Space and Ground Based Data for Asteroseismology

Measuring eigenfrequencies and identifying eigenmodes provide the observational basis for a significant improvement in our understanding of stellar evolution and structure.Development throughout the last few years show that we may be at the dawn of a `Golden Age'for Asteroseismology. For this to become a reality we only need two things:Better data and better models. In this paper I describe some aspectsof how one detects stellar oscillations.     

Velocity Space of Galactic O-B Stars

Based on the Hipparcos proper motions and available radial velocity data of O-B stars, we have re-examined the local kinematical structure of the young disk population of-1500 O-B stars not including the Gould-belt stars. A systematic warping motion of the stars about the direction to the Galactic center has been reconfirmed. A negative K-term implying a systematic contraction of stars in the solar vicinity has been detected. Two different distance scales are used in order to find out their impact on the kinematical parameters, and we conclude that the adopted distance scale plays an important role in characterizing the kinematical parameters at the present level of the measurement uncertainty.     

Asteroseismology and interferometry

Asteroseismology provides us with a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of stellar structure and evolution. Recent developments, including the first systematic studies of solar-like pulsators, have boosted the impact of this field of research within astrophysics and have led to a significant increase in the size of the research community. In the present paper we start by reviewing the basic observational and theoretical properties of classical and solar-like pulsators and present results from some of the most recent and outstanding studies of these stars. We centre our review on those classes of pulsators for which interferometric studies are expected to provide a significant input. We discuss current limitations to asteroseismic studies, including difficulties in mode identification and in the accurate determination of global parameters of pulsating stars, and, after a brief review of those aspects of interferometry that are most relevant in this context, anticipate how interferometric observations may contribute to overcome these limitations. Moreover, we present results of recent pilot studies of pulsating stars involving both asteroseismic and interferometric constraints and look into the future, summarizing ongoing efforts concerning the development of future instruments and satellite missions which are expected to have an impact in this field of research.     

Asteroseismology of degenerate stars

An overview of the observational and theoretical study of white dwarf pulsators is given. Particular attention is drawn to the contributions of South African-based workers.     

Asteroseismology of the DBV star CBS 114

Asteroseismology is a unique and powerful tool to investigate the internal structure of stars.CBS 114 is the sixth known pulsating DBV star. It was observed by Handler, Metcalfe, Wood at the South African Astronomical Observatory over three weeks in 2001. Then, it was observed by Metcalfe et al. for seven nights(2004 Feb. 19–25) on the 1.8 m telescope at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory and seven nights(2004 Feb. 21–27) on the 2.1 m telescope at the Mc Donald Observatory.Totally two triplets, four doublets, and five singlets were identified. The frequency splitting values are very different, from 5.2 μHz to 11.9 μHz, which may reflect differential rotations. We evolve grids of white dwarf models by MESA. Cores, added with He/C envelopes, of those white dwarf models are inserted into WDEC to evolve grids of DBV star models. With those DBV star models, we calculate eigenperiods. Those calculated periods are used to fit observed periods. A best-fitting model is selected. The parameters are T_(eff) = 25 000 K, M_*= 0.740 M_⊙ and log(M_(He)/M_*) =-4.5. With the relatively large stellar mass, the effective temperature is close to the previous spectroscopic result. In addition, kinetic energy distributions are calculated for the best-fitting model. We find that the observed modes with large frequency splitting values are fitted by the calculated modes with a large amount of kinetic energy distributed in the C/O core.After preliminary analysis, we suggest that the C/O core may rotate at least two times faster than the helium layer for CBS 114.     

Asteroseismology: from dream to reality

With the resounding success of helioseismology in determining the interior structure and rotation of the Sun, and in providing unprecedented studies of the interaction of pulsation and magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere, astronomers have been delighted, after decades of disappointing attempts, with the recent discovery of solar-like oscillations in ξ Hya, β Hyi, α Cen A and B, η Boo, ν Ind, ζ Her, δ Eri, HD 20794, HD 160191, and others as this list is growing rapidly. There is now true seismology of some solar-like stars. Asteroseismology also studies stars with a wide variety of interior and surface conditions. For two decades asteroseismic techniques have been applied to many pulsating stars across the HR diagram. This review describes some recent developments for some selected classes of pulsating stars other than the solar-like oscillators.     

Asteroseismology of solar and stellar models

I discuss several asteroseismology diagnostic techniques that can be applied to the high quality data on stellar oscillations obtained, and to be obtained in the future, from ground based and space based experiments. In particular I discuss techniques using the representation of oscillation frequencies in terms of inner and outer phase shifts which can be used both for model fitting and inversion procedures to probe the inner structure of stars, and hence to test and improve our modelling.     

Asteroseismology: Past, present and future

Asteroseismology studies stars with a wide variety of interior and surface conditions. For two decades asteroseismic techniques have been applied to many pulsating stars across the HR diagram. Asteroseismology is now a booming field of research with stunning new discoveries; I highlight a personal selection of these in this review, many of which are discussed in more detail elsewhere in these proceedings. For many years the Nainital-Cape Survey for northern roAp stars has been running at ARIES, so I emphasise new spectroscopic results for roAp stars and point out the outstanding prospects for the planned ARIES 3-m telescope at Devastai. High precision spectroscopy has revolutionised the asteroseismic study of some types of stars — particularly solar-like oscillators and roAp stars — while photometry is still the best way to study the frequency spectra that are the basic data of asteroseismology. New telescopes, new photometers and space missions are revolutionising asteroseismic photometry. In addition to the ground-based potential of asteroseismic spectroscopy, India has the knowledge and capability for space-based asteroseismic photometry. The future for asteroseismology is bright indeed, especially for Indian astronomers.     

Towards Asteroseismology from Space, the EVRIS experiment. Opto-mechanical characteristics and pointing performances of the EVRIS/PAIS complex

EVRIS is the first space experiment dedicated to asteroseismology. It is designed to measure the relative time variations of the flux of several bright stars and to detect their modes of pulsation. As the amplitudes of these oscillations should be very small (a few ppm), the instrument has to perform relative photometry with an extremely high accuracy, i.e. hundred times better than the classical accuracy reached from the ground. The experiment is composed of a star tracker and a photometer, mounted on a pointing platform PAIS. This paper describes the mechanical and optical design and the performance of EVRIS, as well as the properties of the pointing system. It is shown that the EVRIS/PAIS complex meets the scientific specifications for a list of targets well suited for asteroseismology. The EVRIS collaboration is composed of: G. Epstein, J.P. Michel, F. Rakotoarivelo, F. Roubaud and A. Mangeney Observatoire de Paris (DESPA) 92195 Meudon, FranceA. Magnan, J.C. DavidLaboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale, BP8 - Traverse du Siphon, 13012 Marseille, FranceJ.T. BueyObservatoire de Paris (DESPA) 92195 Meudon, FranceObservatoire de Paris (DASGAL) 92195 Meudon, FranceR. BellengerDépartement d'Astrophysique Extragalactique et de Cosmologie, Observatoire de Paris, FranceM. Gelbmann, U. Heiter, F. Hiesberger, R. Kuschnig and E. PaunzenInstitut für Astronomie, Wien Austria     

Asteroseismology of δ Scuti and γ Doradus stars

We give an overview of past and present efforts to make seismology of δ Scuti and γ Doradus stars possible. Previous work has not led to the observational detection and identification of a sufficient number of pulsation modes for these pulsators for the construction of unique seismic models. However, recent efforts including large ground-based observational campaigns, work on pre-main sequence pulsators, asteroseismic satellite missions, theoretical advances on mode identification methods, and the discovery of a star showing simultaneous self-excited δ Scuti and γ Doradus oscillations suggest that we may be able to explore the interiors of these pulsators in the very near future.     

Zero-Metallicity Stars and the Effects of the First Stars on Reionization

We present a model that relates the width of the broad emission lines of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to the Keplerian velocity of an accretion disk at a critical distance from the central black hole. This critical distance falls in a region bounded on the inward side by the transition radius between the radiation pressure- and the gas pressure-dominated region of the accretion disk and on the outward side by the maximum radius below which a stabilizing, radially accreting and vertically outflowing corona exists. We show that in the framework of this picture, the observed range of Hbeta FWHMs from broad-line to narrow-line type 1 AGNs is well reproduced as a function of the accretion rate. This interval of velocities is the only permitted range and goes from approximately 20,000 km s-1 for sub-Eddington accretion rates to approximately 1000 km s-1 for Eddington accretion rates.     

Asteroseismology and Oblique Pulsator Model of beta Cephei

The evolution of halos consisting of weakly self-interacting dark matter particles is investigated using a new numerical Monte Carlo N-body method. The halos initially contain kinematically cold, dense r-1 power-law cores. For interaction cross sections sigma*=sigmawsi&solm0;mp>/=10-100 cm2 g-1, weak self-interaction leads to the formation of isothermal, constant-density cores within a Hubble time as a result of heat transfer into the cold inner regions. This core structure is in good agreement with the observations of dark matter rotation curves in dwarf galaxies. The isothermal core radii and core densities are a function of the halo scale radii and scale masses which depend on the cosmological model. Adopting the currently popular LambdaCDM model, the predicted core radii and core densities are in good agreement with the observations. For large interaction cross sections, massive dark halos with scale radii rs>/=1.4x104 cm2 g-1 (sigma*)-1 kpc could experience core collapse during their lifetime, leading to cores with singular isothermal density profiles.     

Asteroseismology of δ Scuti stars: Problems and prospects

We briefly outline the state-of-the-art seismology of δ Scuti stars from a theoretical point of view: why is it so difficult a task? The recent theoretical advances in the field that these difficulties have influenced are also discussed.     

Early-Type Stars

Away from the young disk, several classes of early type stars are found. They include (i) the old, metal-poor blue horizontal branch stars of the halo and the metal-poor tail of the thick disk; (ii) metal-rich young A stars in a rapidly rotating subsystem but with a much higher velocity dispersion than the A stars of the young disk, and (iii) a newly discovered class of metal-poor young main sequence A stars in a subsystem of intermediate galactic rotation (V_rot ≈ 120 km s⁻¹). The existence and kinematics of these various classes of early type stars provide insight into the formation of the metal-poor stellar halo of the Galaxy and into the continuing accretion events suffered by our Galaxy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pulsating Stars

Modern long-baseline interferometers are capable of resolving stellar diameters in the range of one to several milli-arcseconds with measurement precision approaching a few percent. This level of precision allows astronomers to directly resolve diameter changes associated with pulsation for various classesc of stars, including Cepheids and Miras. For several nearby Cepheids itis relatively straightforward to apply a Baade-Wesselink analysis and hence directly measure the distance to the Cepheid with a high degree of precision. This field is still quite new; I expect that in the near term several new interferometers will provide direct Cepheid distances to perhaps a few tens of Galactic Cepheids. However, equally important will be direct measurements of the atmospheric properties (in particular limb darkening) of these stars. Such measurements should help reduce the considerable systematic uncertainties that remain. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Demarcation Point from E-AGB Stars to TP-AGB Stars in HR Diagram for Medium-mass Stars

Via a study of the evolutionary tracks of 3∼10 M stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the variations of the energy, density, temperature at the peak of helium-shell burning, ratio of surface luminosity of helium shell to stellar surface luminosity as well as the stellar radius are analyzed. Then the demarcation point of medium-mass stars in the evolution from early AGB stars to thermally pulsing AGB stars on the HR diagram is determined, and for 119 carbon stars our analysis agrees rather well with observation. At the same time the following is suggested. After arriving at this demarcation point in stellar evolution, in the formula of the loss of stellar wind material it is probably needed to introduce a quantity which is not concerned with the surface luminosity, but it dominates the formation of super stellar wind. On this basis and via the analysis of the structure and evolution of 5 M stars as well as the rate of mass loss of stellar wind, it is found that the effect of turbulent pressure on the mass loss of stellar wind in the stage of thermally pulsing AGB stars is rather great, hence the turbulent pressure of thermally pulsing AGB stars cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, the physical factors which possibly affect the matter loss of the stellar winds of thermally pulsing AGB stars are suggested.