Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userA seismic approach to testing different formation channels of subdwarf B stars
122
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
There are many unknowns in the formation of subdwarf B stars. Different formation channels are considered to be possible and to lead to a variety of helium-burning subdwarfs. All seismic models to date, however, assume that a subdwarf B star is a post-helium-flash-core surrounded by a thin inert layer of hydrogen. We examine an alternative formation channel, in which the subdwarf B star originates from a massive (>~2 Msun) red giant with a non-degenerate helium-core. Although these subdwarfs may evolve through the same region of the log g-Teff diagram as the canonical post-flash subdwarfs, their interior structure is rather different. We examine how this difference affects their pulsation modes and whether it can be observed. Using detailed stellar evolution calculations we construct subdwarf B models from both formation channels. The iron accumulation in the driving region due to diffusion, which causes the excitation of the modes, is approximated by a Gaussian function. The pulsation modes and frequencies are calculated with a non-adiabatic pulsation code. A detailed comparison of two subdwarf B models from different channels, but with the same log g and Teff, shows that their mode excitation is different. The excited frequencies are lower for the post-flash than for the post-non-degenerate subdwarf B star. This is mainly due to the differing chemical composition of the stellar envelope. A more general comparison between two grids of models shows that the excited frequencies of most post-non-degenerate subdwarfs cannot be well-matched with the frequencies of post-flash subdwarfs. In the rare event that an acceptable seismic match is found, additional information, such as mode identification and log g and Teff determinations, allows us to distinguish between the two formation channels.
rate research
Read More
We report the discovery of four new pulsating subdwarf B (sdBV) stars from Campaign 7 of the Kepler spacecrafts K2 mission. EPICs 215776487, 217280630, 218366972, and 218717602 are all gravity (g)-mode pulsators and we also detect two pressure (p)-mode pulsations in EPIC 218717602. We detect asymptotic l=1 sequences in all four stars, allowing us to identify nearly all of the g modes. We detect evenly-spaced frequency multiplets in EPIC 218717602, from which we determine a rotation period near seven days. Spectroscopic observations determine that EPIC 218366972, is in a 5.92d binary with most likely a white dwarf companion of canonical mass while the others have no detected companions. As we detect no multiplets in EPIC 218366972, it is added to the growing list of subsynchronously rotating stars. With 40 Kepler-detected sdBV stars and a growing number of TESS publications, we update an examination of the group properties to provide direction for models. We notice a correlation between effective temperature and period of maximum pulsation amplitude, at least for g-mode pulsations, and update the previously-observed effective temperature-rotation period relation.
Subdwarf B (sdB) stars are thought to be core helium burning stars with low mass hydrogen envelopes. In recent years it has become clear that many sdB stars lose their hydrogen through interaction with a binary companion and continue to reside in binary systems today. In this paper we present the results of a programme to measure orbital parameters of binary sdB stars. We determine the orbits of 22 binary sdB stars from 424 radial velocity measurements, raising the sample of sdBs with known orbital parameters to 38. We calculate lower limits for the masses of the companions of the sdB stars which, when combined with the orbital periods of the systems, allow us to discuss approximate evolutionary constraints. We find that a formation path for sdB stars consisting of mass transfer at the tip of the red giant branch followed by a common envelope phase explains most, but not all of the observed systems. It is particularly difficult to explain both long period systems and short period, massive systems. We present new measurements of the effective temperature, surface density and surface helium abundance for some of the sdB stars by fitting their blue spectra. We find that two of them (PG0839+399 and KPD1946+4340) do not lie in the Extreme Horizontal Branch (EHB) band indicating that they are post-EHB stars.
Pulsations in subdwarf B stars are attributed to radiative levitation of iron-group elements in the stellar envelope. Until now, only iron diffusion is accounted for in stellar models used for sdB seismology. However, nickel has also been suggested as a contributor to the opacity bump that drives the pulsation modes. Stellar models including time-dependent atomic diffusion, as we compute here, are needed to evaluate the importance of different iron-group elements for mode driving. We perform detailed calculations of radiative accelerations of H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Fe and Ni and include these in Burgers diffusion equations. We compute the evolution and non-adiabatic pulsations of a typical subdwarf B star. We show that, despite its lower initial abundance, nickel accumulates to comparable mass fractions as iron in the sdB envelope. For accurate determination of pulsation frequencies and mode instability, it is essential that diffusion of both metals are included in stellar models. The role of other iron-group elements remain to be evaluated.
Hot subdwarfs represent a group of low-mass helium-burning stars formed through binary-star interactions and include some of the most chemically-peculiar stars in the Galaxy. Stellar evolution theory suggests that they should have helium-rich atmospheres but, because radiation causes hydrogen to diffuse upwards, a majority are extremely helium poor. Questions posed include: when does the atmosphere become chemically stratified and at what rate? The existence of several helium-rich subdwarfs suggests further questions; are there distinct subgroups of hot subdwarf, or do hot subdwarfs change their surface composition in the course of evolution? Recent analyses have revealed remarkable surface chemistries amongst the helium-rich subgroup. In this paper, we analyse high-resolution spectra of nine intermediate helium-rich hot subdwarfs. We report the discovery that two stars, HE 2359-2844 and HE 1256-2738, show an atmospheric abundance of lead which is nearly ten thousand times that seen in the Sun. This is measured from optical Pb IV absorption lines never previously seen in any star. The lead abundance is ten to 100 times that measured in normal hot subdwarf atmospheres from ultraviolet spectroscopy. HE 2359-2844 also shows zirconium and yttrium abundances similar to those in the zirconium star LS IV-14 116. The new discoveries are interpreted in terms of heavily stratified atmospheres and the general picture of a surface chemistry in transition from a new-born helium-rich subdwarf to a normal helium-poor subdwarf.
During the course of an ongoing CCD monitoring program to investigate low-level light variations in subdwarf B (sdB) stars, we have serendipitously discovered a new class of low amplitude, multimode sdB pulsators with periods of the order of an hour. These periods are more than a factor of ten longer than those of previously known multimode sdB pulsators (EC 14026 stars), implying that they are due to gravity modes rather than pressure modes. The longer period pulsators are found only among cooler sdB stars, where they are surprisingly common. The iron opacity instability that drives the short period EC 14026 stars is effective only in hot sdBs, leaving the driving mechanism for the deeper gravity modes in cool sdBs currently unknown. We present the first observational results for our newly identified sdB variables, and discuss possible implications.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
