an indirect
verification of the asteroseismic mass scaling relation is good to within five
percent. Using an importance-sampling framework that takes the selection
function into account, we fit a population synthesis model of the Galaxy to the
observed seismic and spectroscopic data. Assuming the asteroseismic scaling
relations are correct, we estimate the mean age of the thick disc to be about
10 Gyr, in agreement with the traditional idea of an old -enhanced
thick disc.Comment: 21 pages, submitted to MNRA
Revisiting the Red Giant Branch Hosts KOI-3886 and ι Draconis.:Detailed Asteroseismic Modeling and Consolidated Stellar Parameters
Asteroseismology is playing an increasingly important role in the characterization of red giant host stars and their planetary systems. Here, we conduct detailed asteroseismic modeling of the evolved red giant branch (RGB) hosts KOI-3886 and ι Draconis, making use of end-of-mission Kepler (KOI-3886) and multisector TESS (ι Draconis) time-series photometry. We also model the benchmark star KIC 8410637, a member of an eclipsing binary, thus providing a direct test to the seismic determination. We test the impact of adopting different sets of observed modes as seismic constraints. Inclusion of .,"= 1 and 2 modes improves the precision of the stellar parameters, albeit marginally, compared to adopting radial modes alone, with 1.9%-3.0% (radius), 5%-9% (mass), and 19%-25% (age) reached when using all p-dominated modes as constraints. Given the very small spacing of adjacent dipole mixed modes in evolved RGB stars, the sparse set of observed g-dominated modes is not able to provide extra constraints, further leading to highly multimodal posteriors. Access to multiyear time-series photometry does not improve matters, with detailed modeling of evolved RGB stars based on (lower-resolution) TESS data sets attaining a precision commensurate with that based on end-of-mission Kepler data. Furthermore, we test the impact of varying the atmospheric boundary condition in our stellar models. We find the mass and radius estimates to be insensitive to the description of the near-surface layers, at the expense of substantially changing both the near-surface structure of the best-fitting models and the values of associated parameters like the initial helium abundance, Y i . Attempts to measure Y i from seismic modeling of red giants may thus be systematically dependent on the choice of atmospheric physics
Asteroseismology with the Roman Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey
Asteroseismology has transformed stellar astrophysics. Red giant
asteroseismology is a prime example, with oscillation periods and amplitudes
that are readily detectable with time-domain space-based telescopes. These
oscillations can be used to infer masses, ages and radii for large numbers of
stars, providing unique constraints on stellar populations in our galaxy. The
cadence, duration, and spatial resolution of the Roman galactic bulge
time-domain survey (GBTDS) are well-suited for asteroseismology and will probe
an important population not studied by prior missions. We identify photometric
precision as a key requirement for realizing the potential of asteroseismology
with Roman. A precision of 1 mmag per 15-min cadence or better for saturated
stars will enable detections of the populous red clump star population in the
Galactic bulge. If the survey efficiency is better than expected, we argue for
repeat observations of the same fields to improve photometric precision, or
covering additional fields to expand the stellar population reach if the
photometric precision for saturated stars is better than 1 mmag.
Asteroseismology is relatively insensitive to the timing of the observations
during the mission, and the prime red clump targets can be observed in a single
70 day campaign in any given field. Complementary stellar characterization,
particularly astrometry tied to the Gaia system, will also dramatically expand
the diagnostic power of asteroseismology. We also highlight synergies to Roman
GBTDS exoplanet science using transits and microlensing.Comment: Roman Core Community Survey White Paper, 3 pages, 4 figure
- …