No Arabic abstract
Gamma Doradus are F-type stars pulsating with high order g-modes. Their instability strip (IS) overlaps the red edge of the delta Scuti one. This observation has led to search for objects in this region of the HR diagram showing p and g-modes simultaneously. The existence of such hybrid pulsators has recently been confirmed (Handler 2009) and the number of candidates is increasing (Matthews 2007). From a theoretical point of view, non-adiabatic computations including a time-dependent treatment of convection (TDC) predict the existence of gamma Dor/delta Sct hybrid pulsators (Dupret et al. 2004; Grigahcene et al. 2006). Our aim is to confront the properties of the observed hybrid candidates with the theoretical predictions from non-adiabatic computations of non-radial pulsations including the convection-pulsation interaction.
Observations of the A5p star KIC 8677585 obtained during the Kepler 10-d commissioning run with 1-min time resolution show that it is a roAp star with several frequencies with periods near 10 min. In addition, a low frequency at 3.142 cycles/day is also clearly present. Multiperiodic gamma Doradus and delta Scuti pulsations, never before seen in any Ap star, are present in Kepler observations of at least three other Ap stars. Since gamma Doradus pulsations are seen in Ap stars, it is likely that the low-frequency in KIC 8677585 is also a gamma Doradus pulsation. The simultaneous presence of both gamma Doradus and roAp pulsations and the unexpected detection of delta Scuti and gamma Doradus pulsations in Ap stars present new opportunities and challenges for the interpretation of these stars.
We investigate the pulsation properties of stellar models representative of $delta$ Scuti and $gamma$ Doradus variables. We have calculated a grid of stellar models from 1.2 to 2.2 M$_{odot}$, including the effects of both rotation and convective overshoot using MESA, and we investigate the pulsation properties of these models using GYRE. We discuss observable patterns in the frequency spacing for $p$ modes and the period spacings for g modes. Using the observable patterns in g mode period spacings, it may be possible to observationally constrain the convective overshoot and rotation of a model. We also calculate the pulsation constant (Q) for all models in our grid, and investigate the variation with convective overshoot and rotation. The variation in Q values of radial modes can be used to place constraints on the convective overshoot and rotation of stars in this region. As a test case, we apply this method to a sample of 22 high amplitude $delta$ Scuti stars (HADS), and provide estimates for the convective overshoot of the sample.
Observations of the pulsations of stars can be used to infer their interior structure and test theoretical models. The main sequence $gamma$ Doradus (Dor) and $delta$ Scuti (Sct) stars with masses 1.2-2.5 $M_{sun}$ are particularly useful for these studies. The $gamma$ Dor stars pulsate in high-order $g$ modes with periods of order 1 day, driven by convective blocking at the base of their envelope convection zone. The $delta$ Sct stars pulsate in low-order $g$ and $p$ modes with periods of order 2 hours, driven by the $kappa$ mechanism operating in the Heii ionization zone. Theory predicts an overlap region in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram between instability regions, where hybrid stars pulsating in both types of modes should exist. The two types of modes with properties governed by different portions of the stellar interior provide complementary model constraints. Among the known $gamma$ Dor and $delta$ Sct stars, only four have been confirmed as hybrids. Now, analysis of combined Quarter 0 and Quarter 1 Kepler data for hundreds of variable stars shows that the frequency spectra are so rich that there are practically no pure $delta$ Sct or $gamma$ Dor pulsators, i.e. essentially all of the stars show frequencies in both the $delta$ Sct and $gamma$ Dor frequency range. A new observational classification scheme is proposed that takes into account the amplitude as well as the frequency, and is applied to categorize 234 stars as $delta$ Sct, $gamma$ Dor, $delta$ Sct/$gamma$ Dor or $gamma$ Dor/$delta$ Sct hybrids.
We present the first asteroseismic results for $delta$ Scuti and $gamma$ Doradus stars observed in Sectors 1 and 2 of the TESS mission. We utilise the 2-min cadence TESS data for a sample of 117 stars to classify their behaviour regarding variability and place them in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram using Gaia DR2 data. Included within our sample are the eponymous members of two pulsator classes, $gamma$ Doradus and SX Phoenicis. Our sample of pulsating intermediate-mass stars observed by TESS also allows us to confront theoretical models of pulsation driving in the classical instability strip for the first time and show that mixing processes in the outer envelope play an important role. We derive an empirical estimate of 74% for the relative amplitude suppression factor as a result of the redder TESS passband compared to the Kepler mission using a pulsating eclipsing binary system. Furthermore, our sample contains many high-frequency pulsators, allowing us to probe the frequency variability of hot young $delta$ Scuti stars, which were lacking in the Kepler mission data set, and identify promising targets for future asteroseismic modelling. The TESS data also allow us to refine the stellar parameters of SX Phoenicis, which is believed to be a blue straggler.
Context: Several hundred candidate hybrid pulsators of type A-F have been identified from space-based observations. Their large number allows both statistical analyses and detailed investigations of individual stars. This offers the opportunity to study the full interior of the genuine hybrids, in which both low-radial-order p- and high-order g-modes are self-excited at the same time. However, a few other physical processes can also be responsible for the observed hybrid nature, related to binarity or to surface inhomogeneities. The finding that most delta Scuti stars also show long-period light variations represents a real challenge for theory. Methods: Fourier analysis of all the available Kepler light curves. Investigation of the frequency and period spacings. Determination of the stellar physical parameters from spectroscopic observations. Modelling of the transit events. Results: The Fourier analysis of the Kepler light curves revealed 55 significant frequencies clustered into two groups, which are separated by a gap between 15 and 27 c/d. The light variations are dominated by the beating of two dominant frequencies located at around 4 c/d. The amplitudes of these two frequencies show a monotonic long-term trend. The frequency spacing analysis revealed two possibilities: the pulsator is either a highly inclined moderate rotator (v~70 km/s, i > 70 deg) or a fast rotator (v~200 km/s) with i~20 deg. The transit analysis disclosed that the transit events which occur with a ~197 c/d period may be caused by a 1.6 R_Jup body orbiting a fainter star, which would be spatially coincident with KIC 9533489.