arXiv subjects

S. Mathur

Publications and source records attributed to S. Mathur.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

The acoustic low-degree modes of the Sun measured with 14 years of continuous GOLF & VIRGO measurements

The helioseismic Global Oscillation at Low Frequency (GOLF) and the Variability of solar Irradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) instruments onboard SoHO, have been observing the Sun continuously for the last 14 years. In this preliminary work, we characterize the acoustic modes over the entire p-mode range in both, Doppler velocity and luminosity, with a special care for the low-frequency modes taking advantage of the stability and the high duty cycle of space observations.

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arXiv2010

Asteroseismology of red giants from the first four months of Kepler data: Fundamental parameters

Clear power excess in a frequency range typical for solar-type oscillations in red giants has been detected in more than 1000 stars, which have been observed during the first 138 days of the science operation of the NASA Kepler satellite. This sample includes stars in a wide mass and radius range with spectral types G and K, extending in luminosity from the bottom of the giant branch up to high-luminous red giants. The high-precision asteroseismic observations with Kepler provide a perfect source for testing stellar structure and evolutionary models, as well as investigating the stellar population in our Galaxy. We fit a global model to the observed frequency spectra, which allows us to accurately estimate the granulation background signal and the global oscillation parameters, such as the frequency of maximum oscillation power. We find regular patterns of radial and non-radial oscillation modes and use a new technique to automatically identify the mode degree and the characteristic frequency separations between consecutive modes of the same spherical degree. In most cases, we can also measure the small separation. The seismic parameters are used to estimate stellar masses and radii and to place the stars in an H-R diagram by using an extensive grid of stellar models that covers a wide parameter range. Using Bayesian techniques throughout our analysis allows us to determine reliable uncertainties for all parameters. We provide accurate seismic parameters and their uncertainties for a large sample of red giants and determine their asteroseismic fundamental parameters. We investigate the influence of the stars' metallicities on their positions in the H-R diagram. We study the red-giant populations in the red clump and bump and compare them to a synthetic population and find a mass and metallicity gradient in the red clump and clear evidence of a secondary-clump population.

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arXiv2010

Asteroseismology of red giants from the first four months of Kepler data: Global oscillation parameters for 800 stars

We have studied solar-like oscillations in ~800 red-giant stars using Kepler long-cadence photometry. The sample includes stars ranging in evolution from the lower part of the red-giant branch to the Helium main sequence. We investigate the relation between the large frequency separation (Delta nu) and the frequency of maximum power (nu_max) and show that it is different for red giants than for main-sequence stars, which is consistent with evolutionary models and scaling relations. The distributions of nu_max and Delta nu are in qualitative agreement with a simple stellar population model of the Kepler field, including the first evidence for a secondary clump population characterized by M ~> 2 M_sun and nu_max ~ 40-110 muHz. We measured the small frequency separations delta nu_02 and delta nu_01 in over 400 stars and delta nu_03 in over 40. We present C-D diagrams for l=1, 2 and 3 and show that the frequency separation ratios delta nu_02/Delta nu and delta nu_01/Delta nu have opposite trends as a function of Delta nu. The data show a narrowing of the l=1 ridge towards lower nu_max, in agreement with models predicting more efficient mode trapping in stars with higher luminosity. We investigate the offset epsilon in the asymptotic relation and find a clear correlation with Delta nu, demonstrating that it is related to fundamental stellar parameters. Finally, we present the first amplitude-nu_max relation for Kepler red giants. We observe a lack of low-amplitude stars for nu_max ~> 110 muHz and find that, for a given nu_max between 40-110 muHz, stars with lower Delta nu (and consequently higher mass) tend to show lower amplitudes than stars with higher Delta nu.

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arXiv2010

A precise asteroseismic age and radius for the evolved Sun-like star KIC 11026764

The primary science goal of the Kepler Mission is to provide a census of exoplanets in the solar neighborhood, including the identification and characterization of habitable Earth-like planets. The asteroseismic capabilities of the mission are being used to determine precise radii and ages for the target stars from their solar-like oscillations. Chaplin et al. (2010) published observations of three bright G-type stars, which were monitored during the first 33.5 days of science operations. One of these stars, the subgiant KIC 11026764, exhibits a characteristic pattern of oscillation frequencies suggesting that it has evolved significantly. We have derived asteroseismic estimates of the properties of KIC 11026764 from Kepler photometry combined with ground-based spectroscopic data. We present the results of detailed modeling for this star, employing a variety of independent codes and analyses that attempt to match the asteroseismic and spectroscopic constraints simultaneously. We determine both the radius and the age of KIC 11026764 with a precision near 1%, and an accuracy near 2% for the radius and 15% for the age. Continued observations of this star promise to reveal additional oscillation frequencies that will further improve the determination of its fundamental properties.

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arXiv2010

Discovery of a 1.6-year Magnetic Activity Cycle in the Exoplanet Host Star iota Horologii

The Mount Wilson Ca HK survey revealed magnetic activity variations in a large sample of solar-type stars with timescales ranging from 2.5 to 25 years. This broad range of cycle periods is thought to reflect differences in the rotational properties and the depths of the surface convection zones for stars with various masses and ages. In 2007 we initiated a long-term monitoring campaign of Ca II H and K emission for a sample of 57 southern solar-type stars to measure their magnetic activity cycles and their rotational properties when possible. We report the discovery of a 1.6-year magnetic activity cycle in the exoplanet host star iota Horologii, and we obtain an estimate of the rotation period that is consistent with Hyades membership. This is the shortest activity cycle so far measured for a solar-type star, and may be related to the short-timescale magnetic variations recently identified in the Sun and HD49933 from helio- and asteroseismic measurements. Future asteroseismic observations can be compared to those obtained near the magnetic minimum in 2006 to search for cycle-induced shifts in the oscillation frequencies. If such short activity cycles are common in F stars, then NASA's Kepler mission should observe their effects in many of its long-term asteroseismic targets.

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arXiv2010

Witnessing the key early phase of quasar evolution: an obscured AGN pair in the interacting galaxy IRAS 20210+1121

We report the discovery of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) pair in the interacting galaxy system IRAS 20210+1121 at z = 0.056. An XMM-Newton observation reveals the presence of an obscured (Nh ~ 5 x 10^{23} cm^-2), Seyfert-like (L_{2-10 keV} = 4.7 x 10^{42} erg/s) nucleus in the northern galaxy, which lacks unambiguous optical AGN signatures. Our spectral analysis also provides strong evidence that the IR-luminous southern galaxy hosts a Type 2 quasar embedded in a bright starburst emission. In particular, the X-ray primary continuum from the nucleus appears totally depressed in the XMM-Newton band as expected in case of a Compton-Thick absorber, and only the emission produced by Compton scattering ('reflection') of the continuum from circumnuclear matter is seen. As such, IRAS 20210+1121 seems to provide an excellent opportunity to witness a key, early phase in the quasar evolution predicted by the theoretical models of quasar activation by galaxy collisions.

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arXiv2010

Solar-like oscillations in red giants observed with Kepler: comparison of global oscillation parameters from different methods

The large number of stars for which uninterrupted high-precision photometric timeseries data are being collected with \textit{Kepler} and CoRoT initiated the development of automated methods to analyse the stochastically excited oscillations in main-sequence, subgiant and red-giant stars. Aims: We investigate the differences in results for global oscillation parameters of G and K red-giant stars due to different methods and definitions. We also investigate uncertainties originating from the stochastic nature of the oscillations. Methods: For this investigation we use Kepler data obtained during the first four months of operation. These data have been analysed by different groups using already published methods and the results are compared. We also performed simulations to investigate the uncertainty on the resulting parameters due to different realizations of the stochastic signal. Results: We obtain results for the frequency of maximum oscillation power (nu_max) and the mean large separation ( ) from different methods for over one thousand red-giant stars. The results for these parameters agree within a few percent and seem therefore robust to the different analysis methods and definitions used here. The uncertainties for nu_max and due to differences in realization noise are not negligible and should be taken into account when using these results for stellar modelling.

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arXiv2010

Towards a detection of individual g modes in the Sun

Since the detection of the asymptotic properties of the dipole gravity modes in the Sun, the quest to find the individual gravity modes has continued. A deeper analysis of the GOLF/SoHO data unveils the presence of a pattern of peaks that could be interpreted as individual dipole gravity modes. The computed collapsed spectrum -around these candidate modes- uncovers the presence of a quasi constant frequency splitting, in contrast with regions where no g modes are expected in which the collapsogram gives random results. Besides, the same technique applied to VIRGO/SoHO unveils some common signals between both power spectra. Thus, we can identify and characterize the modes, for example, with their central frequency and splittings. This would open the path towards new investigations to better constrain the solar core.

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arXiv2010

Asteroseismology of Solar-type Stars with Kepler I: Data Analysis

We report on the first asteroseismic analysis of solar-type stars observed by Kepler. Observations of three G-type stars, made at one-minute cadence during the first 33.5d of science operations, reveal high signal-to-noise solar-like oscillation spectra in all three stars: About 20 modes of oscillation can clearly be distinguished in each star. We discuss the appearance of the oscillation spectra, including the presence of a possible signature of faculae, and the presence of mixed modes in one of the three stars.

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arXiv2010

Solar-like oscillations in cluster stars

We present a brief overview of the history of attempts to obtain a clear detection of solar-like oscillations in cluster stars, and discuss the results on the first clear detection, which was made by the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium (KASC) Working Group 2.

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arXiv2010

A Survey of Metal Lines at High-redshift (I) : SDSS Absorption Line Studies - The Methodology and First Search Results for OVI

We report the results of a systematic search for signatures of metal lines in quasar spectra of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 3(DR3), focusing on finding intervening absorbers via detection of their OVI doublet. Here we present the search algorithm, and criteria for distinguishing candidates from spurious Lyman $α${} forest lines. In addition, we compare our findings with simulations of the Lyman $α${} forest in order to estimate the detectability of OVI doublets over various redshift intervals. We have obtained a sample of 1756 OVI doublet candidates with rest-frame equivalent width > 0.05 Å in 855 AGN spectra (out of 3702 objects with redshifts in the accessible range for OVI detection). This sample is further subdivided into 3 groups according to the likelihood of being real and the potential for follow-up observation of the candidate. The group with the cleanest and most secure candidates is comprised of 145 candidates. 69 of these reside at a velocity separation > 5000 km/s from the QSO, and can therefore be classified tentatively as intervening absorbers. Most of these absorbers have not been picked up by earlier, automated QSO absorption line detection algorithms. This sample increases the number of known OVI absorbers at redshifts beyond z$_{abs} > 2.7 substantially.

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arXiv2010

A Survey of Metal Lines at High-redshift (II) : SDSS Absorption Line Studies - OVI line density, space density and gas metallicity at z_abs ~ 3.0

We have analysed a large data set of OVI absorber candidates found in the spectra of 3702 SDSS quasars, focusing on a subsample of 387 AGN sightlines with an average S/N>5.0, allowing for detection of absorbers above rest-frame equivalents widths W_r>0.19 A for the OVI 1032 A component. Accounting for random interlopers mimicking an OVI doublet, we derive for the first time a secure lower limit for the redshift number density $ΔN / Δz$ for redshifts z_abs>2.8. With extensive Monte Carlo simulations we quantify the losses of absorbers due to blending with the ubiquitous Lyman forest lines, and estimate the success rate of retrieving each individual candidate as a function of its redshift, the emission redshift of the quasar, the strength of the absorber and the measured S/N of the spectrum by modelling typical Ly forest spectra. These correction factors allow us to derive the 'incompleteness and S/N corrected' redshift number densities of OVI absorbers :$ΔN _{OVI, c} / Δz_{c} (2.8 < z < 3.2) = 4.6+-0.3, at 3.2 < z < 3.6 = 6.7+-0.8,and at 3.6 < z < 4.0 = 8.4+-2.9. We can place a secure lower limit for the contribution of OVI to the closure mass density at the redshifts probed here: $Ω_{OVI} (2.8 < z < 3.2) >1.9x10^{-8} h^-1. We show that the strong lines we probe account for over 65\% of the mass in the OVI absorbers; the weak absorbers, while dominant in line number density, do not contribute significantly to the mass density. Making a conservative assumption about the ionisation fraction, and adopting the Anders (1989) solar abundance values, we derive the mean metallicty of the gas probed in our search : $ζ(2.8 < z < 3.2) > 3.6 x 10^-4 h, in good agreement with other studies. These results demonstrate that large spectroscopic datasets such as SDSS can play an important role in QSO absorption line studies, in spite of the relatively low resolution.

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arXiv2010

Determining global parameters of the oscillations of solar-like stars

Helioseismology has enabled us to better understand the solar interior, while also allowing us to better constrain solar models. But now is a tremendous epoch for asteroseismology as space missions dedicated to studying stellar oscillations have been launched within the last years (MOST and CoRoT). CoRoT has already proved valuable results for many types of stars, while Kepler, which was launched in March 2009, will provide us with a huge number of seismic data very soon. This is an opportunity to better constrain stellar models and to finally understand stellar structure and evolution. The goal of this research work is to estimate the global parameters of any solar-like oscillating target in an automatic manner. We want to determine the global parameters of the acoustic modes (large separation, range of excited pressure modes, maximum amplitude, and its corresponding frequency), retrieve the surface rotation period of the star and use these results to estimate the global parameters of the star (radius and mass).To prepare the analysis of hundreds of solar-like oscillating stars, we have developed a robust and automatic pipeline. The pipeline consists of data analysis techniques, such as Fast Fourier Transform, wavelets, autocorrelation, as well as the application of minimisation algorithms for stellar-modelling. We apply our pipeline to some simulated lightcurves from the asteroFLAG team and the Aarhus-asteroFLAG simulator, and obtain results that are consistent with the input data to the simulations. Our strategy gives correct results for stars with magnitudes below 11 with only a few 10% of bad determinations among the reliable results. We then apply the pipeline to the Sun and three CoRoT targets.In particular we determine the parameters of the Sun, HD49933, HD181906, and HD181420.

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arXiv2010

Enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio of solar-like targets

The analysis of the first solar-like targets done by CoRoT has shown that the oscillation amplitudes are about 25% below the theoretical amplitudes while the convective backgrounds are up to three times higher than in the solar case (Michel et al. 2008). In such conditions, the comb-like structure of the acoustic modes has smaller signal-to-noise ratios than initially expected complicating the characterization of individual modes. In the present work we apply the curvelet filtering to the solar-like targets already observed by CoRoT as well as a partial reconstruction of the signal from the obtained spacing of the comb-like structure of the acoustic modes. It enables us to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the ridges in the Echelle diagrams. Finally, we study how the analysis of the p modes can be improved.

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arXiv2010

Inpainting: A powerful interpolation technique for helio- and asteroseismic data

In Helio- and asteroseismology, it is important to have continuous, uninterrupted, data sets. However, seismic observations usually contain gaps and we need to take them into account. In particular, if the gaps are not randomly distributed, they will produce a peak and a series of harmonics in the periodogram that will destroy the stellar information. An interpolation of the data can be good solution for this problem. In this paper we have studied an interpolation method based on the so-called 'inpainting' algorithms. To check the algorithm, we used both VIRGO and CoRoT satellite data to which we applied a realistic artificial window of a real CoRoT observing run to introduce gaps. Next we compared the results with the original, non-windowed data. Therefore, we were able to optimize the algorithm by minimizing the difference between the power spectrum density of the data with gaps and the complete time series. In general, we find that the power spectrum of the inpainted time series is very similar to the original, unperturbed one. Seismic inferences obtained after interpolating the data are the same as in the original case.

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arXiv2010

The solar-like CoRoT target HD 170987: spectroscopic and seismic observations

The CoRoT mission is in its third year of observation and the data from the second long run in the galactic centre direction are being analysed. The solar-like oscillating stars that have been observed up to now have given some interesting results, specially concerning the amplitudes that are lower than predicted. We present here the results from the analysis of the star HD 170987.The goal of this research work is to characterise the global parameters of HD 170987. We look for global seismic parameters such as the mean large separation, maximum amplitude of the modes, and surface rotation because the signal-to-noise ratio in the observations do not allow us to measure individual modes. We also want to retrieve the stellar parameters of the star and its chemical composition.We have studied the chemical composition of the star using ground-based observations performed with the NARVAL spectrograph. We have used several methods to calculate the global parameters from the acoustic oscillations based on CoRoT data. The light curve of the star has been interpolated using inpainting algorithms to reduce the effect of data gaps. We find power excess related to p modes in the range [400 - 1200]muHz with a mean large separation of 55.2+-0.8muHz with a probability above 95% that increases to 55.9 +-0.2muHz in a higher frequency range [500 - 1250] muHz and a rejection level of 1%. A hint of the variation of this quantity with frequency is also found. The rotation period of the star is estimated to be around 4.3 days with an inclination axis of i=50 deg +20/-13. We measure a bolometric amplitude per radial mode in a range [2.4 - 2.9] ppm around 1000 muHz. Finally, using a grid of models, we estimate the stellar mass, M=1.43+-0.05 Msun, the radius, R=1.96+-0.046 Rsun, and the age ~2.4 Gyr.

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arXiv2010

An automatic pipeline analysing solar-like oscillating targets tested on CoRoT and simulated data

The launch of the Kepler mission on 7th March 2009 opened a new bright future for the search of extra-solar planets while a huge amount of stars will be observed leading to the opportunity to better understand stellar evolution. This will allow us to probe different regions in the HR diagram and put more constraints on the stellar models. Up to now the asteroseismic missions such as MOST and CoRoT were providing some solar-like stars at a very slow cadence. But to study the several hundreds of solar-like oscillating stars that will be observed during the Kepler survey phase, an analysis devoted to one star is impossible if we want to have as much information as we can in a small period of time. We describe here our pipeline, A2Z, which calculates the global parameters of the stars (rotation period, mean large spacing of the acoustic modes, maximum amplitude of the modes), fits the modes globally, and estimates the radius and mass of the stars. This pipeline has been tested on simulated stars and applied to real data from CoRoT.

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arXiv2010

XMM-{\em Newton} and FUSE Tentative Evidence for a WHIM filament along the Line of Sight to PKS~0558-504

We present a possible OVIII X-ray absorption line at $z=0.117 \pm 0.001$ which, if confirmed, will be the first one associated with a broad HI Ly$β$ (BLB: FWHM=$160^{+50}_{-30}$ km s$^{-1}$) absorber. The absorber lies along the line of sight to the nearby ($z=0.1372$) Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS~0558-504, consistent with being a WHIM filament. The X-ray absorber is marginally detected in two independent XMM-Newton spectra of PKS~0558-504, a long $\sim 600$ ks Guest-Observer observation and a shorter, $\sim 300$ ks total, calibration observation, with a combined single line statistical significance of 2.8$σ$ (2.7$σ$ and 1.2$σ$ in the two spectra, respectively). When fitted with our self-consistent hybrid-photoionization WHIM models, the combined XMM-{\em Newton} spectrum is consistent with the presence of OVIII K$α$ at $z=(0.117 \pm 0.001)$. This model gives best fitting temperature and equivalent H column density of the absorber of log$T=6.56_{-0.17}^{+0.19}$ K, and logN$_H=(21.5 \pm 0.3) (Z/Z_{0.01\odot})^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$. The statistical sigificance of this single X-ray detection is increased by the detection of broad and complex HI Ly$β$ absorption in archival FUSE spectra of PKS~0558-504, at redshifts $z=0.1183 \pm 0.0001$ consistent with the best-fitting redshift of the X-ray absorber. The single line statistical significance of this line is 4.1$σ$ (3.7$σ$ if systematics are considered), and thus the combined (HI+OVIII) statistical significance of the detection is of 5.0$σ$. The detection of both metal and H lines at a consistent redshift, in this hot absorbing system, allows us to speculate on its metallicity. By associating the bulk of the X-ray absorber with the BLB line detected in the FUSE spectrum at $z_{BLB}=0.1183 \pm 0.0001$, we obtain a metallicity of 1-4\% Solar.

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