Variability of newly identified B-type stars observed by Kepler

ABSTRACT Recent re-determination of stellar atmospheric parameters for a sample of stars observed during the Kepler mission allowed to enlarge the number of Kepler B-type stars. We present the detailed frequency analysis for all these objects. All stars exhibit pulsational variability with maximum amplitudes at frequencies corresponding to high-order g modes. Peaks that could be identified with low-order p/g modes are also extracted for a few stars. We identified some patters in the oscillation spectra that can be associated with the period spacings that can results from the asymptotic nature of the detected pulsational modes. We also tentatively confront the observed oscillation characteristics with predictions from linear non-adiabatic computations of stellar pulsations. For high-order g modes the traditional approximation was employed to include the effects of rotation on the frequency values and mode instability.

Breaking spin-orbit measurement degeneracies with precise photometric and spectroscopic transit observations

<p>Spin-orbit angle measurments (e.g., with the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect) are often degenerates. This is due to fundamental symetries in the problem, to complex correlations between parameters, and to the difficulty to measure some parameters (e.g., the stellar inclination). Recently, independent teams reported spin-orbit angle measurments of the same systems (e.g., KELT-9) using different instruments and methods. In particular, exoplanetary systems around rapidly rotating and pulsating early-type stars present different possibilities to measure their spin-orbit angles. For these systems, one can access the stellar inclination thanks to the independent detections and studies of stellar differential rotations, of stellar gravity darkening, and of stellar pulsations. In this presentation, we will show that these measurments don't necessary have the same symetries. Thus, it may be possible to break degenaracies in the spin-orbit angle measurment by combining precise photometric transit (that allow us to measure, e.g., gravity darkening) and precise spectroscopic transit measurments (that allow us to measure, e.g., differential rotation and pulsations). A tentative coherent explanation of recent data on the KELT-9 system will be presented as an example and as a motivation to develop new synergies in this domain.</p>

TESS unveils the phase curve of WASP-33b

We present the detection and characterization of the full-orbit phase curve and secondary eclipse of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-33b at optical wavelengths, along with the pulsation spectrum of the host star. We analyzed data collected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in sector 18. WASP-33b belongs to a very short list of highly irradiated exoplanets that were discovered from the ground and were later visited by TESS. The host star of WASP-33b is of δ Scuti-type and shows nonradial pulsations in the millimagnitude regime, with periods comparable to the period of the primary transit. These completely deform the photometric light curve, which hinders our interpretations. By carrying out a detailed determination of the pulsation spectrum of the host star, we find 29 pulsation frequencies with a signal-to-noise ratio higher than 4. After cleaning the light curve from the stellar pulsations, we confidently report a secondary eclipse depth of 305.8 ± 35.5 parts-per-million (ppm), along with an amplitude of the phase curve of 100.4 ± 13.1 ppm and a corresponding westward offset between the region of maximum brightness and the substellar point of 28.7 ± 7.1 degrees, making WASP-33b one of the few planets with such an offset found so far. Our derived Bond albedo, AB = 0.369 ± 0.050, and heat recirculation efficiency, ɛ = 0.189 ± 0.014, confirm again that he behavior of WASP-33b is similar to that of other hot Jupiters, despite the high irradiation received from its host star. By connecting the amplitude of the phase curve to the primary transit and depths of the secondary eclipse, we determine that the day- and nightside brightness temperatures of WASP-33b are 3014 ± 60 K and 1605 ± 45 K, respectively. From the detection of photometric variations due to gravitational interactions, we estimate a planet mass of MP = 2.81 ± 0.53 MJ. Based on analyzing the stellar pulsations in the frame of the planetary orbit, we find no signals of star-planet interactions.

The EXOTIME project: signals in the O–C diagrams of the rapidly pulsating subdwarfs DW Lyn, V1636 Ori, QQ Vir, and V541 Hya

Aims. We aim to investigate variations in the arrival time of coherent stellar pulsations due to the light-travel time effect to test for the presence of sub-stellar companions. Those companions are the key to one possible formation scenario of apparently single sub-dwarf B stars. Methods. We made use of an extensive set of ground-based observations of the four large amplitude p-mode pulsators DW Lyn, V1636 Ori, QQ Vir, and V541 Hya. Observations of the TESS space telescope are available on two of the targets. The timing method compares the phase of sinusoidal fits to the full multi-epoch light curves with phases from the fit of a number of subsets of the original time series. Results. Observations of the TESS mission do not sample the pulsations well enough to be useful due to the (currently) fixed two-minute cadence. From the ground-based observations, we infer evolutionary parameters from the arrival times. The residual signals show many statistically significant periodic signals, but no clear evidence for changes in arrival time induced by sub-stellar companions. The signals can be explained partly by mode beating effects. We derive upper limits on companion masses set by the observational campaign.

Observation of High Doppler Velocity Wings in the Nascent Wind of R Doradus

We study the morpho-kinematics in the nascent wind of AGB star R Doradus in the light of high Doppler velocity wings observed in the spectral lines of several species. We probe distances from the star between ∼10 and ∼100 au using ALMA observations of the emission of five different molecular lines. High Doppler velocity enhancements of the line emission are observed in the vicinity of the line of sight crossing the star, reminiscent of those recently interpreted as gas streams in the nascent wind of a similar AGB star, EP Aqr. They are present in both blue-shifted and red- shifted hemispheres but are not exactly back-to-back. They are accelerated at a typical rate of 0.7 km s\(^{−1}\) au\(^{−1}\) up to some 20 km s\(^{−1}\). Important differences are observed between the emissions of different molecules. We exclude an effect of improper continuum subtraction. However, in contrast to EP Aqr, the line of sight plays no particular role in the R Dor morpho-kinematics, shedding doubt on the validity of a gas stream interpretation. We discuss possible interpretations in terms of stellar pulsations or of rotation of the gas in the environment of the star. We conclude that, in the state of current knowledge, no fully convincing picture of the physics governing the production of such high velocities, typically twice as large as the terminal velocity, can be reliably drawn. New high resolution analyses of observations of the nascent wind of oxygen-rich AGB stars are needed to clarify the issue.