2011
Ref: ASTROimport-398

The excitation of solar-like oscillations in a dSct star by efficient envelope convection

Antoci, V. ; Handler, G. ; Campante, T. L. ; Thygesen, A. O. ; Moya, A. ; Kallinger, T. ; Stello, D. ; Grigahcène, A. ; Kjeldsen, H. ; Bedding, T. R. ; Lüftinger, T. ; Christensen-Dalsgaard, J. ; Catanzaro, G. ; Frasca, A. ; De Cat, P. ; Uytterhoeven, K. ; Bruntt, H. ; Houdek, G. ; Kurtz, D. W. ; Lenz, P. ; Kaiser, A. ; van Cleve, J. ; Allen, C. ; Clarke, B. D.


published in Nature, 477, pp. 570-573 (2011)

Abstract: Delta Scuti (dSct) stars are opacity-driven pulsators with masses of 1.5-2.5Msolar, their pulsations resulting from the varying ionization of helium. In less massive stars such as the Sun, convection transports mass and energy through the outer 30per cent of the star and excites a rich spectrum of resonant acoustic modes. Based on the solar example, with no firm theoretical basis, models predict that the convective envelope in dSct stars extends only about 1per cent of the radius, but with sufficient energy to excite solar-like oscillations. This was not observed before the Kepler mission, so the presence of a convective envelope in the models has been questioned. Here we report the detection of solar-like oscillations in the dSct star HD187547, implying that surface convection operates efficiently in stars about twice as massive as the Sun, as the ad hoc models predicted.

DOI: 10.1038/nature10389
Links: link


The record appears in these collections:
Royal Observatory of Belgium > Astronomy & Astrophysics
Science Articles > Peer Reviewed Articles



 Record created 2016-07-01, last modified 2016-07-01