Context.
The size of convective cores remains uncertain, despite their substantial influence on stellar evolution, and thus on stellar ages. The seismic modeling of young subgiants can be used to ...obtain indirect constraints on the core structure during main sequence, thanks to the high probing potential of mixed modes.
Aims.
We selected the young subgiant KIC10273246, observed by
Kepler
, based on its mixed-mode properties. We thoroughly modeled this star, with the aim of placing constraints on the size of its main-sequence convective core. A corollary goal of this study is to elaborate a modeling technique that is suitable for subgiants and can later be applied to a larger number of targets.
Methods.
We first extracted the parameters of the oscillation modes of the star using the full
Kepler
data set. To overcome the challenges posed by the seismic modeling of subgiants, we propose a method that is specifically tailored to subgiants with mixed modes and uses nested optimization. We then applied this method to perform a detailed seismic modeling of KIC10273246.
Results.
We obtain models that show good statistical agreements with the observations, both seismic and non-seismic. We show that including core overshooting in the models significantly improves the quality of the seismic fit, optimal models being found for
α
ov
= 0.15. Higher amounts of core overshooting strongly worsen the agreement with the observations and are thus firmly ruled out. We also find that having access to two
g
-dominated mixed modes in young subgiants allows us to place stronger constraints on the gradient of molecular weight in the core and on the central density.
Conclusions.
This study confirms the high potential of young subgiants with mixed modes to investigate the size of main-sequence convective cores. It paves the way for a more general study including the subgiants observed with
Kepler
, TESS, and eventually PLATO.
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Context. The detection of mixed modes that are split by rotation in Kepler red giants has made it possible to probe the internal rotation profiles of these stars, which brings new constraints on the ...transport of angular momentum in stars. Rotation rates in the central regions of intermediate-mass core helium burning stars (secondary clump stars) have recently been measured. Aims. Our aim is to exploit the rotational splittings of mixed modes to estimate the amount of radial differential rotation in the interior of secondary clump stars using Kepler data in order to place constraints on angular momentum transport in intermediate-mass stars. Methods. We select a subsample of Kepler secondary clump stars with mixed modes that are clearly rotationally split. By applying a thorough statistical analysis, we show that the splittings of gravity-dominated modes (trapped in central regions) and of p-dominated modes (trapped in the envelope) can be measured. We then use these splittings to estimate the amount of differential rotation by using inversion techniques and by applying a simplified approach based on asymptotic theory. Results. We obtain evidence for a weak radial differential rotation for six of the seven targets that were selected, with the central regions rotating from 1.8 ± 0.3 to 3.2 ± 1.0 times faster than the envelope. The last target is found to be consistent with a solid-body rotation. Conclusions. This demonstrates that an efficient redistribution of angular momentum occurs after the end of the main sequence in the interior of intermediate-mass stars, either during the short-lived subgiant phase or once He-burning has started in the core. In either case, this should bring constraints on the angular momentum transport mechanisms that are at work.
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Context.
Asteroseismic measurements of the internal rotation of subgiants and red giants all show the need for invoking a more efficient transport of angular momentum than theoretically predicted. ...Constraints on the core rotation rate are available starting from the base of the red giant branch (RGB) and we are still lacking information on the internal rotation of less evolved subgiants.
Aims.
We identify two young
Kepler
subgiants, KIC 8524425 and KIC 5955122, whose mixed modes are clearly split by rotation. We aim to probe their internal rotation profile and assess the efficiency of the angular momentum transport during this phase of the evolution.
Methods.
Using the full
Kepler
data set, we extracted the mode frequencies and rotational splittings for the two stars using a Bayesian approach. We then performed a detailed seismic modeling of both targets and used the rotational kernels to invert their internal rotation profiles using the MOLA inversion method. We thus obtained estimates of the average rotation rates in the
g
-mode cavity (⟨Ω⟩
g
) and in the
p
-mode cavity (⟨Ω⟩
p
).
Results.
We found that both stars are rotating nearly as solid bodies, with core-envelope contrasts of ⟨Ω⟩
g
/⟨Ω⟩
p
= 0.68 ± 0.47 for KIC 8524425 and ⟨Ω⟩
g
/⟨Ω⟩
p
= 0.72 ± 0.37 for KIC 5955122. This result shows that the internal transport of angular momentum has to occur faster than the timescale at which differential rotation is forced in these stars (between 300 Myr and 600 Myr). By modeling the additional transport of angular momentum as a diffusive process with a constant viscosity
ν
add
, we found that values of
ν
add
> 5 × 10
4
cm
2
s
−1
are required to account for the internal rotation of KIC 8524425, and
ν
add
> 1.5 × 10
5
cm
2
s
−1
for KIC 5955122. These values are lower than or comparable to the efficiency of the core-envelope coupling during the main sequence, as given by the surface rotation of stars in open clusters. On the other hand, they are higher than the viscosity needed to reproduce the rotation of subgiants near the base of the RGB.
Conclusions.
Our results yield further evidence that the efficiency of the internal redistribution of angular momentum decreases during the subgiant phase. We thus bring new constraints that will need to be accounted for by mechanisms that are proposed as candidates for angular momentum transport in subgiants and red giants.
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Context. Our poor understanding of the boundaries of convective cores generates large uncertainties on the extent of these cores and thus on stellar ages. The detection and precise characterization ...of solar-like oscillations in hundreds of main-sequence stars by CoRoT and Kepler has given the opportunity to revisit this problem. Aims. Our aim is to use asteroseismology to consistently measure the extent of convective cores in a sample of main-sequence stars whose masses lie around the mass limit for having a convective core. Methods. We first tested and validated a seismic diagnostic that was proposed to probe the extent of convective cores in a model-dependent way using the so-called r010 ratios, which are built with l = 0 and l = 1 modes. We applied this procedure to 24 low-mass stars chosen among Kepler targets to optimize the efficiency of this diagnostic. For this purpose, we computed grids of stellar models with both the Cesam2k and mesa evolution codes, where the extensions of convective cores were modeled either by an instantaneous mixing or as a diffusion process. Results. We found that 10 stars in our sample are in fact subgiants. Among the other targets, were able to unambiguously detect convective cores in eight stars, and we obtained seismic measurements of the extent of the mixed core in these targets with a good agreement between the Cesam2k and mesa codes. By performing optimizations using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, we then obtained estimates of the amount of extra mixing beyond the core that is required in Cesam2k to reproduce seismic observations for these eight stars, and we showed that this can be used to propose a calibration of this quantity. This calibration depends on the prescription chosen for the extra mixing, but we found that it should also be valid for the code mesa, provided the same prescription is used. Conclusions. This study constitutes a first step toward calibrating the extension of convective cores in low-mass stars, which will help reduce the uncertainties on the ages of these stars.
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Kepler ultra-high precision photometry of long and continuous observations provides a unique dataset in which surface rotation and variability can be studied for thousands of stars. Because many of ...these old field stars also have independently measured asteroseismic ages, measurements of rotation and activity are particularly interesting in the context of age-rotation-activity relations. We study the surface rotation and photometric magnetic activity of a subset of 540 solar-like stars on the main-sequence and the subgiant branch for which stellar pulsations have been measured. The photometric magnetic activity levels of these stars were computed, and for 61.5% of the dwarfs, this level is similar to the range, from minimum to maximum, of the solar magnetic activity. We demonstrate that hot dwarfs, cool dwarfs, and subgiants have very different rotation-age relationships, highlighting the importance of separating out distinct populations when interpreting stellar rotation periods. Our sample of cool dwarf stars with age and metallicity data of the highest quality is consistent with gyrochronology relations reported in the literature.
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The advent of space photometry with CoRoT and
Kepler
has allowed for the gathering of exquisite and extensive time series for a wealth of main-sequence stars, including
γ
Doradus stars, whose ...detailed seismology was not achievable from the ground.
γ
Doradus stars present an incredibly rich pulsation spectra, with gravito-inertial modes, in some cases supplemented with
δ
Scuti-like pressure modes – for the
hybrid
stars – and, in many cases, with Rossby modes. The present paper aims to show that in addition to these modes which have been established in the radiative envelope, pure inertial modes that are trapped in the convective core can be detected in
Kepler
observations of
γ
Doradus stars thanks to their resonance with the gravito-inertial modes. We started by using a simplified model of perturbations in a full sphere of uniform density. Under these conditions, the spectrum of pure inertial modes is known from analytical solutions of the so-called Poincaré equation. We then computed coupling factors, which helped select the pure inertial modes which interact best with the surrounding dipolar gravito-inertial modes. Using complete calculations of gravito-inertial modes in realistic models of
γ
Doradus stars, we are able to show that the pure inertial and gravito-inertial resonances appear as “dips” in the gravito-inertial mode period spacing series at spin parameters that are close to those predicted by the simple model. We find the first evidence of such dips in the
Kepler
γ
Doradus star KIC 5608334. Finally, using complete calculations in isolated convective cores, we find that the spin parameters of the pure inertial and gravito-inertial resonances are also sensitive to the density stratification of the convective core. In conclusion, we have discovered that certain dips in gravito-inertial mode period spacings that have been observed in some
Kepler
stars are, in fact, signatures of resonances with pure-inertial modes that are trapped in the convective core. This holds the promise that it would be possible to finally access the central conditions, namely, the rotation and density stratification, of intermediate-mass stars in the main sequence.
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Context. The seismology of early-type stars is limited by our incomplete understanding of gravito-inertial modes. Aims. We develop a short-wavelength asymptotic analysis for gravito-inertial modes in ...rotating stars. Methods. The Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation was applied to the equations governing adiabatic small perturbations about a model of a uniformly rotating barotropic star. Results. A general eikonal equation, including the effect of the centrifugal deformation, is derived. The dynamics of axisymmetric gravito-inertial rays is solved numerically for polytropic stellar models of increasing rotation and analysed by describing the structure of the phase space. Three different types of phase-space structures are distinguished. The first type results from the continuous evolution of structures of the non-rotating integrable phase space. It is predominant in the low-frequency region of the phase space. The second type of structures are island chains associated with stable periodic rays. The third type of structures are large chaotic regions that can be related to the envelope minimum of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency. Conclusions. Gravito-inertial modes are expected to follow this classification, in which the frequency spectrum is a superposition of sub-spectra associated with these different types of phase-space structures. The detailed confrontation between the predictions of this ray-based asymptotic theory and numerically computed modes will be presented in a companion paper.
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Context.
The Sun is the only star where the superficial turbulent convection can be observed at very high spatial resolution. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has continuously observed the full ...Sun from space with multi-wavelength filters since July 2010. In particular, the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument takes high-cadence frames (45 s) of continuum intensity in which solar granulation is visible.
Aims.
We aimed to follow the evolution of the solar granules over an activity cycle and look for changes in their spatial properties.
Methods.
We investigated the density of granules and their mean area derived directly from the segmentation of deconvolved images from SDO/HMI. To perform the segmentation, we define granules as convex elements of images.
Results.
We measured an approximately 2% variation in the density and the mean area of granules over the cycle, the density of granules being greater at solar maximum with a smaller granule mean area. The maximum density appears to be delayed by about one year compared to classical activity indicators, such as the sunspot number. We complemented this study with high-spatial-resolution observations obtained with Hinode/SOTBFI (Solar Optical Telescope Broadband Filter Imager), which are consistent with our results.
Conclusions.
The observed variations in solar granulation at the disc centre reveal a direct insight into the change in the physical properties that occur in the upper convective zone during a solar cycle. These variations can be due to interactions between convection and magnetic fields, either at the global scale or, locally, at the granulation scale.
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ABSTRACT
The Kepler mission is providing photometric data of exquisite quality for the asteroseismic study of different classes of pulsating stars. These analyses place particular demands on the ...pre‐processing of the data, over a range of time‐scales from minutes to months. Here, we describe processing procedures developed by the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium to prepare light curves that are optimized for the asteroseismic study of solar‐like oscillating stars in which outliers, jumps and drifts are corrected.
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