No Arabic abstract
Only for very few beta Cephei stars has the behaviour of the magnetic field been studied over the rotation cycle. During the past two years we have obtained multi-epoch polarimetric spectra of the beta Cephei star V1449 Aql with SOFIN at the Nordic Optical Telescope to search for a rotation period and to constrain the geometry of the magnetic field. The mean longitudinal magnetic field is measured at 13 different epochs. The new measurements, together with the previous FORS1 measurements, have been used for the frequency analysis and the characterization of the magnetic field. V1449 Aql so far possesses the strongest longitudinal magnetic field of up to 700G among the beta Cephei stars. The resulting periodogram displays three dominant peaks with the highest peak at f=0.0720d^-1 corresponding to a period P=13.893d. The magnetic field geometry can likely be described by a centred dipole with a polar magnetic field strength B_d around 3kG and an inclination angle beta of the magnetic axis to the rotation axis of 76+-4deg. As of today, the strongest longitudinal magnetic fields are detected in the beta Cephei stars V1449 Aql and xi^1 CMa with large radial velocity amplitudes. Their peak-to-peak amplitudes reach ~90km/s and ~33km/s, respectively. Concluding, we briefly discuss the position of the currently known eight magnetic beta Cephei and candidate beta Cephei stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram.
We present an analysis of the high-mass eclipsing binary system VV Ori based on photometry from the TESS satellite. The primary star (B1V, 9.5 Msun) shows beta Cephei pulsations and the secondary (B7V, 3.8 Msun) is possibly a slowly-pulsating B star. We detect 51 significant oscillation frequencies, including two multiplets with separations equal to the orbital frequency, indicating that the pulsations are tidally perturbed. We analyse the TESS light curve and published radial velocities to determine the physical properties of the system. Both stars are only the second of their pulsation type with a precisely-measured mass. The orbital inclination is also currently decreasing, likely due to gravitational interactions with a third body.
HD 156424 (B2 V) is a little-studied magnetic hot star in the Sco OB4 association, previously noted to display both high-frequency radial velocity (RV) variability and magnetospheric H$alpha$ emission. We have analysed the TESS light curve, and find that it is a $beta$ Cep pulsator with 11 detectable frequencies, 4 of which are independent $p$-modes. The strongest frequency is also detectable in RVs from ground-based high-resolution spectroscopy. RVs also show a long-term variation, suggestive of orbital motion with a period of $sim$years; significant differences in the frequencies determined from TESS and RV datasets are consistent with a light-time effect from orbital motion. Close examination of the stars spectrum reveals the presence of a spectroscopic companion, however as its RV is not variable it cannot be responsible for the orbital motion and we therefore infer that the system is a hierarchical triple with a so-far undetected third star. Reanalysis of LSD profiles from ESPaDOnS and HARPSpol spectropolarimetry reveals the surprising presence of a strong magnetic field in the companion star, with $langle B_z rangle$ about $+1.5$ kG as compared to $langle B_z rangle sim -0.8$ kG for the primary. HD 156424 is thus the second hot binary with two magnetic stars. We are unable to identify a rotational period for HD 156424A. The magnetospheric H$alpha$ emission appears to originate around HD 156424B. Using H$alpha$, as well as other variable spectral lines, we determine a period of about 0.52 d, making HD 156424B one of the most rapidly rotating magnetic hot stars.
This is a progress report of the study of pulsating main-sequence stars in the LMC. Using the OGLE-II photometry supplemented by the MACHO photometry, we find 64 Beta Cephei stars in the LMC. Their periods are generally much longer than observed in stars of this type in the Galaxy (the median value is 0.27 d compared with 0.17 d in the Galaxy). In 20 stars with short periods attributable to the Beta Cephei-type instability, we also find modes with periods longer than 0.4 d. They are likely low-order g modes, which means that in these stars both kinds of variability, Beta Cephei and SPB, are observed. We also show examples of the multiperiodic SPB stars in the LMC, the first beyond our Galaxy.
The information on stellar parameters and on the stellar interior we can get by studying pulsating stars depends crucially on the available observational constraints: both seismic constraints precision and number of detected modes, identification, nature of the modes) and classical observations (photospheric abundances, effective temperature, luminosity, surface gravity). We consider the case of beta Cephei pulsators and, with the aim of estimating quantitatively how the available observational constraints determine the type and precision of our inferences, we set the stage for Hare&Hound exercises. In this contribution we present preliminary results for one simple case, where we assume as observed frequencies a subset of frequencies of a model and then evaluate a seismic merit function on a dense and extensive grid of models of B-type stars. We also compare the behaviour of chi^2 surfaces obtained with and without mode identification.
We follow the eruption of two related intermediate filaments observed in H$alpha$ (from GONG) and in EUV (from SDO/AIA) and the resulting large-amplitude longitudinal oscillations of the plasma in the filament channels. The events occurred in and around the decayed active region AR12486 on 2016 January 26. Our detailed study of the oscillation reveals that the periods of the oscillations are about one hour. In H$alpha$ the period decreases with time and exhibits strong damping. The analysis of 171~AA images shows that the oscillation has two phases, an initial long period phase and a subsequent oscillation with a shorter period. In this wavelength the damping appears weaker than in H$alpha$. The velocity is the largest ever detected in a prominence oscillation, approximately 100 $mathrm{, km , s^{-1}}$. Using SDO/HMI magnetograms we reconstruct the magnetic field of the filaments modeled as flux ropes by using a flux-rope insertion method. Applying seismological techniques we determine that the radii of curvature of the field lines in which cool plasma is condensed are in the range 75-120~Mm, in agreement with the reconstructed field. In addition, we infer a field strength of $ge7$ to 30 gauss, depending on the electron density assumed; that is also in agreement with the values from the reconstruction (8-20 gauss). The poloidal flux is zero and the axis flux is of the order of 10$^{20}$ to 10$^{21}$ Mx, confirming the high shear existing even in a non-active filament.