Maia variables and other anomalies among pulsating stars

From TESS photometry, 493 mid- to late-B stars with high frequencies (Maia variables) have been identified. The distribution of projected rotational velocities shows that the rotation rates of Maia variables are no different from those of SPB stars. Moreover, many Maia stars pulsate with frequencies exceeding 60 c/d. Rapid rotation is ruled out as a possible factor in understanding the Maia variables. There is clearly a serious problem with current pulsational models. Not only are the models unable to account for the Maia stars, but they also fail to account for the fact that SPB and gamma Dor variables form one continuous instability strip from the cool end of the delta Sct region to the hot end of the beta Cep instability strip. Likewise, there is continuity between the distributions of delta Sct, Maia, and beta Cep variables. In fact, Maia stars seem to be an extension of delta Sct stars to the mid-B type. These observations suggest an interplay between multiple driving mechanisms rather than separate dominant mechanisms for each variability group.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 3 figure

Identification and classification of TESS variable stars

Visual classification of the variability classes of over 120,000 Kepler, K2 and TESS stars is presented. The sample is mainly based on stars with known spectral types. Since variability classification often requires the location of the star in the H--R diagram, a catalogue of effective temperatures was compiled. Luminosities were estimated from Gaia DR3 parallaxes. The different classes of variable found in this survey are discussed. Examples of light curves and periodograms for common variability classes are shown. A catalogue of projected rotational velocities is also included.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 6 table

The extraordinary frequency pattern variation in {\delta} Scuti stars

Inspection of the periodograms of TESS delta Scuti stars indicates that there is little, if any, similarity between the frequencies of stars in the same region of the H-R diagram. This is difficult to understand because pulsation models predict that stars with similar physical parameters should have similar frequencies. To investigate the problem, a quantitative measure of similarity between frequency patterns is described. When applied to non-adiabatic pulsation models with similar temperatures and luminosities, a strong correlation is found between the frequency patterns, as expected. The correlation increases when rotational frequency splitting is included. When applied to observations, no correlation can be found, confirming the impression from visual inspection. It seems that each star has its own unique frequency pattern, unrelated to its position in the H-R diagram. This presents a problem in our understanding of stellar pulsation. The existence of a period-luminosity law and the effect of combination frequencies in delta Scuti stars is briefly discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Metal-Rich SX Phe Stars in theKeplerField

High-resolution spectroscopic observations have been made for 32 of the 34 candidate SX Phe stars identified in the Kepler field by Balona & Nemec (2012). All available long- and short-cadence Q0-Q17 Kepler photometry has been analyzed for the 34 candidates. Radial velocities (RVs), space motions (U, V, W), projected rotation veloc- ities (v sin i), spectral types, and atmospheric characteristics (Teff , log g, [M/H], vmic, etc.) were derived from ∼160 spectra taken with the ESPaDOnS spectrograph on the Canada- France-Hawaii 3.6-m telescope and with the ARCES spectrograph on the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-m telescope. Two thirds of the stars are fast rotators with v sin i > 50 km/s, including four stars with v sin i > 200 km/s. Three of the stars have (negative) RVs > 250 km/s and retrograde space motions, and seven stars have total space motions > 400 km/s. All the spectroscopically measured SX Phe candidates have positions in a Toomre diagram that are consistent with being bona fide halo and thick-disk stars. Although several stars show a marked metal weakness, the mean [Fe/H] of the sample is near 0.0 dex (σ ∼ 0.25 dex), which is considerably more metal-rich than is normally expected for a sample of Pop. II stars. Observed pulsation frequency modulations and optical time delays suggest that at least eight of the SX Phe stars are in binary systems, some of which show signif- icant RV variations. Six of the time-delay binaries have secondary masses ranging from 0.05 to 0.70 Mo and orbital periods in the range 9 to 1570 days. Another star appears to be an ellipsoidal variable with a 2.3-day orbital period; and two other systems have orbital periods longer than the ∼4-year sampling interval of the Kepler data

Pulsation in Intermediate-Mass Stars

A new perspective of pulsation in stars within the δ Scuti instability strip has recently emerged as a result of Kepler observations. The majority of stars within the instability strip do not pulsate and practically all δ Scuti stars contain low frequencies. Because γ Doradus stars co-exist with δ Sct stars in the same region of the instability strip, it follows that γ Dor stars are driven by the same mechanism as δ Sct stars. The difference must be due to different mode selection processes. The search for an unknown damping factor which is missing from the models will be essential for further progress. Maia variables and hot γ Dor stars are briefly discussed. Luminosities of roAp stars obtained from Gaia DR2 parallaxes and spectroscopic effective temperatures show that the roAp stars are slightly evolved with temperatures in the range 6,300–8,300 K, considerably cooler than predicted by the models. The roAp stars and stars with solar-like oscillations share the same mass—temperature—luminosity relation, but with frequencies which are about 50 percent higher. This suggests that roAp frequencies are determined by the critical acoustic frequency, but this frequency is larger than in standard models, perhaps as a result of a temperature inversion in the atmosphere