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Title: TESTING THE ASTEROSEISMIC SCALING RELATIONS FOR RED GIANTS WITH ECLIPSING BINARIES OBSERVED BY KEPLER

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]; ;
  1. Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30001, MSC 4500, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001 (United States)
  2. Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DRF-CNRS, Université Paris 7 Diderot, IRFU/SAp, Centre de Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
  3. LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Université Denis Diderot, F-92195 Meudon (France)
  4. Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG (United Kingdom)

Given the potential of ensemble asteroseismology for understanding fundamental properties of large numbers of stars, it is critical to determine the accuracy of the scaling relations on which these measurements are based. From several powerful validation techniques, all indications so far show that stellar radius estimates from the asteroseismic scaling relations are accurate to within a few percent. Eclipsing binary systems hosting at least one star with detectable solar-like oscillations constitute the ideal test objects for validating asteroseismic radius and mass inferences. By combining radial velocity (RV) measurements and photometric time series of eclipses, it is possible to determine the masses and radii of each component of a double-lined spectroscopic binary. We report the results of a four-year RV survey performed with the échelle spectrometer of the Astrophysical Research Consortium’s 3.5 m telescope and the APOGEE spectrometer at Apache Point Observatory. We compare the masses and radii of 10 red giants (RGs) obtained by combining radial velocities and eclipse photometry with the estimates from the asteroseismic scaling relations. We find that the asteroseismic scaling relations overestimate RG radii by about 5% on average and masses by about 15% for stars at various stages of RG evolution. Systematic overestimation of mass leads to underestimation of stellar age, which can have important implications for ensemble asteroseismology used for Galactic studies. As part of a second objective, where asteroseismology is used for understanding binary systems, we confirm that oscillations of RGs in close binaries can be suppressed enough to be undetectable, a hypothesis that was proposed in a previous work.

OSTI ID:
22661007
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 832, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English