arXiv subjects

M. B. Nielsen

Publications and source records attributed to M. B. Nielsen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Luminaries in the Sky: The TESS LEGACY sample of bright stars. II. In-depth seismic characterisation of 32 naked-eye stars in the PLATO LOP fields

The NASA TESS mission is conducting a nearly full-sky survey, enabling the photometric characterisation of millions of stars. The forthcoming ESA PLATO mission will provide long-duration, high-precision photometry of tens of thousands of bright stars to be characterised through asteroseismology. The TESS Luminaries sample is a catalogue of 196 bright naked-eye (V < 6) main-sequence (MS) and sub-giant (SG) stars exhibiting solar-like oscillations. Among them, the subset located within the PLATO long-duration observation phase (LOP) fields constitutes an exceptional set of targets that will be observable by PLATO from the earliest phases of the mission, making them ideal calibrators during commissioning and the first months of science operations. This paper aims to provide an in-depth asteroseismic characterisation of 32 Luminaries stars that fall within the PLATO LOP fields of view. Individual mode parameters were extracted for the first time for 26 of them. We used three independent seismic pipelines, one of which is similar to the algorithms used in the official PLATO pipeline. Statistical criterion were applied to identify the optimal combination of data calibration, observing cadence, and fitting pipeline for each star. For all stars, we derived large and small separations, the asymptotic phase term, radial mode amplitudes, and mean linewidths per order. Comparisons reveal consistent trends in the seismic parameters, confirming the robustness of our analysis. In SGs, mixed-mode identification differs in the three pipelines, revealing extraction inconsistencies requiring longer datasets to improve our mode identifications. The Luminaries stars located in the PLATO LOP fields constitute a unique sample that will play a crucial role in validating, calibrating, and optimising PLATO's seismic performance.

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arXiv2026

Characterizing six seismic solar analogs observed by Kepler, K2, and HERMES

Solar analogs, stars that closely match the fundamental properties of the Sun, provide key benchmarks for testing stellar structure and evolution across different ages and activity levels. Their detailed characterization helps place the Sun in context within the broader population of solar-like stars. This study presents the characterization of six seismic solar analogs observed by the NASA Kepler and K2 missions. Combining asteroseismic constraints from space-based photometry with high-resolution spectroscopy and \textit{Gaia} astrometry, we derived their fundamental parameters and assessed their resemblance to the Sun. Global seismic properties and individual oscillation modes were extracted from the photometric light curves, while atmospheric parameters were obtained from data collected by the HERMES spectrograph at the Mercator telescope. Stellar modeling using seven independent stellar evolution codes yielded consistent masses, radii, and ages. These stars have masses between 0.91 and 1.04~$\mathrm{M}_\odot$, radii between 0.95 and 1.08~$\mathrm{R}_\odot$, and ages from about 1.8 to 9.1~Gyr, with typical systematic uncertainties of $\pm$ 0.02~$\mathrm{M}_\odot$, $\pm$ 0.01~$\mathrm{R}_\odot$, and $\pm$ 0.7~Gyr, respectively. One star, EPIC~206064678, exhibits properties very similar to those of the Sun, with $M = 1.016 \pm 0.033\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$, $R = 0.990 \pm 0.011\,\mathrm{R}_\odot$, and an age of $5.40 \pm 0.12$\,Gyr. It can therefore be considered a close solar twin, although it is slightly older and more metal-rich ($0.25 \pm 0.07$\,dex). Four targets display binarity signatures and all exhibit very low chromospheric activity. This work broadens the sample of well-characterized seismic solar analogs towards a larger sample of metallicities and ages, providing new references for comparative stellar studies and future asteroseismic investigations.

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arXiv2025

Asteroseismic investigation of HD 140283: The Methuselah star

HD 140283 is a well-studied metal-poor subgiant and a Gaia benchmark star, often used for testing stellar models due to its proximity, brightness, and low metallicity ([Fe/H] = -2.3 dex). Here we present the first asteroseismic analysis of HD 140283, providing improved constraints on its fundamental properties. The star was observed by TESS in 20-second cadence during Sector 51. We extracted a custom light curve and performed a frequency analysis, revealing a rich spectrum of solar-like oscillations including mixed modes. These were combined with parameters from the literature to provide constraints on our model inference performed with BASTA. Using a dense grid of models, we find a mass of $0.75 \pm 0.01 \ \mathrm{M}_\odot$, a radius of $2.078 \substack{+0.012\\-0.011} \ \mathrm{R}_\odot$, and an age of $14.2 \pm 0.4$ Gyr, in agreement with the upper limit set by the age of the Universe within $1σ$. The observed frequency of maximum power, $\left(ν_\mathrm{max}\right)_\mathrm{obs} = 611.3 \pm 7.4 \ μ\mathrm{Hz}$, is significantly higher than predicted from standard scaling relations ($\left(ν_\mathrm{max}\right)_\mathrm{mod} = 537.2 \substack{+2.9\\-1.8} \ μ\mathrm{Hz}$), extending known deviations into the metal-poor regime. To our knowledge, the oscillations in HD 140283 have the highest $ν_\mathrm{max}$ of any metal-poor star to date, which will help to advance our understanding of oscillations in metal-poor stars in general. The results demonstrate the value of asteroseismology for precise age determination in old halo stars and taking custom abundances and opacities into account during the modelling is probably important for further improving models of such stars. In addition, a detailed characterisation of metal-poor stars, such as HD 140283, will also help advance our understanding of Population III stars and their impact on future stellar generations.

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arXiv2025

Asteroseismology with PBjam 2.0: measuring dipole mode frequencies in coupling regimes from main sequence to low-luminosity red giant stars

PBjam is an open-source software package for measuring mode frequencies of solar-like oscillators. These frequencies help constrain stellar evolution models to precisely estimate masses, radii, and ages of stars. The overall aim of PBjam is to simplify this process to the point where it may be done by non-experts or performed on thousands of stars with minimal interaction. The initial release of PBjam was restricted to only identifying modes of $\ell=0$ and $\ell=2$, since these are the simplest to treat consistently across different stellar evolutionary stages. Here we introduce a new set of three separate models which lets PBjam automatically identify $\ell=1$ modes in stars that experience varying degrees of coupling between p- and g-modes. These include a simple asymptotic relation for p-modes which can be applied to main-sequence stars, a matrix formalism aimed at treating frequency dependent coupling in sub-giants, and a uniform coupling model which is suitable for red giants. These models follow the Bayesian methodology established in the first release of PBjam, where a large set of previous observations is used to construct a nonparametric prior probability density for the new set of model parameters. This extension allows PBjam to build a more complete description of the power due to oscillations across a wider range of evolutionary stages.

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arXiv2025

Farside helioseismology with Sun-as-a-star data: the solar cycle as seen with 7-day-long BiSON timeseries

We present results from fitting $p$-mode spectra derived from 7-d segments of Sun-as-a-star helioseismic observations from the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network covering 32 yr. The results show a clear dependence of the mode frequencies on solar activity, and the frequency dependence of the sensitivity to activity can also be seen. Because we use data segments that cover less than half of a solar rotation, we are able to test for the effect of activity on the solar far side. By fitting with a model that takes into account activity on the far side of the Sun, we show that the frequency shifts are sensitive to activity from the whole Sun, not just the side facing the observer. Our results suggest that there is potential to investigate activity-related asteroseismic frequency shifts in solar-like oscillators using short time series of observations.

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arXiv2024

Expanding the frontiers of cool-dwarf asteroseismology with ESPRESSO. Detection of solar-like oscillations in the K5 dwarf $ε$ Indi

Fuelled by space photometry, asteroseismology is vastly benefitting the study of cool main-sequence stars, which exhibit convection-driven solar-like oscillations. Even so, the tiny oscillation amplitudes in K dwarfs continue to pose a challenge to space-based asteroseismology. A viable alternative is offered by the lower stellar noise over the oscillation timescales in Doppler observations. In this letter we present the definite detection of solar-like oscillations in the bright K5 dwarf $ε$ Indi based on time-intensive observations collected with the ESPRESSO spectrograph at the VLT, thus making it the coolest seismic dwarf ever observed. We measured the frequencies of a total of 19 modes of degree $\ell=0$--2 along with $ν_{\rm max}=5305\pm176\:{\rm μHz}$ and $Δν=201.25\pm0.16\:{\rm μHz}$. The peak amplitude of radial modes is $2.6\pm0.5\:{\rm cm\,s^{-1}}$, or a mere ${\sim} 14\%$ of the solar value. Measured mode amplitudes are ${\sim} 2$ times lower than predicted from a nominal $L/M$ scaling relation and favour a scaling closer to $(L/M)^{1.5}$ below ${\sim} 5500\:{\rm K}$, carrying important implications for our understanding of the coupling efficiency between pulsations and near-surface convection in K dwarfs. This detection conclusively shows that precise asteroseismology of cool dwarfs is possible down to at least the mid-K regime using next-generation spectrographs on large-aperture telescopes, effectively opening up a new domain in observational asteroseismology.

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arXiv2024

The EBLM project -- XIII. The absolute dynamical masses of the circumbinary planet host TOI-1338/BEBOP-1

High-contrast eclipsing binaries with low mass M-dwarf secondaries are precise benchmark stars to build empirical mass-radius relationships for fully convective low-mass ($\rm M_{*} < 0.35\,M_{\rm sun}$) dwarf stars. The contributed light of the M-dwarf in such binaries is usually much less than one~per~cent at optical wavelengths. This enables the detection of circumbinary planets from precise radial velocity measurements. High-resolution cross-correlation techniques are typically used to detect exoplanet atmospheres. One key aspect of these techniques is the post-processing, which includes the removal of telluric and spectral lines of the host star. We introduce the application of such techniques to optical high-resolution spectra of the circumbinary planet-host TOI-1338/BEBOP-1, turning it effectively into a double-lined eclipsing binary. By using simulations, we further explore the impact of post-processing techniques for high-contrast systems. We detect the M-dwarf secondary with a significance of 11-$σ$ and measure absolute dynamical masses for both components. Compared to previous model-dependent mass measurements, we obtain a four times better precision. We further find that the post-processing results in negligible systematic impact on the radial velocity precision for TOI-1338/BEBOP-1 with more than $96.6\,$per~cent (1-$σ$) of the M-dwarf's signal being conserved. We show that these methods can be used to robustly measure dynamical masses of high-contrast single-lined binaries providing important benchmark stars for stellar evolution particularly near the bottom of the main sequence. We also demonstrate how to retrieve the phase curve of an exoplanet with high-resolution spectroscopy using our data.

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arXiv2024

Predicted asteroseismic detection yield for solar-like oscillating stars with PLATO

We determine the expected yield of detections of solar-like oscillations for the PLATO ESA mission. We used a formulation from the literature to calculate the probability of detection and validated it with Kepler data. We then applied this approach to the PLATO P1 and P2 samples with the lowest noise level and the much larger P5 sample, which has a higher noise level. We used the information available in in the PIC 1.1.0, including the current best estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio. We also derived relations to estimate the uncertainties of seismically inferred stellar mass, radius and age and applied those relations to the main sequence stars of the PLATO P1 and P2 samples with masses equal to or below 1.2 $\rm{M}_\odot$ for which we had obtained a positive seismic detection. We found that one can expect positive detections of solar-like oscillations for more than 15 000 FGK stars in one single field after a two-years run of observation. For main sequence stars with masses $\leq 1.2 \rm{M}_\odot$, we found that about 1131 stars satisfy the PLATO requirements for the uncertainties of the seismically inferred stellar masses, radii and ages in one single field after a two-year run of observation. The baseline observation programme of PLATO consists in observing two fields of similar size (in the Southern and Northern hemispheres) for two years each. The expected seismic yields of the mission are more 30000 FGK dwarfs and subgiants with positive detections of solar-like oscillations, enabling to achieve the mission stellar objectives. The PLATO mission should produce a sample of seismically extremely well characterized stars of quality equivalent to the Kepler Legacy sample but containing a number of stars $\sim$ 80 times larger if observing two PLATO fields for two years each. They will represent a goldmine which will make possible significant advances in stellar modelling.

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arXiv2023

Low-degree solar rotational splitting from 45 years of BiSON observations

We present solar low-degree rotational splitting values based on a new analysis of Sun-as-a-star observations from the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network, covering a 16,425-day period from 1976 December 31--2021 December 20 with a duty cycle of 57 per cent. The splitting values are estimated from the power spectrum using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling method, and we also present for comparison the results from an analysis of 100 realizations of synthetic data with the same resolution and gap structure. Comparison of the scatter in the results from the synthetic realizations with their estimated uncertainties suggests that for this data set the formal uncertainty estimates are about 30 per cent too small. An upward bias in the splittings at frequencies above 2200 microHz, where the components are not fully resolved, is seen in both the observed and synthetic data. When this bias is taken into account our results are consistent with a frequency-independent synodic rotational splitting value of 400 nHz.

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arXiv2023

Simplifying asteroseismic analysis of solar-like oscillators: An application of principal component analysis for dimensionality reduction

The asteroseismic analysis of stellar power density spectra is often computationally expensive. The models used in the analysis may use several dozen parameters to accurately describe features in the spectra caused by oscillation modes and surface granulation. Many parameters are often highly correlated, making the parameter space difficult to quickly and accurately sample. They are, however, all dependent on a smaller set of parameters, namely the fundamental stellar properties. We aim to leverage this to simplify the process of sampling the model parameter space for the asteroseismic analysis of solar-like oscillators, with an emphasis on mode identification. Using a large set of previous observations, we applied principal component analysis to the sample covariance matrix to select a new basis on which to sample the model parameters. Selecting the subset of basis vectors that explains the majority of the sample variance, we redefine the model parameter prior probability density distributions in terms of a smaller set of latent parameters. We are able to reduce the dimensionality of the sampled parameter space by a factor of two to three. The number of latent parameters needed to accurately model the stellar oscillation spectra cannot be determined exactly but is likely only between four and six. Using two latent parameters, the method is able to describe the bulk features of the oscillation spectrum, while including more latent parameters allows for a frequency precision better than $\approx10\%$ of the small frequency separation for a given target. We find that sampling a lower-rank latent parameter space still allows for accurate mode identification and parameter estimation on solar-like oscillators over a wide range of evolutionary stages. This allows for the potential to increase the complexity of spectrum models without a corresponding increase in computational expense.

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arXiv2022

Unexpected solar-cycle variation of acoustic mode power in Sun-as-a-star observations

We examine the solar-cycle variation of the power in the low-degree helioseismic modes by looking at binned power spectra from 45 years of observations with the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network, which provides a more robust estimate of the mode power than that obtained by peak fitting. The solar-cycle variation of acoustic mode power in the five-minute band is clearly seen. Unusually, even though Cycle 24 was substantially weaker in terms of surface magnetic activity than Cycle 23, the reduction in mode power at solar maximum is very similar for the two cycles, suggesting that the relationship between mode power and magnetic activity is more complex than has previously been thought. This is in contrast to the mode frequencies, which show a strong correlation with activity with only subtle differences between in the response across different solar cycles.

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arXiv2022

A probabilistic method for detecting solar-like oscillations using meaningful prior information

Current and future space-based observatories such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and PLATO are set to provide an enormous amount of new data on oscillating stars, and in particular stars that oscillate similar to the Sun. Solar-like oscillators constitute the majority of known oscillating stars and so automated analysis methods are becoming an ever increasing necessity to make as much use of these data as possible. Here we aim to construct an algorithm that can automatically determine if a given time series of photometric measurements shows evidence of solar-like oscillations. The algorithm is aimed at analyzing data from the TESS mission and the future PLATO mission, and in particular stars in the main-sequence and subgiant evolutionary stages. The algorithm first tests the range of observable frequencies in the power spectrum of a TESS light curve for an excess that is consistent with that expected from solar-like oscillations. In addition, the algorithm tests if a repeating pattern of oscillation frequencies is present in the time series, and whether it is consistent with the large separation seen in solar-like oscillators. Both methods use scaling relations and observations which were established and obtained during the CoRoT, Kepler, and K2 missions. Using a set of test data consisting of visually confirmed solar-like oscillators and nonoscillators observed by TESS, we find that the proposed algorithm can attain a $94.7\%$ true positive rate and a $8.2\%$ false positive rate at peak accuracy. However, by applying stricter selection criteria, the false positive rate can be reduced to $\approx2\%$, while retaining an $80\%$ true positive rate.

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arXiv2020

PBjam: A Python package for automating asteroseismology of solar-like oscillators

Asteroseismology is an exceptional tool for studying stars by using the properties of observed modes of oscillation. So far the process of performing an asteroseismic analysis of a star has remained somewhat esoteric and inaccessible to non-experts. In this software paper we describe PBjam, an open-source Python package for analyzing the frequency spectra of solar-like oscillators in a simple but principled and automated way. The aim of PBjam is to provide a set of easy-to-use tools to extract information about the radial and quadrupole oscillations in stars that oscillate like the Sun, which may then be used to infer bulk properties such as stellar mass, radius and age or even structure. Asteroseismology and its data analysis methods are becoming increasingly important as space-based photometric observatories are producing a wealth of new data, allowing asteroseismology to be applied in a wide range of contexts such as exoplanet, stellar structure and evolution, and Galactic population studies.

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arXiv2020

Tess asteroseismology of the known planet host star $λ^2$ Fornacis

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is observing bright known planet-host stars across almost the entire sky. These stars have been subject to extensive ground-based observations, providing a large number of radial velocity (RV) measurements. In this work we use the new TESS photometric observations to characterize the star $λ^2$ Fornacis, and following this to update the parameters of the orbiting planet $λ^2$ For b. We measure the p-mode oscillation frequencies in $λ^2$ For, and in combination with non-seismic parameters estimate the stellar fundamental properties using stellar models. Using the revised stellar properties and a time series of archival RV data from the UCLES, HIRES and HARPS instruments spanning almost 20 years, we refit the orbit of $λ^2$ For b and search the RV residuals for remaining variability. We find that $λ^2$ For has a mass of $1.16\pm0.03$M$_\odot$ and a radius of $1.63\pm0.04$R$_\odot$, with an age of $6.3\pm0.9$Gyr. This and the updated RV measurements suggest a mass of $λ^2$ For b of $16.8^{+1.2}_{-1.3}$M$_\oplus$, which is $\sim5$M$_\oplus$ less than literature estimates. We also detect a periodicity at 33 days in the RV measurements, which is likely due to the rotation of the host star. While previous literature estimates of the properties of $λ^2$ are ambiguous, the asteroseismic measurements place the star firmly at the early stage of its subgiant evolutionary phase. Typically only short time series of photometric data are available from TESS, but by using asteroseismology it is still possible to provide tight constraints on the properties of bright stars that until now have only been observed from the ground. This prompts a reexamination of archival RV data from the past few decades to update the characteristics of the planet hosting systems observed by TESS for which asteroseismology is possible.

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arXiv2019

Sounding stellar cycles with Kepler - III. Comparative analysis of chromospheric, photometric and asteroseismic variability

By combining ground-based spectrographic observations of variability in the chromospheric emission from Sun-like stars with the variability seen in their eigenmode frequencies, it is possible to relate the changes observed at the surfaces of these stars to the changes taking place in the interior. By further comparing this variability to changes in the relative flux from the stars, one can obtain an expression for how these activity indicators relate to the energy output from the stars. Such studies become very pertinent when the variability can be related to stellar cycles as they can then be used to improve our understanding of the solar cycle and its effect on the energy output from the Sun. Here we present observations of chromospheric emission in 20 Sun-like stars obtained over the course of the nominal 4-year Kepler mission. Even though 4 years is too short to detect stellar equivalents of the 11-year solar cycle, observations from the Kepler mission can still be used to analyse the variability of the different activity indicators thereby obtaining information of the physical mechanism generating the variability. The analysis reveals no strong correlation between the different activity indicators, except in very few cases. We suggest that this is due to the sparse sampling of our ground-based observations on the one hand and that we are likely not tracing cyclic variability on the other hand. We also discuss how to improve the situation.

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arXiv2018

Starspot rotation rates vs. activity cycle phase: Butterfly diagrams of Kepler stars are unlike the Sun's

During the solar magnetic activity cycle the emergence latitudes of sunspots change, leading to the well-known butterfly diagram. This phenomenon is poorly understood for other stars as starspot latitudes are generally unknown. The related changes in starspot rotation rates caused by latitudinal differential rotation can however be measured. Using the set of 3093 Kepler stars with activity cycles identified by Reinhold et al. (2017), we aim to study the temporal change in starspot rotation rates over magnetic activity cycles, and how this relates to the activity level, mean rotation rate, and effective temperature of the star. We measure the photometric variability as a proxy for the magnetic activity and the spot rotation rate in each quarter over the duration of the Kepler mission. We phase-fold these measurements with the cycle period. We perform averages over stars with comparable mean rotation rates and effective temperature at fixed activity-cycle phases. We detect a clear correlation between the variation of activity level and the variation of the starspot rotation rate. The sign and amplitude of this correlation depends on the mean stellar rotation and, to a lesser extent, on the effective temperature. For slowly rotating stars (with periods between 15-28 days) the starspot rotation rates are clearly anti-correlated with the level of activity during the activity cycles. A transition is seen at periods of 10-15 days, where stars with effective temperature above 4200K instead show positive correlation. Our results can be interpreted in terms of a stellar "butterfly diagram", but these appear different from the Sun's as the starspot rotation rates are either in phase or anti-phase with the activity level. Alternatively, the activity cycles seen by Kepler are short (around 2.5 years) and may therefore be secondary cycles, perhaps analogous to the solar quasi-biennial oscillations.

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arXiv2018

Predicted microlensing events by nearby very-low-mass objects: Pan-STARRS DR1 vs. Gaia DR2

Microlensing events can be used to directly measure the masses of single field stars to a precision of $\sim$1-10\%. The majority of direct mass measurements for stellar and sub-stellar objects typically only come from observations of binary systems. Hence microlensing provides an important channel for direct mass measurements of single stars. The Gaia satellite has observed $\sim$1.7 billion objects, and analysis of the second data release has recently yielded numerous event predictions for the next few decades. However, the Gaia catalog is incomplete for nearby very-low-mass objects such as brown dwarfs for which mass measurements are most crucial. We employ a catalog of very-low-mass objects from Pan-STARRS data release 1 (PDR1) as potential lens stars, and we use the objects from Gaia data release 2 (GDR2) as potential source stars. We then search for future microlensing events up to the year 2070. The Pan-STARRS1 objects are first cross-matched with GDR2 to remove any that are present in both catalogs. This leaves a sample of 1,718 possible lenses. We fit MIST isochrones to the Pan-STARRS1, AllWISE and 2MASS photometry to estimate their masses. We then compute their paths on the sky, along with the paths of the GDR2 source objects, until the year 2070, and search for potential microlensing events. Source-lens pairs that will produce a microlensing signal with an astrometric amplitude of greater than 0.131 mas, or a photometric amplitude of greater than 0.4 mmag, are retained.

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arXiv2018

Butterfly diagram of a Sun-like star observed using asteroseismology

Stellar magnetic fields are poorly understood but are known to be important for stellar evolution and exoplanet habitability. They drive stellar activity, which is the main observational constraint on theoretical models for magnetic field generation and evolution. Starspots are the main manifestation of the magnetic fields at the stellar surface. In this study we measure the variation of their latitude with time, called a butterfly diagram in the solar case, for the solar analogue HD 173701 (KIC 8006161). To that effect, we use Kepler data, to combine starspot rotation rates at different epochs and the asteroseismically determined latitudinal variation of the stellar rotation rates. We observe a clear variation of the latitude of the starspots. It is the first time such a diagram is constructed using asteroseismic data.

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