A. S. Baran

First Kepler results on compact pulsators – VI. Targets in the final half of the survey phase

We present results from the final 6 months of a survey to search for pulsations in white dwarfs (WDs) and hot subdwarf stars with the Kepler spacecraft. Spectroscopic observations are used to separate the objects into accurate classes, and we explore the physical parameters of the subdwarf B (sdB) stars and white dwarfs in the sample. From the Kepler photometry and our spectroscopic data, we find that the sample contains five new pulsators of the V1093 Her type, one AMCVn type cataclysmic variable and a number of other binary systems. This completes the survey for compact pulsators with Kepler. No V361 Hya type of short-period pulsating sdB stars were found in this half, leaving us with a total of one single multiperiodic V361 Hya and 13 V1093 Her pulsators for the full survey. Except for the sdB pulsators, no other clearly pulsating hot subdwarfs or white dwarfs were found, although a few low-amplitude candidates still remain. The most interesting targets discovered in this survey will be observed throughout the remainder of the Kepler mission, providing the most long-term photometric data sets ever made on such compact, evolved stars. Asteroseismic investigations of these data sets will be invaluable in revealing the interior structure of these stars and will boost our understanding of their evolutionary history.

First Kepler results on compact pulsators – III. Subdwarf B stars with V1093 Her and hybrid (DW Lyn) type pulsations

We present the discovery of non-radial pulsations in five hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars based on 27 d of nearly continuous time series photometry using the Kepler spacecraft. We find that every sdB star cooler than ≈27 500 K that Kepler has observed (seven so far) is a long-period pulsator of the V 1093 Her (PG 1716) class or a hybrid star with both short and long periods. The apparently non-binary long-period and hybrid pulsators are described here. The V1093 Her periods range from 1 to 4.5 h and are associated with g-mode pulsations. Three stars also exhibit short periods indicative of p-modes with periods of 2-5 min and in addition, these stars exhibit periodicities between both classes from 15 to 45 min. We detect the coolest and longest-period V1093 Her-type pulsator to date, KIC010670103 (T eff ≈ 20 900 K, P max ≈ 4.5 h) as well as a suspected hybrid pulsator, KIC002697388, which is extremely cool (T eff ≈ 23 900 K) and for the first time hybrid pulsators which have larger g-mode amplitudes than p-mode ones. All of these pulsators are quite rich with many frequencies and we are able to apply asymptotic relationships to associate periodicities with modes for KIC010670103. Kepler data are particularly well suited for these studies as they are long duration, extremely high duty cycle observations with well-behaved noise properties.

Seismic evidence for non-synchronization in two close sdb+dM binaries from Kepler photometry

We report on extended photometry of two pulsating sdB stars in close binaries. For both cases, we use rotational splitting of the pulsation frequencies to show that the sdB component rotates much too slowly to be in synchronous rotation. We use a theory of tidal interaction in binary stars to place limits on the mass ratios that are independent of estimates based on the radial velocity curves. The companions have masses below 0.26 M⊙. The pulsation spectra show the signature of high–overtone g-mode pulsation. One star, KIC 11179657, has a clear sequence of g-modes with equal period spacings as well as several periodicities that depart from that trend. KIC 02991403 shows a similar sequence, but has many more modes that do not fit the simple pattern.

First Kepler results on compact pulsators – V. Slowly pulsating subdwarf B stars in short-period binaries

The survey phase of the Kepler Mission includes a number of hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars to search for non-radial pulsations. We present our analysis of two sdB stars that are found to be g-mode pulsators of the V 1093 Her class. These two stars also display the distinct irradiation effect typical of sdB stars with a close M-dwarf companion with orbital periods of less than half a day. Because the orbital period is so short, the stars should be in synchronous rotation, and if so, the rotation period should imprint itself on the multiplet structure of the pulsations. However, we do not find clear evidence for such rotational splitting. Though the stars do show some frequency spacings that are consistent with synchronous rotation, they also display multiplets with splittings that are much smaller. Longer-duration time series photometry will be needed to determine if those small splittings are in fact rotational splitting, or caused by slow amplitude or phase modulation. Further data should also improve the signal-to-noise ratio, perhaps revealing lower-amplitude periodicities that could confirm the expectation of synchronous rotation. The pulsation periods seen in these stars show period spacings that are suggestive of high-overtone g-mode pulsations.

First Kepler results on compact pulsators - II. KIC 010139564, a new pulsating subdwarf B (V361 Hya) star with an additional low-frequency mode

We present the discovery of non-radial pulsations in a hot subdwarf B star based on 30.5 d of nearly continuous time series photometry using the Kepler spacecraft. KIC 010139564 is found to be a short-period pulsator of the V361 Hya (EC 14026) class with more than 10 independent pulsation modes whose periods range from 130 to 190 s. It also shows one periodicity at a period of 3165 s. If this periodicity is a high-order g-mode, then this star may be the hottest member of the hybrid DW Lyn stars. In addition to the resolved pulsation frequencies, additional periodic variations in the light curve suggest that a significant number of additional pulsation frequencies may be present. The long duration of the run, the extremely high duty cycle and the well-behaved noise properties allow us to explore the stability of the periodic variations, and to place strong constraints on how many of them are independent stellar oscillation modes. We find that most of the identified periodicities are indeed stable in phase and amplitude, suggesting a rotation period of 2-3 weeks for this star, but further observations are needed to confirm this suspicion.

Asteroseismology revealing trapped modes in KIC 10553698A

The subdwarf-B pulsator, KIC 10553698A, is one of 16 such objects observed with a one-minute sampling rate for most of the duration of the Kepler mission. Like most of these stars, it displays a rich g-mode pulsation spectrum with several clear multiplets that maintain regular frequency splitting. We identify these pulsation modes as components of rotationally split multiplets in a star rotating with a period of ∼41 d. From 162 clearly significant periodicities, we are able to identify 156 as likely components of � = 1 or � = 2 multiplets. For the first time we are able to detect � = 1 modes that interpose in the asymptotic period sequences and that provide a clear indication of mode trapping in a stratified envelope, as predicted by theoretical models. A clear signal is also present in the Kepler photometry at 3.387 d. Spectroscopic observations reveal a radial-velocity amplitude of 64.8 km s −1 . We find that the radial-velocity variations and the photometric signal have phase and amplitude that are perfectly consistent with a Doppler-beaming effect and conclude that the unseen companion, KIC 10553698B, must be a white dwarf most likely with a mass close to 0.6 M� .

First Kepler results on compact pulsators – VII. Pulsating subdwarf B stars detected in the second half of the survey phase

We present five new pulsating subdwarf B (sdB) stars discovered by the Kepler spacecraft during the asteroseismology survey phase. We perform time series analysis on the nearly continuous month-long Kepler data sets of these five objects; these data sets provide nearly alias-free time series photometry at unprecedented precision. Following an iterative pre-whitening process, we derive the pulsational frequency spectra of these stars, separating out artefacts of known instrumental origin. We find that these new pulsating sdB stars are multiperiodic long-period pulsators of the V1093 Her type, with the number of periodicities ranging from eight (KIC 8302197) to 53 (KIC 11558725). The frequencies and amplitudes are typical of g-mode pulsators of this type. We do not find any evidence for binarity in the five stars from their observed pulsation frequencies. As these are g-mode pulsators, we briefly looked for period spacings for mode identification and found average spacings of about 260 and 145 s. This may indicate l = 1 and 2 patterns. Some modes may show evidence of rotational splitting. These discoveries complete the list of compact pulsators found in the survey phase. Of the 13 compact pulsators, only one star was identified as a short-period (p-mode) V361 Hya pulsator, while all other new pulsators turned out to be V1093 Her class objects. Among the latter objects, two of them seemed to be pure V 1093 Her while the others show additional low-amplitude peaks in the p-mode frequency range, suggesting their hybrid nature. Authenticity of these peaks will be tested with longer runs currently under analysis.

KIC 7668647: a 14 day beaming sdB+WD binary with a pulsating subdwarf

The recently discovered subdwarf B (sdB) pulsator KIC 7668647 is one of the 18 pulsating sdB stars detected in the Kepler field. It features a rich g-mode frequency spectrum, with a few low-amplitude p-modes at short periods. This makes it a promising target for a seismic study aiming to constrain the internal structure of this star, and of sdB stars in general. We use new ground-based lowresolution spectroscopy, and the near-continuous 2.88 year Kepler light curve, to reveal that KIC 7668647 consists of a subdwarf B star with an unseen white-dwarf companion with an orbital period of 14.2 d. An orbit with a radial-velocity amplitude of 39 km s −1 is consistently determined from the spectra, from the orbital Doppler beaming seen by Kepler at 163 ppm, and from measuring the orbital light-travel delay of 27 s by timing of the many pulsations seen in the Kepler light curve. The white dwarf has a minimum mass of 0.40 M� . We use our high signal-to-noise average spectra to study the atmospheric parameters of the sdB star, and find that nitrogen and iron have abundances close to solar values, while helium, carbon, oxygen and silicon are underabundant relative to the solar mixture. We use the full Kepler Q06–Q17 light curve to extract 132 significant pulsation frequencies. Period-spacing relations

Stochastic pulsations in the subdwarf-B star KIC 2991276

The subdwarf-B star KIC 2991276 was monitored with the Kepler spacecraft for nearly three years. Two pulsation modes with periods of 122 and 132 s are clearly detected in the Fourier spectrum, as well as a few weaker modes with periods ranging from 118 to 216 s. Unlike the other subdwarf-B pulsators with similar high-quality Kepler lightcurves, the modes in KIC 2991276 do not display long-term coherency. Rather, their pulsation amplitudes vary substantially in amplitude and phase on timescales of about a month, sometimes disappearing completely. Thus, while the pulsations are seen to have amplitudes of up to 1.4% in individual months, the amplitude spectrum of the full lightcurve shows a broad, messy peak with an amplitude of only 0.23%. Such stochastic oscillations are normal in the Sun and other cool stars with solar-like pulsations and have been suspected for V361-Hya pulsators, but thanks to the exceptional coverage of Kepler data, this is the first unambiguous case established for a hot subdwarf.

Detection of a planet in the sdB + M dwarf binary system 2M 1938+4603

We analyze 37 months of Kepler photometry of 2M 1938+4603, a binary system with a pulsating hot subdwarf primary and an M-dwarf companion that shows strong reflection effect. We measured the eclipse timings from more than 16 000 primary and secondary eclipses and discovered a periodic variation in the timing signal that we ascribe to a third body in the system. We also discovered a significant long-term trend that may be an evolutionary effect or a hint of more bodies. Upon the assumption that the third body is orbiting in the same plane as the primary, we establish that it must be a Jupiter-mass object orbiting with a period of 416 days at a distance of 0.92 AU. This mass is the lowest among all tertiary components detected in similar systems.