Frequencies in oscillating $β$ Cephei stars are usually inferred by means of radial velocities measured from the SiIII triplet 4552-4574 A. These lines, relatively insensitive to the variation of Teff through a pulsation cycle, show small equivalent width variations. In this study we aimed to verify if the behavior of radial velocities and equivalent widths measured from other ions are compatible with the one observed from SiIII lines and than to verify the possible vertical stratification along the stellar atmosphere. For this reason we selected from our spectra a number of, unblended and well isolated, CII, NII and OII lines besides the famous SiIII triplet. All those lines cover the range in optical depth between -2.1 and -0.5. Unfortunately, we did not find any differences in the radial velocities behavior line-by-line and then we derived the frequency of the principal radial mode combining all the velocities derived from each spectral line separately. The inferred frequency was f1=5.249677+/-0.000007 c/d.
Another important task we would like to accomplish with this paper is to make available to the community our large sample of spectroscopic data, that is 932 velocities and equivalent widths measured from our sample of C, N, O and Si lines. All the spectra were acquired at the 1-meter class telescope of the stellar station of the INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, in the period starting from July, the 27th 2005 to November, the 1st 2006.
We present the results of a magnetic survey of a sample of eight beta Cephei stars and 26 Slowly Pulsating B stars with FORS1 at the VLT. A weak mean longitudinal magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss is detected in the beta Cephei star xi^1 CMa and in 13 SPB stars. The star xi^1 CMa becomes the third magnetic star among the beta Cephei stars. Before our study, the star zeta Cas was the only known magnetic SPB star. All magnetic SPB stars for which we gathered several magnetic field measurements show a field that varies in time. We do not find a relation between the evolution of t…
We present results of an analysis of the ASAS-3 data for short-period variables from the recently published catalogue of over 38 000 stars. Using the data available in the literature we verify the results of the automatic classification related to $β$ Cephei pulsators. In particular, we find that 14 stars in the catalogue can be classified unambiguously as new $β$ Cephei stars. By means of periodogram analysis we derive the frequencies and amplitudes of the excited modes. The main modes in the new $β$ Cephei stars have large semi-amplitudes, between 35 and 80 mmag. Up to four modes were found …
We announce the discovery of six Beta Cephei stars and many other variable stars in the young open cluster h Persei (NGC 869). The cluster seems to be very rich in variable B-type stars, similarly to its twin, Chi Persei (NGC 884).
We derive basic stellar parameters (angular diameters, effective temperatures, metallicities) and interstellar reddening for all beta Cephei stars observed during the IUE satellite mission, including those belonging to three open clusters. The parameters are derived by means of an algorithmic procedure of fitting theoretical flux distributions to the low-resolution IUE spectra and ground-based spectrophotometric observations. Since the metallicity has a special importance for pulsating B type stars, we focus our attention in particular on this parameter.
Analyzing IUE ultraviolet spectra of beta Cep pulsating stars we have noticed that multiperiodic variables have a larger mean metal abundance in the photosphere, [m/H], than monoperiodic ones. We apply statistical tests to verify this dichotomy. We obtain that, with a large probability, the multiperiodic beta Cep stars have greater values of [m/H]. This result is consistent with the linear non-adiabatic theory of pulsation of early B-type stars.
Multiplet structures are a common feature in pulsating stars, and can be the consequence of rotational splitting, mode interaction or sinusoidal amplitude variations. In this paper we examine the phenomenon of (nearly) equidistant triplets, which are unlikely to be caused by rotational splitting, in different types of pulsating stars: a Delta Scuti variable (1 Mon), an RR Lyrae variable (RR Lyr) and a short-period Cepheid (V743 Lyr). We examine the hypothesis that one of the modes forming the triplet results from a combination of the other two modes. The analyses were carried out on recent dat…
In this paper we demonstrate how pulsating white dwarfs can be used as an astrophysical laboratory for empirically constraining convection in these stars. We do this using a technique for fitting observed non-sinusoidal light curves, which allows us to recover the thermal response timescale of the convection zone (its "depth") as well as how this timescale changes as a function of effective temperature. We also obtain constraints on mode identifications for the pulsation modes, allowing us to use asteroseismology to study the interior structure of these stars. Aspects of this approach may have…
Context: Stellar pulsations in main-sequence B-type stars are driven by the kappa-mechanism due to the Fe-group opacity bump. The current models do not predict the presence of instability strips in the B spectral domain at very low metallicities. As the metallicity of the SMC is lower than Z=0.005, it constitutes a very suitable object to test these predictions. Aims: The main objective is to investigate the existence of B-type pulsators at low metallicities, searching for short-term periodic variability in absorption-line B and Be stars in the SMC. The analysis has been performed in a sample …
The excitation of pulsation modes in beta Cephei and Slowly Pulsating B stars is known to be very sensitive to opacity changes in the stellar interior where T~2 10^5 K. In this region differences in opacity up to ~50% can be induced by the choice between OPAL and OP opacity tables, and between two different metal mixtures (Grevesse and Noels 1993 and Asplund et al. 2005). We have extended the non-adiabatic computations presented in Miglio et al. (2007) towards models of higher mass and pulsation modes of degree l=3, and we present here the instability domains in the HR- and log(P)-log(Teff) di…
It is shown that the oscillations of brightness in classical Cepheids and other 'pulsating' variable stars are caused rather by the passing of radial solitary waves through the photosphere of a star, than by pulsations of a star. Radial solitary waves also determine the oscillations of brightness in some other types of periodic variable stars ordinary not considered as pulsating 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 ob…
In this paper we discuss four early F-type variable stars whose periods are an order of magnitude slower than known pulsators of comparable luminosity. They cannot be stars undergoing simple radial pulsations. For one or more of these stars we can discount the possibility that the variability is due to rotational modulation of star spots, interactions with (or tidal distortions by) a close companion, or obscuration by a rotating lumpy ring of dust orbiting the star. They are certainly not eclipsing binaries. The only possibility left seems to be non-radial pulsations, though this explanation i…
AU Pegasi is a pulsating star in a spectroscopic binary system with an orbital period of 53.26 days. Between 1960 and 1990 an extremely rapid period increase was observed in the value of the pulsation period, but in the last 15 years the observation show that the period set in 2.411 days. Fourier analysis of photometric data obtained during the ASAS project and those taken at the Piszkesteto Mountain Station of the Konkoly Observatory during 1994-2005 indicate that AU Pegasi is pulsating in two modes simultaneously, and the ratio of the frequencies of the two modes is 0.706, a value common for…
In this paper we describe a new class of pulsating stars, the prototype of which is the bright, early, F-type dwarf, Gamma Doradus. These stars typically have between 1 and 5 periods ranging from 0.4 to 3 days with photometric amplitudes up to 0.1 in Johnson V. The mechanism for these observed variations is high-order, low-degree, non-radial, gravity-mode pulsation. Gamma Doradus stars exhibit variability on a time scale that is an order of magnitude slower than Delta Scuti stars. They may offer additional insight into stellar physics when they are better understood (e.g., they may represent t…
The ongoing microlensing searches have generated more photometric measurements of pulsating stars than all previous observing projects combined. In particular, OGLE has made ~ 340,000 B, V, and I-band measurements of ~ 1,300 Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Clouds accessible over Internet. Microlensing searches contributed to the development of very efficient image subtraction software which works best in crowded fields. This suggests the use of a period - flux amplitude rather than period - luminosity relation for the Cepheids for distance determination, as the flux amplitude is directly meas…
The projection factor is a key quantity for the interferometric Baade-Wesselink (hereafter IBW) and surface-brightness (hereafter SB) methods of determining the distance of Cepheids. Indeed, it allows a consistent combination of angular and linear diameters of the star. We aim to determine consistent projection factors that include the dynamical structure of the Cepheids' atmosphere. Methods. Hydrodynamical models of delta Cep and l Car have been used to validate a spectroscopic method of determining the projection factor. This method, based on the amplitude of the radial velocity curve, is ap…
It is essential for the understanding of stellar structure models of high mass stars to explain why constant stars, non-pulsating chemically peculiar hot Bp stars and pulsating stars co-exist in the slowly pulsating B stars and beta Cephei instability strips. We have conducted a search for magnetic fields in the four Bp stars HD55522, HD105382, HD131120, and HD138769 which previously have been wrongly identified as slowly pulsating B stars. A recent study of these stars using the Doppler Imaging technique revealed that the elements He and Si are inhomogeneously distributed on the stellar surfa…
We analyse public domain time-series photometric observations of 30 known and candidate binary post-AGB stars for measuring pulsation and orbital periods. We derive periodicities for 17 stars for the first time in the literature. Besides identifying five new RV Tauri type pulsating variables (three with the RVb phenomenon, i.e. long-term changes of the mean brightness), we find multiply periodic (or possibly irregular) post-AGB stars on the two edges of the instability strip. The temperature dependence of the peak-to-peak light curve amplitudes clearly indicates the changes in excitation as po…
Be stars, which are characterised by intermittent emission in their hydrogen lines, are known to be fast rotators. This fast rotation is a requirement for the formation of a Keplerian disk, which in turn gives rise to the emission. However, the pulsating, magnetic B1IV star $β$ Cephei is a very slow rotator that still shows H$α$ emission episodes like in other Be stars, contradicting current theories. We investigate the hypothesis that the H$α$ emission stems from the spectroscopically unresolved companion of $β$ Cep. Spectra of the two unresolved components have been separated in the 6350-685…
We present the results of a detailed NLTE abundance study of nine beta Cephei stars, all of them being prime targets for theoretical modelling: gamma Peg, delta Cet, nu Eri, beta CMa, xi1 CMa, V836 Cen, V2052 Oph, beta Cep and DD (12) Lac. The following chemical elements are considered: He, C, N, O, Mg, Al, Si, S and Fe. Our abundance analysis is based on a large number of time-resolved, high-resolution optical spectra covering in most cases the entire oscillation cycle of the stars. Nitrogen is found to be enhanced by up to 0.6 dex in four stars, three of which have severe constraints on thei…
Increasing samples of pulsating variable stars populating the classical instability strip from the horizontal branch to a few magnitudes brighter are being found in several Local Group galaxies, irrespective of the galaxy morphological type. We will review the observational scenario focusing in particular on the Anomalous Cepheids and related objects.
