arXiv subjects

Sarbani Basu

Publications and source records attributed to Sarbani Basu.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Model-independent measurement of internal stellar structure in 16 Cygni A and B

We present a method for measuring internal stellar structure based on asteroseismology that we call "inversions for agreement." The method accounts for imprecise estimates of stellar mass and radius as well as the relatively limited oscillation mode sets that are available for distant stars. By construction, the results of the method are independent of stellar models. We apply this method to measure the isothermal sound speeds in the cores of the solar-type stars 16 Cyg A and B using asteroseismic data obtained from Kepler observations. We compare the asteroseismic structure that we deduce against best-fitting evolutionary models and find that the sound speeds in the cores of these stars exceed those of the models.

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arXiv2017

The First APOKASC Catalog of Kepler Dwarf and Subgiant Stars

(Abridged) We present the first APOKASC catalog of spectroscopic and asteroseismic data for 415 dwarfs and subgiants. Asteroseismic data have been obtained by Kepler in short cadence. The spectroscopic parameters are based on spectra taken as part of APOGEE and correspond to DR13 of SDSS. We analyze our data using two Teff scales, the spectroscopic values from DR13 and those derived from SDSS griz photometry. We use the differences in our results arising from these choices as a test of systematic Teff, and find that they can lead to significant differences in the derived stellar properties. Determinations of surface gravity ($\log{g}$), mean density ($ρ$), radius ($R$), mass ($M$), and age ($τ$) for the whole sample have been carried out with stellar grid-based modeling. We have assessed random and systematic error sources in the spectroscopic and seismic data, as well as in the grid-based modeling determination of the stellar quantities in the catalog. We provide stellar properties for both Teff scales. The median combined (random and systematic) uncertainties are 2% (0.01 dex; $\log{g}$), 3.4% ($ρ$), 2.6% ($R$), 5.1% ($M$), and 19% ($τ$) for the photometric Teff scale and 2% ($\log{g}$), 3.5% ($ρ$), 2.7% ($R$), 6.3% ($M$), and 23% ($τ$) for the spectroscopic scale. Comparisons with stellar quantities in the catalog by Chaplin et al.(2014) highlight the importance of metallicity measurements for determining stellar parameters accurately. We compare our results with those from other sources, including stellar radii determined from TGAS parallaxes and asteroseismic analyses based on individual frequencies. We find a very good agreement in all cases. Comparisons give strong support to the determination of stellar quantities based on global seismology, a relevant result for future missions such as TESS and PLATO. Table 5 corrected (wrongly listed SDSS Teff before).

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arXiv2017

The Thirteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-IV Survey MApping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) began observations in July 2014. It pursues three core programs: APOGEE-2, MaNGA, and eBOSS. In addition, eBOSS contains two major subprograms: TDSS and SPIDERS. This paper describes the first data release from SDSS-IV, Data Release 13 (DR13), which contains new data, reanalysis of existing data sets and, like all SDSS data releases, is inclusive of previously released data. DR13 makes publicly available 1390 spatially resolved integral field unit observations of nearby galaxies from MaNGA, the first data released from this survey. It includes new observations from eBOSS, completing SEQUELS. In addition to targeting galaxies and quasars, SEQUELS also targeted variability-selected objects from TDSS and X-ray selected objects from SPIDERS. DR13 includes new reductions of the SDSS-III BOSS data, improving the spectrophotometric calibration and redshift classification. DR13 releases new reductions of the APOGEE-1 data from SDSS-III, with abundances of elements not previously included and improved stellar parameters for dwarf stars and cooler stars. For the SDSS imaging data, DR13 provides new, more robust and precise photometric calibrations. Several value-added catalogs are being released in tandem with DR13, in particular target catalogs relevant for eBOSS, TDSS, and SPIDERS, and an updated red-clump catalog for APOGEE. This paper describes the location and format of the data now publicly available, as well as providing references to the important technical papers that describe the targeting, observing, and data reduction. The SDSS website, http://www.sdss.org, provides links to the data, tutorials and examples of data access, and extensive documentation of the reduction and analysis procedures. DR13 is the first of a scheduled set that will contain new data and analyses from the planned ~6-year operations of SDSS-IV.

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arXiv2017

Near-degeneracy effects on the frequencies of rotationally-split mixed modes in red giants

The Kepler space mission has made it possible to measure the rotational splittings of mixed modes in red giants, thereby providing an unprecedented opportunity to probe the internal rotation of these stars. Asymmetries have been detected in the rotational multiplets of several red giants. This is unexpected since all the red giants whose rotation have been measured thus far are found to rotate slowly, and low rotation, in principle, produces symmetrical multiplets. Our aim here is to explain these asymmetries and find a way of exploiting them to probe the internal rotation of red giants. We show that in the cases where asymmetrical multiplets were detected, near-degeneracy effects are expected to occur, because of the combined effects of rotation and mode mixing. Such effects have not been taken into account so far. By using both perturbative and non-perturbative approaches, we show that near-degeneracy effects produce multiplet asymmetries that are very similar to the observations. We then propose and validate a method based on the perturbative approach to probe the internal rotation of red giants using multiplet asymmetries. We successfully apply our method to the asymmetrical $l=2$ multiplets of the Kepler young red giant KIC7341231 and obtain precise estimates of its mean rotation in the core and the envelope. The observed asymmetries are reproduced with a good statistical agreement, which confirms that near-degeneracy effects are very likely the cause of the detected multiplet asymmetries. We expect near-degeneracy effects to be important for $l=2$ mixed modes all along the red giant branch (RGB). For $l=1$ modes, these effects can be neglected only at the base of the RGB. They must therefore be taken into account when interpreting rotational splittings and as shown here, they can bring valuable information about the internal rotation of red giants.

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arXiv2017

Changing the $ν_{\max}$ Scaling Relation: The Need For a Mean Molecular Weight Term

The scaling relations that relate the average asteroseismic parameters $Δν$ and $ν_{\max}$ to the global properties of stars are used quite extensively to determine stellar properties. While the $Δν$ scaling relation has been examined carefully and the deviations from the relation have been well documented, the $ν_{\max}$ scaling relation has not been examined as extensively. In this paper we examine the $ν_{\max}$ scaling relation using a set of stellar models constructed to have a wide range of mass, metallicity, and age. We find that as with $Δν$, $ν_{\max}$ does not follow the simple scaling relation. The most visible deviation is because of a mean molecular weight term and a $Γ_1$ term that are commonly ignored. The remaining deviation is more difficult to address. We find that the influence of the scaling relation errors on asteroseismically derived values of $\log g$ are well within uncertainties. The influence of the errors on mass and radius estimates is small for main sequence and subgiants, but can be quite large for red giants.

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arXiv2017

Mitigating the mass dependence in the $Δν$ scaling relation of red-giant stars

The masses and radii of solar-like oscillators can be estimated through the asteroseismic scaling relations. These relations provide a direct link between observables, i.e. effective temperature and characteristics of the oscillation spectra, and stellar properties, i.e. mean density and surface gravity (thus mass and radius). These scaling relations are commonly used to characterize large samples of stars. Usually, the Sun is used as a reference from which the structure is scaled. However, for stars that do not have a similar structure as the Sun, using the Sun as a reference introduces systematic errors as large as 10\% in mass and 5\% in radius. Several alternatives for the reference of the scaling relation involving the large frequency separation (typical frequency difference between modes of the same degree and consecutive radial order) have been suggested in the literature. In a previous paper, we presented a reference function with a dependence on both effective temperature and metallicity. The accuracy of predicted masses and radii improved considerably when using reference values calculated from our reference function. However, the residuals indicated that stars on the red-giant branch possess a mass dependence that was not accounted for. Here, we present a reference function for the scaling relation involving the large frequency separation that includes the mass dependence. This new reference function improves the derived masses and radii significantly by removing the systematic differences and mitigates the trend with $ν_{\rm max}$ (frequency of maximum oscillation power) that exists when using the solar value as a reference.

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arXiv2017

Stellar Parameters in an Instant with Machine Learning: Application to Kepler LEGACY Targets

With the advent of dedicated photometric space missions, the ability to rapidly process huge catalogues of stars has become paramount. Bellinger and Angelou et al. (2016) recently introduced a new method based on machine learning for inferring the stellar parameters of main-sequence stars exhibiting solar-like oscillations. The method makes precise predictions that are consistent with other methods, but with the advantages of being able to explore many more parameters while costing practically no time. Here we apply the method to 52 so-called "LEGACY" main-sequence stars observed by the Kepler space mission. For each star, we present estimates and uncertainties of mass, age, radius, luminosity, core hydrogen abundance, surface helium abundance, surface gravity, initial helium abundance, and initial metallicity as well as estimates of their evolutionary model parameters of mixing length, overshooting coefficient, and diffusion multiplication factor. We obtain median uncertainties in stellar age, mass, and radius of 14.8%, 3.6%, and 1.7%, respectively. The source code for all analyses and for all figures appearing in this manuscript can be found electronically at: https://github.com/earlbellinger/asteroseismology

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arXiv2017

Isochrones of M67 with an Expanded Set of Parameters

We create isochrones of M67 using the Yale Rotating Stellar Evolution Code. In addition to metallicity, parameters that are traditionally held fixed, such as the mixing length parameter and initial helium abundance, also vary. The amount of convective overshoot is also changed in different sets of isochrones. Models are constructed both with and without diffusion. From the resulting isochrones that fit the cluster, the age range is between 3.6 and 4.8 Gyr and the distance is between 755 and 868 pc. We also confirm Michaud et al. (2004) claim that M67 can be fit without overshoot if diffusion is included.

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arXiv2017

Evolutionary states of red-giant stars from grid-based modelling

From its surface properties it can be difficult to determine whether a red-giant star is in its helium-core-burning phase or only burning hydrogen in a shell around an inert helium core. Stars in either of these stages can have similar effective temperatures, radii and hence luminosities, i.e. they can be located at the same position in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Asteroseismology -- the study of the internal structure of stars through their global oscillations -- can provide the necessary additional constraints to determine the evolutionary states of red-giant stars. Here, we present a method that uses grid-based modelling based on global asteroseismic properties ($ν_{\rm max}$, frequency of maximum oscillation power; and $Δν$, frequency spacing between modes of the same degree and consecutive radial orders) as well as effective temperature and metallicity to determine the evolutionary phases. This method is applicable even to timeseries data of limited length, although with a small fraction of miss-classifications.

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arXiv2017

The Correlation Between Mixing Length and Metallicity on the Giant Branch: Implications for Ages in the Gaia Era

In the updated APOGEE-Kepler catalog, we have asteroseismic and spectroscopic data for over 3000 first ascent red giants. Given the size and accuracy of this sample, these data offer an unprecedented test of the accuracy of stellar models on the post-main-sequence. When we compare these data to theoretical predictions, we find a metallicity dependent temperature offset with a slope of around 100 K per dex in metallicity. We find that this effect is present in all model grids tested and that theoretical uncertainties in the models, correlated spectroscopic errors, and shifts in the asteroseismic mass scale are insufficient to explain this effect. Stellar models can be brought into agreement with the data if a metallicity dependent convective mixing length is used, with $ Δα_{\rm ML, YREC} \sim 0.2$ per dex in metallicity, a trend inconsistent with the predictions of three dimensional stellar convection simulations. If this effect is not taken into account, isochrone ages for red giants from the Gaia data will be off by as much as a factor of 2 even at modest deviations from solar metallicity ([Fe/H]=$-$0.5).

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arXiv2017

On The Statistical Properties of the Lower Main Sequence

Astronomy is in an era where all-sky surveys are mapping the Galaxy. The plethora of photometric, spectroscopic, asteroseismic and astrometric data allows us to characterise the comprising stars in detail. Here we quantify to what extent precise stellar observations reveal information about the properties of a star, including properties that are unobserved, or even unobservable. We analyse the diagnostic potential of classical and asteroseismic observations for inferring stellar parameters such as age, mass and radius from evolutionary tracks of solar-like oscillators on the lower main sequence. We perform rank correlation tests in order to determine the capacity of each observable quantity to probe structural components of stars and infer their evolutionary histories. We also analyse the principal components of classic and asteroseismic observables to highlight the degree of redundancy present in the measured quantities and demonstrate the extent to which information of the model parameters can be extracted. We perform multiple regression using combinations of observable quantities in a grid of evolutionary simulations and appraise the predictive utility of each combination in determining the properties of stars. We identify the combinations that are useful and provide limits to where each type of observable quantity can reveal information about a star. We investigate the accuracy with which targets in the upcoming TESS and PLATO missions can be characterized. We demonstrate that the combination of observations from GAIA and PLATO will allow us to tightly constrain stellar masses, ages and radii with machine learning for the purposes of Galactic and planetary studies.

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arXiv2017

A new Generation of Standard Solar Models

We compute a new generation of standard solar models (SSMs) that includes recent updates on some important nuclear reaction rates and a more consistent treatment of the equation of state. Models also include a novel and flexible treatment of opacity uncertainties based on opacity kernels, required in the light of recent theoretical and experimental works on radiative opacity. Two large sets of SSMs, each based on a different canonical set of solar abundances with high and low metallicity (Z), are computed to determine model uncertainties and correlations among different observables. We present detailed comparisons of high- and low-Z models against different ensembles of solar observables including solar neutrinos, surface helium abundance, depth of convective envelope and sound speed profile. A global comparison, including all observables, yields a p-value of 2.7$σ$ for the high-Z model and 4.7$σ$ for the low-Z one. When the sound-speed differences in the narrow region of $0.65 < r/R_{sun} < 0.70$ are excluded from the analysis, results are 0.9$σ$ and 3.0$σ$ for high- and low-Z models respectively. These results show that: high-Z models agree well with solar data but have a systematic problem right below the bottom of the convective envelope linked to steepness of molecular weight and temperature gradients, and that low-Z models lead to a much more general disagreement with solar data. We also show that, while simple parametrizations of opacity uncertainties can strongly alleviate the solar abundance problem, they are insufficient to substantially improve the agreement of SSMs with helioseismic data beyond that obtained for high-Z models due to the intrinsic correlations of theoretical predictions. All the detailed information of the new solar models, can be found online: http://www.ice.cat/personal/aldos/Solar_Data.html

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arXiv2017

Seismic measurement of the locations of the base of convection zone and helium ionization zone for stars in the {\it Kepler} seismic LEGACY sample

Acoustic glitches are regions inside a star where the sound speed or its derivatives change abruptly. These leave a small characteristic oscillatory signature in the stellar oscillation frequencies. With the precision achieved by {\it Kepler} seismic data, it is now possible to extract these small amplitude oscillatory signatures, and infer the locations of the glitches. We perform glitch analysis for all the 66 stars in the {\it Kepler} seismic LEGACY sample to derive the locations of the base of the envelope convection zone and the helium ionization zone. The signature from helium ionization zone is found to be robust for all stars in the sample, whereas the convection zone signature is found to be weak and problematic, particularly for relatively massive stars with large errorbars on the oscillation frequencies. We demonstrate that the helium glitch signature can be used to constrain the properties of the helium ionization layers and the helium abundance.

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arXiv2016

A New Method for the Asteroseismic Determination of the Evolutionary State of Red-Giant Stars

Determining the ages of red-giant stars is a key problem in stellar astrophysics. One of the difficulties in this determination is to know the evolutionary state of the individual stars -- i.e. have they started to burn Helium in their cores? That is the topic of this paper. Asteroseismic data provide a route to achieving this information. What we present here is an highly autonomous way of determining the evolutionary state from an analysis of the power spectrum of the light curve. The method is fast and efficient and can provide results for a large number of stars. It uses the structure of the dipole-mode oscillations, which have a mixed character in red-giant stars, to determine some measures that are used in the categorisation. It does not require that all the individual components of any given mode be separately characterised. Some 6604 red giant stars have been classified. Of these 3566 are determined to be on the red-giant branch, 2077 are red-clump and 439 are secondary-clump stars. We do not specifically identify the low metallicity, horizontal-branch stars. The difference between red-clump and secondary-clump stars is dependent on the manner in which Helium burning is first initiated. We discuss that the way the boundary between these classifications is set may lead to mis-categorisation in a small number of stars. The remaining 522 stars were not classified either because they lacked sufficient power in the dipole modes (so-called depressed dipole modes) or because of conflicting values in the parameters.

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arXiv2016

Standing on the shoulders of Dwarfs: the Kepler asteroseismic LEGACY sample II - radii, masses, and ages

We use asteroseismic data from the Kepler satellite to determine fundamental stellar properties of the 66 main-sequence targets observed for at least one full year by the mission. We distributed tens of individual oscillation frequencies extracted from the time series of each star among seven modelling teams who applied different methods to determine radii, masses, and ages for all stars in the sample. Comparisons among the different results reveal a good level of agreement in all stellar properties, which is remarkable considering the variety of codes, input physics and analysis methods employed by the different teams. Average uncertainties are of the order of $\sim$2\% in radius, $\sim$4\% in mass, and $\sim$10\% in age, making this the best-characterised sample of main-sequence stars available to date. Our predicted initial abundances and mixing-length parameters are checked against inferences from chemical enrichment laws $ΔY / ΔZ$ and predictions from 3D atmospheric simulations. We test the accuracy of the determined stellar properties by comparing them to the Sun, angular diameter measurements, Gaia parallaxes, and binary evolution, finding excellent agreement in all cases and further confirming the robustness of asteroseismically-determined physical parameters of stars when individual frequencies of oscillation are available. Baptised as the Kepler dwarfs LEGACY sample, these stars are the solar-like oscillators with the best asteroseismic properties available for at least another decade. All data used in this analysis and the resulting stellar parameters are made publicly available for the community.

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arXiv2016

Standing on the shoulders of Dwarfs: the $Kepler$ asteroseismic LEGACY sample I - oscillation mode parameters

The advent of space-based missions like $Kepler$ has revolutionized the study of solar-type stars, particularly through the measurement and modeling of their resonant modes of oscillation. Here we analyze a sample of 66 $Kepler$ main-sequence stars showing solar-like oscillations as part of the $Kepler$ seismic LEGACY project. We use $Kepler$ short-cadence data, of which each star has at least 12 months, to create frequency power spectra optimized for asteroseismology. For each star we identify its modes of oscillation and extract parameters such as frequency, amplitude, and line width using a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo `peak-bagging' approach. We report the extracted mode parameters for all 66 stars, as well as derived quantities such as frequency difference ratios, the large and small separations $Δν$ and $δν_{02}$; the behavior of line widths with frequency and line widths at $ν_{\rm max}$ with $T_{\rm eff}$, for which we derive parametrizations; and behavior of mode visibilities. These average properties can be applied in future peak-bagging exercises to better constrain the parameters of the stellar oscillation spectra. The frequencies and frequency ratios can tightly constrain the fundamental parameters of these solar-type stars, and mode line widths and amplitudes can test models of mode damping and excitation.

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arXiv2016

Asteroseismic properties of solar-type stars observed with the NASA K2 mission: results from Campaigns 1-3 and prospects for future observations

We present an asteroseismic analysis of 33 solar-type stars observed in short cadence during Campaigns (C) 1-3 of the NASA K2 mission. We were able to extract both average seismic parameters and individual mode frequencies for stars with dominant frequencies up to ~3300μHz, and we find that data for some targets are good enough to allow for a measurement of the rotational splitting. Modelling of the extracted parameters is performed by using grid-based methods using average parameters and individual frequencies together with spectroscopic parameters. For the target selection in C3, stars were chosen as in C1 and C2 to cover a wide range in parameter space to better understand the performance and noise characteristics. For C3 we still detected oscillations in 73% of the observed stars that we proposed. Future K2 campaigns hold great promise for the study of nearby clusters and the chemical evolution and age-metallicity relation of nearby field stars in the solar neighbourhood. We expect oscillations to be detected in ~388 short-cadence targets if the K2 mission continues until C18, which will greatly complement the ~500 detections of solar-like oscillations made for short-cadence targets during the nominal Kepler mission. For ~30-40 of these, including several members of the Hyades open cluster, we furthermore expect that inference from interferometry should be possible.

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arXiv2016

Asteroseismology of the Hyades with K2: first detection of main-sequence solar-like oscillations in an open cluster

The Hyades open cluster was targeted during Campaign 4 (C4) of the NASA K2 mission, and short-cadence data were collected on a number of cool main-sequence stars. Here, we report results on two F-type stars that show detectable oscillations of a quality that allows asteroseismic analyses to be performed. These are the first ever detections of solar-like oscillations in main-sequence stars in an open cluster.

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