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Register a new userStellar granulation as seen in disk-integrated intensity. I. Simplified theoretical modeling
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The solar granulation is known for a long time to be a surface manifestation of convection. Thanks to the current space-borne missions CoRoT and Kepler, it is now possible to observe in disk-integrated intensity the signature of this phenomena in a growing number of stars. The space-based photometric measurements show that the global brightness fluctuations and the lifetime associated with granulation obeys characteristic scaling relations. We thus aim at providing a simple theoretical modeling to reproduce these scaling relations and subsequently at inferring the physical properties of granulation properties across the HR diagram. We develop a simple 1D theoretical model that enable us to test any prescription concerning the time-correlation between granules. The input parameters of the model are extracted from 3D hydrodynamical models of the surface layers of stars, and the free parameters involved in the model are calibrated with solar observations. Two different prescriptions for representing the eddy time-correlation in the Fourier space are compared: a Lorentzian and an exponential form. Finally, we compare our theoretical prediction with a 3D radiative hydrodynamical (RHD) numerical modeling of stellar granulation (ab-initio approach). Provided that the free parameters are appropriately adjusted, our theoretical model satisfactorily reproduces the shape and the amplitude of the observed solar granulation spectrum. The best agreement is obtained with an exponential form. Furthermore, our theoretical model results in granulation spectra that consistently agree with the these calculated on the basis of the ab-initio approach with two 3D RHD models. Comparison between theoretical granulation spectra calculated with the present model and high precision photometry measurements of stellar granulation is undertaken in a companion paper.
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A large set of stars observed by CoRoT and Kepler shows clear evidence for the presence of a stellar background, which is interpreted to arise from surface convection, i.e., granulation. These observations show that the characteristic time-scale (tau_eff) and the root-mean-square (rms) brightness fluctuations (sigma) associated with the granulation scale as a function of the peak frequency (nu_max) of the solar-like oscillations. We aim at providing a theoretical background to the observed scaling relations based on a model developed in the companion paper. We computed for each 3D model the theoretical power density spectrum (PDS) associated with the granulation as seen in disk-integrated intensity on the basis of the theoretical model. For each PDS we derived tau_eff and sigma and compared these theoretical values with the theoretical scaling relations derived from the theoretical model and the Kepler measurements. We derive theoretical scaling relations for tau_eff and sigma, which show the same dependence on nu_max as the observed scaling relations. In addition, we show that these quantities also scale as a function of the turbulent Mach number (Ma) estimated at the photosphere. The theoretical scaling relations for tau_eff and sigma match the observations well on a global scale. Our modelling provides additional theoretical support for the observed variations of sigma and tau_eff with nu_m max. It also highlights the important role of Ma in controlling the properties of the stellar granulation. However, the observations made with Kepler on a wide variety of stars cannot confirm the dependence of our scaling relations on Ma. Measurements of the granulation background and detections of solar-like oscillations in a statistically sufficient number of cool dwarf stars will be required for confirming the dependence of the theoretical scaling relations with Ma.
The granulation background seen in the power spectrum of a solar-like oscillator poses a serious challenge for extracting precise and detailed information about the stellar oscillations. Using a 3D hydrodynamical simulation of the Sun computed with CO$^5$BOLD, we investigate various background models to infer, using a Bayesian methodology, which one provides the best fit to the background in the simulated power spectrum. We find that the best fit is provided by an expression including the overall power level and two characteristic frequencies, one with an exponent of 2 and one with a free exponent taking on a value around 6. We assess the impact of the 3D hydro-code on this result by repeating the analysis with a simulation from Stagger and find that the main conclusion is unchanged. However, the details of the resulting best fits differ slightly between the two codes, but we explain this difference by studying the effect of the spatial resolution and the duration of the simulation on the fit. Additionally, we look into the impact of adding white noise to the simulated time series as a simple way to mimic a real star. We find that, as long as the noise level is not too low, the results are consistent with the no-noise case.
A large fraction of cool, low-mass stars exhibit brightness fluctuations that arise from a combination of convective granulation, acoustic oscillations, magnetic activity, and stellar rotation. Much of the short-timescale variability takes the form of stochastic noise, whose presence may limit the progress of extrasolar planet detection and characterization. In order to lay the groundwork for extracting useful information from these quasi-random signals, we focus on the origin of the granulation-driven component of the variability. We apply existing theoretical scaling relations to predict the star-integrated variability amplitudes for 508 stars with photometric light curves measured by the Kepler mission. We also derive an empirical correction factor that aims to account for the suppression of convection in F-dwarf stars with magnetic activity and shallow convection zones. So that we can make predictions of specific observational quantities, we performed Monte Carlo simulations of granulation light curves using a Lorentzian power spectrum. These simulations allowed us to reproduce the so-called flicker floor (i.e., a lower bound in the relationship between the full light-curve range and power in short-timescale fluctuations) that was found in the Kepler data. The Monte Carlo model also enabled us to convert the modeled fluctuation variance into a flicker amplitude directly comparable with observations. When the magnetic suppression factor described above is applied, the model reproduces the observed correlation between stellar surface gravity and flicker amplitude. Observationally validated models like these provide new and complementary evidence for a possible impact of magnetic activity on the properties of near-surface convection.
We present an analysis of the relatively low mass ($sim2400$~M$_{odot}$), $sim800$~Myr, Galactic open cluster, NGC~2818, using Gaia DR2 results combined with VLT/FLAMES spectroscopy. Using Gaia DR2 proper motions and parallax measurements we are able to select a clean sample of cluster members. This cluster displays a clear extended main sequence turn-off (eMSTO), a phenomenon previously studied mainly in young and intermediate age massive clusters in the Magellanic clouds. The main sequence of NGC~2818 is extremely narrow, with a width of $sim0.01$ magnitudes (G$_{rm BP} - $ G$_{rm RP}$), suggesting very low levels of differential extinction. Using VLT/FLAMES spectroscopy of 60 cluster members to measure the rotational velocity of the stars (Vsini) we find that stars on the red side of the eMSTO have high Vsini ($>160$~km/s) while stars on the blue side have low Vsini ($<160$~km/s), in agreement with model predictions. The cluster also follows the previously discovered trend between the age of the cluster and the extent of the eMSTO. We conclude that stellar rotation is the likely cause of the eMSTO phenomenon.
We study the evolution of an arch filament system (AFS) and of its individual arch filaments to learn about the processes occurring in them. We observed the AFS at the GREGOR solar telescope on Tenerife at high cadence with the very fast spectroscopic mode of the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS) in the He I 10830 AA spectral range. The He I triplet profiles were fitted with analytic functions to infer line-of-sight (LOS) velocities to follow plasma motions within the AFS. We tracked the temporal evolution of an individual arch filament over its entire lifetime, as seen in the He I 10830 AA triplet. The arch filament expanded in height and extended in length from 13 to 21. The lifetime of this arch filament is about 30 min. About 11 min after the arch filament is seen in He I, the loop top starts to rise with an average Doppler velocity of 6 km/s. Only two minutes later, plasma drains down with supersonic velocities towards the footpoints reaching a peak velocity of up to 40 km/s in the chromosphere. The temporal evolution of He I 10830 AA profiles near the leading pore showed almost ubiquitous dual red components of the He I triplet, indicating strong downflows, along with material nearly at rest within the same resolution element during the whole observing time. We followed the arch filament as it carried plasma during its rise from the photosphere to the corona. The material then drained toward the photosphere, reaching supersonic velocities, along the legs of the arch filament. Our observational results support theoretical AFS models and aids in improving future models.
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