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Title: EVIDENCE FOR GRANULATION IN EARLY A-TYPE STARS

Abstract

Stars with spectral types earlier than about F0 on (or close) to the main sequence have long been believed to lack observable surface convection, although evolutionary models of A-type stars do predict very thin surface convective zones. We present evidence for granulation in two {delta} Scuti stars of spectral type A2: HD 174936 and HD 50844. Recent analyses of space-based CoRoT data revealed up to some 1000 frequencies in the photometry of these stars. The frequencies were interpreted as individual pulsation modes. If true, there must be large numbers of nonradial modes of very high degree l which should suffer cancellation effects in disk-integrated photometry (even of high space-based precision). The p-mode interpretation of all the frequencies in HD 174936 and HD 50844 depends on the assumption of white (frequency-independent) noise. Our independent analyses of the data provide an alternative explanation: most of the peaks in the Fourier spectra are the signature of non-white granulation background noise, and less than about 100 of the frequencies are actual stellar p-modes in each star. We find granulation timescales which are consistent with scaling relations that describe cooler stars with known surface convection. If the granulation interpretation is correct, the hundreds of low-amplitudemore » Fourier peaks reported in recent studies are falsely interpreted as independent pulsation modes and a significantly lower number of frequencies are associated with pulsation, consistent with only modes of low degree.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21305121
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 711; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L35; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; 99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE; BACKGROUND NOISE; CONVECTION; PHOTOMETRY; PULSATIONS; STARS

Citation Formats

Kallinger, Thomas, and Matthews, Jaymie M. EVIDENCE FOR GRANULATION IN EARLY A-TYPE STARS. United States: N. p., 2010. Web. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L35; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA).
Kallinger, Thomas, & Matthews, Jaymie M. EVIDENCE FOR GRANULATION IN EARLY A-TYPE STARS. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L35; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)
Kallinger, Thomas, and Matthews, Jaymie M. 2010. "EVIDENCE FOR GRANULATION IN EARLY A-TYPE STARS". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L35; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA).
@article{osti_21305121,
title = {EVIDENCE FOR GRANULATION IN EARLY A-TYPE STARS},
author = {Kallinger, Thomas and Matthews, Jaymie M.},
abstractNote = {Stars with spectral types earlier than about F0 on (or close) to the main sequence have long been believed to lack observable surface convection, although evolutionary models of A-type stars do predict very thin surface convective zones. We present evidence for granulation in two {delta} Scuti stars of spectral type A2: HD 174936 and HD 50844. Recent analyses of space-based CoRoT data revealed up to some 1000 frequencies in the photometry of these stars. The frequencies were interpreted as individual pulsation modes. If true, there must be large numbers of nonradial modes of very high degree l which should suffer cancellation effects in disk-integrated photometry (even of high space-based precision). The p-mode interpretation of all the frequencies in HD 174936 and HD 50844 depends on the assumption of white (frequency-independent) noise. Our independent analyses of the data provide an alternative explanation: most of the peaks in the Fourier spectra are the signature of non-white granulation background noise, and less than about 100 of the frequencies are actual stellar p-modes in each star. We find granulation timescales which are consistent with scaling relations that describe cooler stars with known surface convection. If the granulation interpretation is correct, the hundreds of low-amplitude Fourier peaks reported in recent studies are falsely interpreted as independent pulsation modes and a significantly lower number of frequencies are associated with pulsation, consistent with only modes of low degree.},
doi = {10.1088/2041-8205/711/1/L35; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21305121}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
issn = {2041-8205},
number = 1,
volume = 711,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2010},
month = {Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2010}
}