arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J. Montalban.
We present a grid of stellar models, obtained with the CLES evolution code, following the specification of ESTA-Task1, and the corresponfing seismic properties, computed with the LOSC code. We provide a complete description of the corresponding files that will be available on the ESTA web-pages.
In main sequence stars the periods of high-order gravity modes are sensitive probes of stellar cores and, in particular, of the chemical composition gradient that develops near the outer edge of the convective core. We present an analytical approximation of high-order g modes that takes into account the effect of the mu gradient near the core. We show that in main-sequence models, similarly to the case of white dwarfs, the periods of high-order gravity modes are accurately described by a uniform period spacing superposed to an oscillatory component. The periodicity and amplitude of such component are related, respectively, to the location and sharpness of the mu gradient. We investigate the properties of high-order gravity modes for stellar models in a mass domain between 1 and 10 Msun, and the effects of the stellar mass, evolutionary state, and extra-mixing processes on period spacing features. In particular, we show that for models of a typical SPB star, a chemical mixing that could likely be induced by the slow rotation observed in these stars, is able to significantly change the g-mode spectra of the equilibrium model. Prospects and challenges for the asteroseismology of gamma Doradus and SPB stars are also discussed.
We investigate how the frequencies of gravity modes depend on the detailed properties of the chemical composition gradient that develops near the core of main-sequence stars and, therefore, on the transport processes that are able to modify the μprofile in the central regions. We show that in main-sequence models, similarly to the case of white dwarfs, the periods of high-order gravity modes are accurately described by a uniform period spacing superposed to an oscillatory component. The periodicity and amplitude of such component are related, respectively, to the location and sharpness of the μgradient. We briefly discuss and interpret, by means of this simple approximation, the effect of turbulent mixing near the core on the periods of both high-order and low-order g modes, as well as of modes of mixed pressure-gravity character.
The understanding of transport processes inside the stars is one of the main goals of asteroseismology. Chemical turbulent mixing can affect the internal distribution of μnear the energy generating core, having an effect on the evolutionary tracks similar to that of overshooting. This mixing leads to a smoother chemical composition profile near the edge of the convective core, which is reflected in the behavior of the buoyancy frequency and, therefore, in the frequencies of gravity modes. We describe the effects of convective overshooting and turbulent mixing on the frequencies of gravity modes in B-type main sequence stars. In particular, the cases of p-g mixed modes in beta Cep stars and high-order modes in SPBs are considered.
The Liege Oscillation code can be used as a stand-alone program or as a library of subroutines that the user calls from a Fortran main program of his own to compute radial and non-radial adiabatic oscillations of stellar models. We describe the variables and the equations used by the program and the methods used to solve them. A brief account is given of the use and the output of the program.
Cles is an evolution code recently developed to produce stellar models meeting the specific requirements of studies in asteroseismology. It offers the users a lot of choices in the input physics they want in their models and its versatility allows them to tailor the code to their needs and implement easily new features. We describe the features implemented in the current version of the code and the techniques used to solve the equations of stellar structure and evolution. A brief account is given of the use of the program and of a solar calibration realized with it.
In order to make astroseismology a powerful tool to explore stellar interiors, different numerical codes should give the same oscillation frequencies for the same input physics. This work is devoted to test, compare and, if needed, optimize the seismic codes used to calculate the eigenfrequencies to be finally compared with observations. The oscillation codes of nine research groups in the field have been used in this study. The same physics has been imposed for all the codes in order to isolate the non-physical dependence of any possible difference. Two equilibrium models with different grids, 2172 and 4042 mesh points, have been used, and the latter model includes an explicit modelling of semiconvection just outside the convective core. Comparing the results for these two models illustrates the effect of the number of mesh points and their distribution in particularly critical parts of the model, such as the steep composition gradient outside the convective core. A comprehensive study of the frequency differences found for the different codes is given as well. These differences are mainly due to the use of different numerical integration schemes. The use of a second-order integration scheme plus a Richardson extrapolation provides similar results to a fourth-order integration scheme. The proper numerical description of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency in the equilibrium model is also critical for some modes. An unexpected result of this study is the high sensitivity of the frequency differences to the inconsistent use of values of the gravitational constant (G) in the oscillation codes, within the range of the experimentally determined ones, which differ from the value used to compute the equilibrium model.
We present a seismic study of the beta Cephei star theta Ophiuchi. Our analysis is based on the observation of one radial mode, one rotationally split l = 1 triplet and three components of a rotationally split l = 2 quintuplet for which the m-values were well identified by spectroscopy. We identify the radial mode as fundamental, the triplet as p_1 and the quintuplet as g_1. Our NLTE abundance analysis results in a metallicity and CNO abundances in full agreement with the most recent updated solar values. With X \in [0.71,0.7211] and Z \in [0.009,0.015], and using the Asplund et al. (2005) mixture but with a Ne abundance about 0.3 dex larger (Cunha et al. 2006), the matching of the three independent modes, enables us to deduce constrained ranges for the mass (M = 8.2 +/- 0.3 Msun) and central hydrogen abundance (X_c = 0.38 +/- 0.02) of theta Oph and to prove the occurrence of core overshooting (alpha_ov = 0.44 +/- 0.07). We also derive an equatorial rotation velocity of 29 +/- 7 km/s. Moreover, we show that the observed non-equidistance of the l=1 triplet can be reproduced by second order effects of rotation. Finally, we show that the observed rotational splitting of two modes cannot rule out a rigid rotation model.
We have explored a sample of suspected A-type binaries in a systematic way, both spectroscopically and photometrically. Due to their location in the H-R diagram, indications of pulsation and/or chemical peculiarities among these suspected binary (or multiple) systems may be found. High-resolution spectroscopy obtained with the ELODIE and MUSICOS spectrographs was used in combination with a few nights of differential CCD photometry in order to search for pulsation(s). Of the 32 investigated targets, eight are spectroscopic binaries, one of which is a close binary also showing eclipses, and three have been identified as Delta Scuti pulsators with rapid line-profile variations. Among the latter stars, HD 217860 reveals interesting multiperiodic photometric and spectroscopic variations, with up to eight frequencies common to two large photometric data sets. We suggest that at least one radial overtone mode is excited among the two most dominant frequencies. We furthermore found evidence for a strong modulation of the amplitude(s) and/or the (radial) frequency content of this intriguing Delta Scuti star.
The identification of pulsation modes in delta Scuti stars is mandatory to constrain the theoretical stellar models. The non-adiabatic observables used in the photometric identification methods depend, however,on convection modeling in the external layers. Our aim is to determine how the treatment of convection in the atmospheric and sub-atmospheric layers affects the mode identification, and what information about the thermal structure of the external layers can be obtained from amplitude ratios and phase lags in Strömgren photometric bands. We derive non-adiabatic parameters for delta Scuti stars by using, for the first time, stellar models with the same treatment of convection in the interior and in the atmosphere. We compute classical non-gray mixing length models, and as well non-gray ``Full Spectrum of Turbulence'' models. Furthermore, we compute the photometric amplitudes and phases of pulsation by using the colors and the limb-darkening coefficents as derived from the same atmosphere models used in the stellar modeling. We show that the non-adiabatic phase-lag is mainly sensitive to the thermal gradients in the external layers, (and hence to the treatment of convection), and that this sensitivity is also clearly reflected in the multi-color photometric phase differences.
We present recent work undertaken by the Evolution and Seismic Tools Activity (ESTA) team of the CoRoT Seismology Working Group. The new ESTA-Task 3 aims at testing, comparing and optimising stellar evolution codes which include microscopic diffusion of the chemical elements resulting from pressure, temperature and concentration gradients. The results already obtained are globally satisfactory, but some differences between the different numerical tools appear that require further investigations.
The depth of the convective envelope plays a fundamental role in the driving mechanism proposed by Guzik et al. (2000) to explain the high-order g modes of gamma Dor pulsators. In this poster we study the sensitivity of the convective envelope depth to the description of convective transport, to relevant physical processes, such as microscopic diffusion, and to other uncertainties in theoretical stellar models.
We present the results of comparing three different implementations of the microscopic diffusion process in the stellar evolution codes CESAM and CLES. For each of these implementations we computed models of 1.0, 1.2 and 1.3 M$_{\odot}$. We analyse the differences in their internal structure at three selected evolutionary stages, as well as the variations of helium abundance and depth of the stellar convective envelope. The origin of these differences and their effects on the seismic properties of the models are also considered.
The discovery of beta Cephei stars in low metallicity environments, as well as the difficulty to theoretically explain the excitation of the pulsation modes observed in some beta Cephei and SPB stars, suggest that the iron opacity ``bump'' provided by standard models could be underestimated. We investigate, by means of a parametric study, the effect of a local iron enhancement on the location of the beta Cephei and SPB instability strips.
The discovery of $β$ Cephei stars in low metallicity environments, as well as the difficulty in theoretically explaining the excitation of the pulsation modes observed in some $β$ Cephei and hybrid SPB-$β$ Cephei pulsators, suggest that the ``iron opacity bump'' provided by stellar models could be underestimated. We analyze the effect of uncertainties in the opacity computations and in the solar metal mixture, on the excitation of pulsation modes in B-type stars. We carry out a pulsational stability analysis for four grids of main-sequence models with masses between 2.5 and 12 $\rm M_\odot$ computed with OPAL and OP opacity tables and two different metal mixtures. We find that in a typical $β$ Cephei model the OP opacity is 25% larger than OPAL in the region where the driving of pulsation modes occurs. Furthermore, the difference in the Fe mass fraction between the two metal mixtures considered is of the order of 20%. The implication on the excitation of pulsation modes is non-negligible: the blue border of the SPB instability strip is displaced at higher effective temperatures, leading to a larger number of models being hybrid SPB-$β$ Cephei pulsators. Moreover, higher overtone p-modes are excited in $β$ Cephei models and unstable modes are found in a larger number of models for lower metallicities, in particular $β$ Cephei pulsations are also found in models with Z=0.01.
12 Bootis is a double-lined spectroscopic binary whose orbit has been resolved by interferometry. We present a detailed modelling of the system and show that the available observational constraints can be reproduced by models at different evolutionary stages, depending on the details of extra-mixing processes acting in the central regions. In order to discriminate among these theoretical scenarios, additional and independent observational constraints are needed: we show that these could be provided by solar-like oscillations, that are expected to be excited in both system components.
We present the work undertaken by the Evolution and Seismic Tools Activity (ESTA) team of the CoRoT Seismology Working Group. We have focused on two main tasks: Task 1 - now finished - has aimed at testing, comparing and optimising seven stellar evolution codes which will be used to model the internal structure and evolution of the CoRoT target stars. Task 2, still underway, aims at testing, comparing and optimising different seismic codes used to calculate the oscillations of models for different types of stars. The results already obtained are quite satisfactory, showing minor differences between the different numerical tools provided the same assumptions on the physical parameters are made. This work gives us confidence on the numerical tools that will be available to interpret the future CoRoT seismic data.
In main-sequence stars, the chemical composition gradient that develops at the edge of the convective core is responsible for a non-uniform period spacing of high-order gravity modes. In this work we investigate, in the case of a 1.6 Msun star, the effects on the period-spacing of extra mixing processes in the core (such as diffusion and overshooting).