3,090 research outputs found
New measurements of magnetic fields of roAp stars with FORS1 at the VLT
Magnetic fields play a key role in the pulsations of rapidly oscillating Ap
(roAp) stars since they are a necessary ingredient of all pulsation excitation
mechanisms proposed so far. This implies that the proper understanding of the
seismological behaviour of the roAp stars requires knowledge of their magnetic
fields. However, the magnetic fields of the roAp stars are not well studied.
Here we present new results of measurements of the mean longitudinal field of
14 roAp stars obtained from low resolution spectropolarimetry with FORS1 at the
VLT.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in A&
A Quantitative Non-radial Oscillation Model for the Subpulses in PSR B0943+10
In this paper, we analyze time series measurements of PSR B0943+10 and fit
them with a non-radial oscillation model. The model we apply was first
developed for total intensity measurements in an earlier paper, and expanded to
encompass linear polarization in a companion paper to this one. We use PSR
B0943+10 for the initial tests of our model because it has a simple geometry,
it has been exhaustively studied in the literature, and its behavior is
well-documented. As prelude to quantitative fitting, we have reanalyzed
previously published archival data of PSR B0943+10 and uncovered subtle but
significant behavior that is difficult to explain in the framework of the
drifting spark model. Our fits of a non-radial oscillation model are able to
successfully reproduce the observed behavior in this pulsar.Comment: 45 pages, 16 figures, accepted Ap
Finding binaries among Kepler pulsating stars from phase modulation of their pulsations
We present a method for finding binaries among pulsating stars that were observed by the Kepler Mission. We use entire 4 yr light curves to accurately measure the frequencies of the strongest pulsation modes, and then track the pulsation phases at those frequencies in 10-d segments. This produces a series of time-delay measurements in which binarity is apparent as a periodic modulation whose amplitude gives the projected light travel time across the orbit.
Fourier analysis of this time-delay curve provides the parameters of the orbit, including the period, eccentricity, angle of ascending node, and time of periastron passage. Differentiating the time-delay curve yields the full radial-velocity curve directly from the Kepler photometry, without the need for spectroscopy.We showexamples with δ scuti stars having large numbers of pulsation modes, including one system in which both components of the binary are pulsating. The method is straightforward to automate, thus radial velocity curves can be derived for hundreds of non-eclipsing binary stars from Kepler photometry alone
Pulsation in the atmosphere of the roAp star HD 24712. I. Spectroscopic observations and radial velocity measurements
We have investigated the structure of the pulsating atmosphere of one of the
best studied rapidly oscillating Ap stars, HD 24712. For this purpose we
analyzed spectra collected during 2001-2004. An extensive data set was obtained
in 2004 simultaneously with the photometry of the Canadian MOST mini-satellite.
This allows us to connect directly atmospheric dynamics observed as radial
velocity variations with light variations seen in photometry. We directly
derived for the first time and for different chemical elements, respectively
ions, phase shifts between photometric and radial velocity pulsation maxima
indicating, as we suggest, different line formation depths in the atmosphere.
This allowed us to estimate for the first time the propagation velocity of a
pulsation wave in the outer stellar atmosphere of a roAp star to be slightly
lower than the sound speed. We confirm large pulsation amplitudes (150-400 m/s)
for REE lines and the Halpha core, while spectral lines of the other elements
(Mg, Si, Ca, and Fe-peak elements) have nearly constant velocities. We did not
find different pulsation amplitudes and phases for the lines of rare-earth
elements before and after the Balmer jump, which supports the hypothesis of REE
concentration in the upper atmosphere above the hydrogen line-forming layers.
We also discuss radial velocity amplitudes and phases measured for individual
spectral lines as tools for a 3D tomography of the atmosphere of HD 24712.Comment: accepted by A&
Discovery of unusual pulsations in the cool, evolved Am stars HD 98851 and HD 102480
The chemically peculiar (CP) stars HD 98851 and HD 102480 have been
discovered to be unusual pulsators during the ``Naini Tal Cape Survey''
programme to search for pulsational variability in CP stars. Time series
photometric and spectroscopic observations of these newly discovered stars are
reported here. Fourier analyses of the time series photometry reveal that HD
98851 is pulsating mainly with frequencies 0.208 mHz and 0.103 mHz, and HD
102480 is pulsating with frequencies 0.107 mHz, 0.156 mHz and 0.198 mHz. The
frequency identifications are all subject to 1 d cycle count
ambiguities. We have matched the observed low resolution spectra of HD 98851
and HD 102480 in the range 3500-7400 \AA with theoretical synthetic spectra
using Kurucz models with solar metallicity and a micro-turbulent velocity 2 km
s. These yield K, log for HD 98851
and K, log for HD 102480. We
determined the equivalent H-line spectral class of these stars to be F1 IV and
F3 III/IV, respectively. A comparison of the location of HD 98851 and HD 102480
in the HR diagram with theoretical stellar evolutionary tracks indicates that
both stars are about 1-Gyr-old, 2- stars that lie towards the red
edge of the Sct instability strip. We conclude that HD 98851 and HD
102480 are cool, evolved Am pulsators. The light curves of these pulsating
stars have alternating high and low amplitudes, nearly harmonic (or
sub-harmonic) period ratios, high pulsational overtones and Am spectral types.
This is unusual for both Am and Sct pulsators, making these stars
interesting objects.Comment: 9 pages, 6 Figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
The first evidence for multiple pulsation axes: a new roAp star in the Kepler field, KIC 10195926
We have discovered a new rapidly oscillating Ap star among the Kepler Mission
target stars, KIC 10195926. This star shows two pulsation modes with periods
that are amongst the longest known for roAp stars at 17.1 min and 18.1 min,
indicating that the star is near the terminal age main sequence. The principal
pulsation mode is an oblique dipole mode that shows a rotationally split
frequency septuplet that provides information on the geometry of the mode. The
secondary mode also appears to be a dipole mode with a rotationally split
triplet, but we are able to show within the improved oblique pulsator model
that these two modes cannot have the same axis of pulsation. This is the first
time for any pulsating star that evidence has been found for separate pulsation
axes for different modes. The two modes are separated in frequency by 55
microHz, which we model as the large separation. The star is an alpha^2 CVn
spotted magnetic variable that shows a complex rotational light variation with
a period of Prot = 5.68459 d. For the first time for any spotted magnetic star
of the upper main sequence, we find clear evidence of light variation with a
period of twice the rotation period; i.e. a subharmonic frequency of . We propose that this and other subharmonics are the first observed
manifestation of torsional modes in an roAp star. From high resolution spectra
we determine Teff = 7400 K, log g = 3.6 and v sin i = 21 km/s. We have found a
magnetic pulsation model with fundamental parameters close to these values that
reproduces the rotational variations of the two obliquely pulsating modes with
different pulsation axes. The star shows overabundances of the rare earth
elements, but these are not as extreme as most other roAp stars. The spectrum
is variable with rotation, indicating surface abundance patches.Comment: 17 pages; 16 figures; MNRA
KIC 10080943: a binary star with two γ Doradus/δ Scuti hybrid pulsators. Analysis of the g modes
We use 4 yr of Kepler photometry to study the non-eclipsing spectroscopic binary KIC 10080943. We find both components to be γ Doradus/δ Scuti hybrids, which pulsate in both p and g modes. We present an analysis of the g modes, which is complicated by the fact that the two sets of l = 1 modes partially overlap in the frequency spectrum. Nevertheless, it is possible to disentangle them by identifying rotationally split doublets from one component and triplets from the other. The identification is helped by the presence of additive combina- tion frequencies in the spectrum that involve the doublets but not the triplets. The rotational splittings of the multiplets imply core rotation periods of about 11 and 7 d in the two stars. One of the stars also shows evidence of l = 2 modes
A Pulsational Model for the Orthogonal Polarization Modes in Radio Pulsars
In an earlier paper, we introduced a model for pulsars in which non-radial
oscillations of high spherical degree (\el) aligned to the magnetic axis of a
spinning neutron star were able to reproduce subpulses like those observed in
single-pulse measurements of pulsar intensity. The model did not address
polarization, which is an integral part of pulsar emission. Observations show
that many pulsars emit radio waves that appear to be the superposition of two
linearly polarized emission modes with orthogonal polarization angles. In this
paper, we extend our model to incorporate linear polarization. As before, we
propose that pulsational displacements of stellar material modulate the pulsar
emission, but now we apply this modulation to a linearly-polarized mode of
emission, as might be produced by curvature radiation. We further introduce a
second polarization mode, orthogonal to the first, that is modulated by
pulsational velocities. We combine these modes in superposition to model the
observed Stokes parameters in radio pulsars.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures accepted Ap
- …