ABSTRACT
Photometric observations from the last decade have revealed additional low-amplitude periodicities in many classical pulsators that are likely due to pulsations in non-radial modes. One ...group of multimode RR Lyrae stars, the so-called 0.61 stars, is particularly interesting. In these stars, the radial first overtone is accompanied by additional signals with period ratios around 0.61. The most promising explanation for these signals is pulsation in non-radial modes of degrees 8 and 9. If the theory behind the additional signals in the 0.61 stars is substantiated, it would allow us to use non-radial modes to study classical pulsators. We aim to perform asteroseismic modelling of selected 0.61 stars with independently determined physical parameters to test whether this assumption behind the modelling leads to correct results. Namely, we test whether the additional signals are indeed due to non-radial modes of the proposed moderate degrees. We selected a number of RR Lyrae stars that are also 0.61 stars and have good observational constraints on their other physical parameters. We assume that the nature of those modes is correctly explained with non-radial modes of degrees 8 or 9. Using this assumption and observational constraints on physical parameters, we performed asteroseismic modelling to test whether the observed periods and period ratios can be reproduced. For the majority of selected targets, we obtained a good match between observed and calculated periods and period ratios. For a few targets however, the results obtained are ambiguous and not straightforward to interpret.
V473 Lyrae is the only Galactic Cepheid with confirmed periodic amplitude and phase variations similar to the Blazhko effect observed in RR Lyrae stars. We collected all available photometric data ...and some radial velocity measurements to investigate the nature of the modulation. The comparison of the photometric and radial velocity amplitudes confirmed that the star pulsates in the second overtone. The extensive data set, spanning more than 40 years, allowed us to detect a secondary modulation cycle with a period of approximately 5300 d or 14.5 yr. The secondary variations can be detected in the period of the primary modulation, as well. Phenomenologically, the light variations are analogous to the Blazhko effect. To find a physical link, we calculated linear hydrodynamic models to search for potential mode resonances that could drive the modulation and found two viable half-integer (n:2) and three n:4 resonances between the second overtone and other modes. If any of these resonances will be confirmed by non-linear models, it may confirm the mode resonance model, a common mechanism that can drive modulations both in RR Lyrae and Cepheid stars.
ABSTRACT
Using two years of data from the TESS space telescope, we have investigated the time series of 633 overtone pulsating field RR Lyrae (RRc) stars. The majority of stars (82.8 per cent) ...contain additional frequencies beyond the main pulsation. In addition to the frequencies previously explained by the ℓ = 8 and 9 non-radial modes, we have identified a group of stars where the additional frequencies may belong to the ℓ = 10 non-radial modes. We found that stars with no additional frequencies are more common among stars with shorter periods, while stars with longer periods almost always show additional frequencies. The incidence rate and this period distribution both agree well with the predictions of recent theoretical models. The amplitude and phase of additional frequencies are varying in time. The frequencies of different non-radial modes appearing in a given star seem to vary on different time-scales. We have determined a 10.4 per cent incidence rate for the Blazhko effect. For several stars we have detected continuous annual-scale phase change without significant amplitude variation. This type of variation offers a plausible explanation for the ‘phase jump’ phenomenon reported in many RRc stars. The main pulsation frequency could show quasi-periodic phase and amplitude fluctuations. This fluctuation is clearly related to additional frequencies present in the star: stars with two non-radial modes show the strongest fluctuations, while stars with no such modes show no fluctuations at all. The summation of the phase fluctuation over time may explain the O−C variations that have long been known for many non-Blazhko RRc stars.
Context.
Additional low-amplitude signals have been observed in many RR Lyrae stars separate from pulsations in radial modes. The most common of these are short-period signals forming a period ratio ...of around 0.60–0.65 with the first overtone and long-period signals forming a period ratio of around 0.68. The RR Lyrae stars may also exhibit quasi-periodic modulation in their light curves, the so-called Blazhko effect.
Aims.
We used the extensive sample of the first-overtone RR Lyrae stars observed by the
Kepler
telescope during the K2 mission to search for and characterize additional low-amplitude signals. The K2 data provides space-based photometry for a statistically significant sample. Hence, this data is excellent for studying the pulsation properties of RR Lyrae stars in detail.
Methods.
We used K2 space-based photometry for RR Lyrae candidates from Campaigns 0–19. We selected RR Lyrae stars pulsating in the first overtone and performed a frequency analysis for each star to characterize their frequency contents.
Results.
We classified 452 stars as first-overtone RR Lyrae. From that sample, we selected 281 RR
0.61
stars, 67 RR
0.68
stars, and 68 Blazhko stars. We found particularly interesting stars that show all of the above phenomena simultaneously. We detected signals in RR
0.61
stars that form period ratios lower than those observed for the majority of stars of this type. These signals likely form a new sequence in the Petersen diagram, around a period ratio of 0.60. In 32 stars, we detected additional signals that form a period ratio close to that expected in RRd stars, but the classification of these stars as RRd is uncertain. We also report a discovery of additional signals in eight stars that form a new group in the Petersen diagram around the period ratio of 0.465–0.490. The nature of this periodicity remains unknown.
We investigated period doubling, a well-known phenomenon in dynamical systems, for the first time in RR Lyrae models. These studies provide theoretical background for the recent discovery of period ...doubling in some Blazhko RR Lyrae stars with the Kepler space telescope. Since period doubling has been observed only in Blazhko-modulated stars so far, the phenomenon can help in understanding the modulation as well. Utilizing the Florida-Budapest turbulent convective hydrodynamical code, we have identified the phenomenon in both radiative and convective models. A period-doubling cascade was also followed up to an eight-period solution, confirming that destabilization of the limit cycle is indeed the underlying phenomenon.
Floquet stability roots were calculated to investigate the possible causes and occurrences of the phenomenon. A two-dimensional diagnostic diagram was constructed to illustrate the various resonances between the fundamental mode and the different overtones. Combining the two tools, we confirmed that the period-doubling instability is caused by a 9:2 resonance between the ninth overtone and the fundamental mode. Destabilization of the limit cycle by a resonance of a high-order mode is possible because the overtone is a strange mode. The resonance is found to be strong enough to shift the period of overtone by up to 10 per cent. Our investigations suggest that a more complex interplay of radial (and presumably non-radial) modes could happen in RR Lyrae stars that might have connections with the Blazhko effect as well.
The compact multiple system HIP 41431 Borkovits, T; Sperauskas, J; Tokovinin, A ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2019, Letnik:
487, Številka:
4
Journal Article
The first detection of the period doubling phenomenon is reported in the Kepler RR Lyrae stars RR Lyr, V808 Cyg and V355 Lyr. Interestingly, all these pulsating stars show Blazhko modulation. The ...period doubling manifests itself as alternating maxima and minima of the pulsational cycles in the light curve, as well as through the appearance of half-integer frequencies located halfway between the main pulsation period and its harmonics in the frequency spectrum. The effect was found to be stronger during certain phases of the modulation cycle. We were able to reproduce the period-doubling bifurcation in our non-linear RR Lyrae models computed by the Florida–Budapest hydrocode. This enabled us to trace the origin of this instability in RR Lyrae stars to a resonance, namely a 9:2 resonance between the fundamental mode and a high-order (ninth) radial overtone showing strange-mode characteristics. We discuss the connection of this new type of variation to the mysterious Blazhko effect and argue that it may give us fresh insights into solving this century-old enigma.
Abstract
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space telescope is collecting continuous, high-precision optical photometry of stars throughout the sky, including thousands of RR Lyrae ...stars. In this paper, we present results for an initial sample of 118 nearby RR Lyrae stars observed in TESS Sectors 1 and 2. We use differential image photometry to generate light curves and analyze their mode content and modulation properties. We combine accurate light-curve parameters from TESS with parallax and color information from the Gaia mission to create a comprehensive classification scheme. We build a clean sample, preserving RR Lyrae stars with unusual light-curve shapes, while separating other types of pulsating stars. We find that a large fraction of RR Lyrae stars exhibit various low-amplitude modes, but the distribution of those modes is markedly different from those of the bulge stars. This suggests that differences in physical parameters have an observable effect on the excitation of extra modes, potentially offering a way to uncover the origins of these signals. However, mode identification is hindered by uncertainties when identifying the true pulsation frequencies of the extra modes. We compare mode amplitude ratios in classical double-mode stars to stars with extra modes at low amplitudes and find that they separate into two distinct groups. Finally, we find a high percentage of modulated stars among the fundamental mode pulsators, but also find that at least 28% of them do not exhibit modulation, confirming that a significant fraction of stars lack the Blazhko effect.
We present the first analysis of W Vir stars observed by the Kepler space telescope in the K2 mission. Clear cycle-to-cycle variations were detected in the light curves of KT Sco and the globular ...cluster member M80-V1. While the variations in the former star seem to be irregular on the short time-scale of the K2 data, the latter appears to experience period doubling in its pulsation. Ground-based colour data confirmed that both stars are W Vir-type pulsators, while a comparison with historical photometric time series data revealed drastic period changes in both stars. For comparison we reexamine ground-based observations of W Vir, the prototype of the class, and conclude that it shows period doubling instead of mode beating. These results support the notion that non-linear dynamics plays an important role in the pulsation of W Virginis-type stars.
PDF
