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J. M. Benkő

Publications and source records attributed to J. M. Benkő.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Connections between the cycle-to-cycle light curve and O-C variations of the non-Blazhko RR Lyrae stars

It has long been known that if the durations of the consecutive cycles of a pulsating star vary randomly, the O-C diagram could show quasi-periodic/irregular variations, even though the actual average period is constant. It is hypothesised that the period variation observed in many RR Lyrae stars, which are much faster and stronger than may be explained by an evolutionary origin, may in fact be caused by this cycle-to-cycle (C2C) variation effect. So far, quantitative studies have not really been performed, and space data have not been used at all. Our primary goal was to quantitatively analyse the O$-$C diagrams of RR Lyrae stars obtained from space photometry and explained by quasi-periodic or irregular periodic variations to see if they can be explained by random fluctuations in pulsation cycle length without assuming real period variations. We fitted statistical models to the O-C diagrams and tested their validity and fit. The necessary analysis of the light curves was performed using standard Fourier methods. We found that the vast majority of the O-C curves can be satisfactorily explained by assuming timing noise and the C2C variation without a real mean period variation. We have shown that the strength of the C2C variation is strongly dependent on the pulsation period and metallicity. These correlations suggests that turbulent convection may be behind the C2C variation. The additional frequencies of some RR Lyrae stars and their variation over time play only a marginal role in O-Cs. We have found new arguments that the phase jump phenomenon in RRc stars is in fact a continuous change, moreover, it could also be caused by the C2C variation.

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arXiv2023

Time series analysis of bright TESS RRc stars: Additional modes, phase variations and more

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 $\ell = 8$ and $\ell = 9$ non-radial modes, we have identified a group of stars where the additional frequencies may belong to the $\ell = 10$ 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 timescales. 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.

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arXiv2020

TESS observations of Cepheid stars: first light results

We present the first analysis of Cepheid stars observed by the TESS space mission in Sectors 1 to 5. Our sample consists of 25 pulsators: ten fundamental mode, three overtone and two double-mode classical Cepheids, plus three Type II and seven anomalous Cepheids. The targets were chosen from fields with different stellar densities, both from the Galactic field and from the Magellanic System. Three targets have 2-minute cadence light curves available by the TESS Science Processing Operations Center: for the rest, we prepared custom light curves from the full-frame images with our own differential photometric FITSH pipeline. Our main goal was to explore the potential and the limitations of TESS concerning the various subtypes of Cepheids. We detected many low amplitude features: weak modulation, period jitter, and timing variations due to light-time effect. We also report signs of non-radial modes and the first discovery of such a mode in an anomalous Cepheid, the overtone star XZ Cet, which we then confirmed with ground-based multicolor photometric measurements. We prepared a custom photometric solution to minimize saturation effects in the bright fundamental-mode classical Cepheid, $β$ Dor with the lightkurve software, and we revealed strong evidence of cycle-to-cycle variations in the star. In several cases, however, fluctuations in the pulsation could not be distinguished from instrumental effects, such as contamination from nearby sources which also varies between sectors. Finally, we discuss how precise light curve shapes will be crucial not only for classification purposes but also to determine physical properties of these stars.

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arXiv2020

Spectroscopic and photometric time series of the bright RRc star T Sex

We present spectroscopic time series observations on one of the brightest northern RRc star, T Sex. Additionally, we also analysed extended photometric data sets, particularly the recent observations of the TESS space telescope. The main findings of our studies are as follows: T Sex, unlike all RRc stars whose space photometry has been analysed, shows only the $0.5f_x$ frequency as an additional pulsation frequency. With this, T Sex may be the first represent of such rare RRc stars found from space photometry. The spectroscopic data show a periodic distortion of the H$α$ line with the pulsation phase. This phenomenon has not been reported for any RR Lyrae stars. The characteristic line distortion is probably caused by the turbulent convection, which resulted in higher macroturbulent velocity for T Sex than for typical RRab stars. Line doubling of the Na D line was observed between the 0.37 and 0.80 pulsation phases. The explanation of this phenomenon is that the two absorption components originate from different sources. The redder component comes from the pulsating atmosphere of the star, while the bluer one from the interstellar space. At phase 0.438, we detected emission on the Na D line, which may indicate a weak shock wave.

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arXiv2017

A search for tight hierarchical triple systems amongst the eclipsing binaries in the CoRoT fields

We report a comprehensive search for hierarchical triple stellar system candidates amongst eclipsing binaries (EB) observed by the CoRoT spacecraft. We calculate and check eclipse timing variation (ETV) diagrams for almost 1500 EBs in an automated manner. We identify five relatively short-period Algol systems for which our combined light curve and complex ETV analyses (including both the light-travel time effect and short-term dynamical third-body perturbations) resulted in consistent third-body solutions. The computed periods of the outer bodies are between 82 and 272 days, (with an alternative solution of 831 days for one of the targets). We find that the inner and outer orbits are near coplanar in all but one case. The dynamical masses of the outer subsystems determined from the ETV analyses are consistent with both the results of our light curve analyses and the spectroscopic information available in the literature. One of our candidate systems exhibits outer eclipsing events as well, the locations of which are in good agreement with the ETV solution. We also report another certain triply eclipsing triple system which, however, is lacking a reliable ETV solution due to the very short time range of the data, and four new blended systems (composite light curves of 2 eclipsing binaries each), where we cannot decide whether the components are gravitationally binded or not. Amongst these blended systems we identify the longest period and highest eccentricity eclipsing binary in the entire CoRoT sample.

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arXiv2016

Finest light curve details, physical parameters, and period fluctuations of CoRoT RR Lyrae stars

The CoRoT satellite supplied the scientific community with a huge data base of variable stars. Among them the RR Lyrae stars have intensively been discussed in numerous papers in the last few years, but the latest runs have not been checked to find RR Lyrae stars up to now. Our main goal was to fill this gap and complete the CoRoT RR Lyrae sample. We found nine unstudied RR Lyrae stars. Seven of them are new discoveries. We identified three new Blazhko stars. The Blazhko effect shows non-strictly repetitive nature for all stars. The frequency spectrum of the Blazhko star CoRoT 104948132 contains second overtone frequency with the highest known period ratio. The harmonic amplitude and phase declines with the harmonic order were studied for non-Blazhko stars. We found a period dependent but similar shape amplitude decline for all stars. We discovered significant random period fluctuation for one of the two oversampled target, CM Ori. After a successful transformation of the CoRoT band parameters to the Johnson V values we estimated the basic physical properties such as mass, luminosity, metallicity. The sample can be divided into two subgroups with respect to the metallicity but otherwise the physical parameters are in the canonical range of RR Lyrae stars.

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arXiv2016

How to separate the low amplitude delta Scuti variation from the instrumental ones in CoRoT data?

Rich regular frequency patterns were found in the Fourier spectra of low-amplitude delta Scuti stars observed by CoRoT satellite (see Paparó et al. 2016a,b). The CoRoT observations are, however, influenced by the disturbing effect of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The effect is marginal for high amplitude variable stars but it could be critical in the case of low amplitude variables, especially if the frequency range of the intrinsic variation overlaps the interval of the instrumental frequencies. Some tests were carried out both on synthetic and real data for distinguishing technical and stars' frequencies.

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arXiv2016

Unexpected series of regular frequency spacing of delta Scuti stars in the non-asymptotic regime -- II. Sample -- echelle diagrams and rotation

A sequence search method was developed for searching for regular frequency spacing in delta Scuti stars by visual inspection and algorithmic search. The sample contains 90 delta Scuti stars observed by CoRoT. An example is given to represent the visual inspection. The algorithm (SSA) is described in detail. The data treatment of the CoRoT light curves, the criteria for frequency filtering and the spacings derived by two methods (three approaches: VI, SSA and FT) are given for each target. Echelle diagrams are presented for 77 targets, for which at least one sequence of regular spacing was identified. Comparing the spacing and the shifts between pairs of echelle ridges revealed that at least one pair of echelle ridges is shifted to midway between the spacing for 22 stars. The estimated rotational frequencies compared to the shifts revealed rotationally split doublets, triplets and multiplets not only for single frequencies, but for the complete echelle ridges in 31 delta Scuti stars. Using several possible assumptions for the origin of the spacings, we derived the large separation ($Δν$), which are distributed along the mean density versus large separations relation derived from stellar models Suarez 2014.

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arXiv2016

Unexpected series of regular frequency spacing of delta Scuti stars in the non-asymptotic regime -- I. The methodology

A sequence search method was developed to search regular frequency spacing in delta Scuti stars by visual inspection and algorithmic search. We searched for sequences of quasi-equally spaced frequencies, containing at least four members per sequence, in 90 delta Scuti stars observed by CoRoT. We found an unexpectedly large number of independent series of regular frequency spacing in 77 delta Scuti stars (from 1 to 8 sequences) in the non-asymptotic regime. We introduce the sequence search method presenting the sequences and echelle diagram of CoRoT 102675756 and the structure of the algorithmic search. Four sequences (echelle ridges) were found in the 5-21 d^{-1} region, where the pairs of the sequences are shifted (between 0.5-0.59 d^{-1}) by twice the value of the estimated rotational splitting frequency (0.269 d^{-1}). The general conclusions for the whole sample are also presented in this paper. The statistics of the spacings derived by the sequence search method, by FT and that of the shifts are also compared. In many stars, more than one almost equally valid spacing appeared. The model frequencies of FG Vir and their rotationally split components were used to reveal a possible explanation that one spacing is the large separation, while the other is a sum of the large separation and the rotational frequency. In CoRoT 102675756, the two spacings (2.249 and 1.977 d^{-1}) agree better with the sum of a possible 1.710 d^{-1} large separation and two or one times, respectively, the value of the rotational frequency.

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arXiv2015

The Blazhko effect and additional excited modes in RR Lyrae stars

Recent photometric space missions, such as CoRoT and Kepler revealed that many RR Lyrae stars pulsate -- beyond their main radial pulsation mode -- in low amplitude modes. Space data seem to indicate a clear trend, namely overtone (RRc) stars and modulated fundamental (RRab) RR Lyrae stars ubiquitously show additional modes, while non-Blazhko RRab stars never do. Two Kepler stars (V350 Lyr and KIC 7021124), however, apparently seemed to break this rule: they were classified as non-Blazhko RRab stars showing additional modes. We processed Kepler pixel photometric data of these stars. We detected small amplitude, but significant Blazhko effect for both stars by using the resulted light curves and O$-$C diagrams. This finding strengthens the apparent connection between the Blazhko effect and the excitation of additional modes. In addition, it yields a potential tool for detecting Blazhko stars through the additional frequency patterns even if we have only short but accurate time series observations. V350 Lyr shows the smallest amplitude multiperiodic Blazhko effect ever detected.

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arXiv2014

Kepler photometry of RRc stars: peculiar double-mode pulsations and period doubling

We present the analysis of four first overtone RR Lyrae stars observed with the Kepler space telescope, based on data obtained over nearly 2.5yr. All four stars are found to be multiperiodic. The strongest secondary mode with frequency f_2 has an amplitude of a few mmag, 20 - 45 times lower than the main radial mode with frequency f_1. The two oscillations have a period ratio of P_2/P_1 = 0.612 - 0.632 that cannot be reproduced by any two radial modes. Thus, the secondary mode is nonradial. Modes yielding similar period ratios have also recently been discovered in other variables of the RRc and RRd types. These objects form a homogenous group and constitute a new class of multimode RR Lyrae pulsators, analogous to a similar class of multimode classical Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds. Because a secondary mode with P_2/P_1 ~ 0.61 is found in almost every RRc and RRd star observed from space, this form of multiperiodicity must be common. In all four Kepler RRc stars studied, we find subharmonics of f_2 at ~1/2 f_2 and at ~3/2 f_2. This is a signature of period doubling of the secondary oscillation, and is the first detection of period doubling in RRc stars. The amplitudes and phases of f_2 and its subharmonics are variable on a timescale of 10 - 200d. The dominant radial mode also shows variations on the same timescale, but with much smaller amplitude. In three Kepler RRc stars we detect additional periodicities, with amplitudes below 1mmag, that must correspond to nonradial g-modes. Such modes never before have been observed in RR Lyrae variables.

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arXiv2014

Connection between the period and the amplitude of the Blazhko effect

We found a possible relationship between the modulation period and the amplitude of the Blazhko RR Lyrae stars: long modulation period generally implies high modulation amplitude while the short modulation period results in small amplitude. Although this effect is much more a tendency than a strict rule, it can be detected easily in the space-born time series data produced by Kepler and CoRoT. Good quality ground-based data show this relation, too. This phenomenon could give us constraints for the physics of the Blazhko effect.

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arXiv2014

The space photometry revolution and our understanding of RR Lyrae stars

The study of RR Lyrae stars has recently been invigorated thanks to the long, uninterrupted, ultra-precise time series data provided by the Kepler and CoRoT space telescopes. We give a brief overview of the new observational findings concentrating on the connection between period doubling and the Blazhko modulation, and the omnipresence of additional periodicities in all RR Lyrae subtypes, except for non-modulated RRab stars. Recent theoretical results demonstrate that if more than two modes are present in a nonlinear dynamical system such as a high-amplitude RR Lyrae star, the outcome is often an extremely intricate dynamical state. Thus, based on these discoveries, an underlying picture of complex dynamical interactions between modes is emerging which sheds new light on the century-old Blazhko-phenomenon, as well. New directions of theoretical efforts, like multi-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, future space photometric missions and detailed spectroscopic investigations will pave the way towards a more complete understanding of the atmospheric and pulsation dynamics of these enigmatic touchstone objects.

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arXiv2014

Nonlinear dynamical analysis of the Blazhko effect with the Kepler space telescope: the case of V783 Cyg

We present a detailed nonlinear dynamical investigation of the Blazhko modulation of the Kepler RR Lyrae star V783 Cyg (KIC 5559631). We used different techniques to produce modulation curves, including the determination of amplitude maxima, the O-C diagram and the analytical function method. We were able to fit the modulation curves with chaotic signals with the global flow reconstruction method. However, when we investigated the effects of instrumental and data processing artefacts, we found that the chaotic nature of the modulation can not be proved because of the technical problems of data stitching, detrending and sparse sampling. Moreover, we found that a considerable part of the detected cycle-to-cycle variation of the modulation may originate from these effects. According to our results, even the four-year-long, unprecedented Kepler space photometry of V783 Cyg is too short for a reliable nonlinear dynamical analysis aiming at the detection of chaos from the Blazhko modulation. We estimate that two other stars could be suitable for similar analysis in the Kepler sample and in the future TESS and PLATO may provide additional candidates.

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arXiv2014

Revisiting CoRoT RR Lyrae stars: detection of period doubling and temporal variation of additional frequencies

We search for signs of period doubling in CoRoT RR Lyrae stars. The occurrence of this dynamical effect in modulated RR Lyrae stars might help us to gain more information about the mysterious Blazhko effect. The temporal variability of the additional frequencies in representatives of all subtypes of RR Lyrae stars is also investigated. We pre-process CoRoT light curves by applying trend and jump correction and outlier removal. Standard Fourier technique is used to analyze the frequency content of our targets and follow the time dependent phenomena. The most comprehensive collection of CoRoT RR Lyrae stars, including new discoveries is presented and analyzed. We found alternating maxima and in some cases half-integer frequencies in four CoRoT Blazhko RR Lyrae stars, as clear signs of the presence of period doubling. This reinforces that period doubling is an important ingredient to understand the Blazhko effect - a premise we derived previously from the Kepler RR Lyrae sample. As expected, period doubling is detectable only for short time intervals in most modulated RRab stars. Our results show that the temporal variability of the additional frequencies in all RR Lyrae sub-types is ubiquitous. The ephemeral nature and the highly variable amplitude of these variations suggest a complex underlying dynamics of and an intricate interplay between radial and possibly nonradial modes in RR Lyrae stars. The omnipresence of additional modes in all types of RR Lyrae - except in non-modulated RRab stars - implies that asteroseismology of these objects should be feasible in the near future (Abridged).

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arXiv2014

Long time-scale behavior of the Blazhko effect from rectified Kepler data

In order to benefit from the 4-year unprecedented precision of the Kepler data, we extracted light curves from the pixel photometric data of the Kepler space telescope for 15 Blazhko RR Lyrae stars. For collecting all the flux from a given target as accurately as possible, we defined tailor-made apertures for each star and quarter. In some cases the aperture finding process yielded sub-optimal result, because some flux have been lost even if the aperture contains all available pixels around the star. This fact stresses the importance of those methods that rely on the whole light curve instead of focusing on the extrema (O-C diagrams and other amplitude independent methods). We carried out detailed Fourier analysis of the light curves and the amplitude independent O-C diagram. We found 12 (80%) multiperiodically modulated stars in our sample. This ratio is much higher than previously found. Resonant coupling between radial modes, a recent theory to explain of the Blazhko effect, allows single, multiperiodic or even chaotic modulations. Among the stars with two modulations we found three stars (V355 Lyr, V366 Lyr and V450 Lyr) where one of the periods dominate in amplitude modulation, but the other period has larger frequency modulation amplitude. The ratio between the primary and secondary modulation periods is almost always very close to ratios of small integer numbers. It may indicate the effect of undiscovered resonances. Furthermore, we detected the excitation of the second radial overtone mode $f_2$ for three stars where this feature was formerly unknown. Our data set comprises the longest continuous, most precise observations of Blazhko RR Lyrae stars ever published. These data which is made publicly available will be unprecedented for years to come.

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arXiv2014

Fundamental parameters of RR Lyrae stars from multicolour photometry and Kurucz atmospheric models -- III. SW And, DH Peg, CU Com, DY Peg

We report the most comprehensive UBV(RI)_C observations of the bright, radially pulsating field stars SW And, DH Peg, CU Com, DY Peg. Long term variation has been found in the ultraviolet colour curves of SW And and DH Peg. We apply our photometric-hydrodynamic method to determine the fundamental parameters of these stars: metallicity, reddening, distance, mass, radius, equilibrium luminosity and effective temperature. Our method works well for SW And, CU Com and DY Peg. A very small mass 0.26+/-0.04 M_Sun of SW And has been found. The fundamental parameters of CU Com are those of a normal double-mode RR Lyrae (RRd) star. DY Peg has been found to have paradoxical astrophysical parameters: the metallicity, mass and period are characteristic for a high-amplitude Delta Sct star while the luminosity and radius place it in the group of RR Lyrae stars. DH Peg has been found to be peculiar: the definite instability in the colour curves towards ultraviolet, the dynamical variability of the atmosphere during the shocked phases suggests that the main assumptions of our photometric-hydrodynamic method, the quasi-static atmosphere approximation (QSAA) and the exclusive excitation of radial modes are probably not satisfied in this star. The fundamental parameters of all stars studied in this series of papers are summarized in tabular and graphical form.

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