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Oscillating eclipsing Algols (oEAs) are remarkable systems which allow us to determine accurate fundamental stellar parameters (mass, radius) and probe the stellar interiors through pulsations. TZ\,Dra is an oEA system containing a $\delta$ Scuti component. To examine particular characteristics of such close systems including pulsations and mass transfer, we present a detailed photometric and spectroscopic study of TZ\,Dra. With the analysis of high-resolution spectra, the orbital parameters were determined by the radial velocity analysis and the atmospheric parameters were derived for the primary component. The binary modelling and the pulsational frequency analysis was carried out using the TESS data set. The H$\alpha$ line profiles show the signature of mass transfer from the cool to the hot binary component. The conclusion of mass transfer/mass loss in the system was supported by the analysis of the orbital period changes. As a result, it was found that there is $3.52 \times 10^{-9}$ $M_\odot$/year mass loss from the system most probably through the hotspot and stellar winds. Additionally, most pulsation frequencies originating from the primary component were found to be spaced by harmonics of the orbital frequencies in particular, twelve doublets spaced by $2f_{\rm orb}$ were detected from which we infer that this star a tidally tilted pulsator. A mean p-mode frequency spacing of $\approx 7.2 $d$^{-1}$ was found as well., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 14 pages, supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK) project through 120F330

Solar-like oscillations in red-giant stars are now commonly detected in thousands of stars with space telescopes such as the NASA Kepler mission. Parallel radial velocity and photometric measurements would help to better understand the physics governing the amplitudes of solar-like oscillators. Yet, most target stars for space photometry are too faint for light-demanding ground-based spectroscopy. The BRITE Constellation satellites provide a unique opportunity of two-color monitoring of the flux variations of bright luminous red giants. Those targets are also bright enough to be monitored with high-resolution spectrographs on small telescopes, such as the SONG Network. In these proceedings, we provide a first overview of our comprehensive, multi-year campaign utilizing both BRITE and SONG to seismically characterize Aldebaran, one of the brightest red giants in the sky. Because luminous red giants can be seen at large distances, such well-characterized objects will serve as benchmark stars for galactic archeology., Comment: Proceedings paper for an oral contribution at the 'Stars and their Variability' conference in August 2019, in Vienna Austria. Five pages, two colored figures

We analyse TESS light curves for 70 southern $��$ Boo stars to identify binaries and to determine which of them pulsate as $��$ Scuti stars. We find two heartbeat stars and two eclipsing binaries among the sample. We calculate that 81 percent of $��$ Boo stars pulsate as $��$ Sct variables, which is about twice that of normal stars over the same parameter space. We determine the temperatures and luminosities of the $��$ Boo stars from photometry and Gaia DR2 parallaxes. A subset of 40 $��$ Boo stars have 2-min TESS data, reliable temperatures and luminosities, and $��$ Sct pulsation. We use Petersen diagrams (period ratios), ��chelle diagrams and the period--luminosity relation to identify the fundamental mode in 20 of those 40 stars and conclude that a further 8 stars are not pulsating in this mode. For the remaining 12, the fundamental mode cannot be unambiguously identified. Further mode identification is possible for 12 of the fundamental mode pulsators that have regular sequences of pulsation overtones in their ��chelle diagrams. We use stellar evolution models to determine statistically that the $��$ Boo stars are only superficially metal weak. Simple pulsation models also better fit the observations at a metallicity of $Z=0.01$ than at $Z=0.001$. The TESS observations reveal the great potential of asteroseismology on $��$ Boo stars, for determining precise stellar ages and shedding light on the origin(s) of the $��$ Boo phenomenon., Accepted to MNRAS. 25 pages (main text 16 pages), including data tables and figures. Figures use colour liberally

We present the first asteroseismic results for δ Scuti and γ Doradus stars observed in Sectors 1 and 2 of the TESS mission. We utilize the 2-min cadence TESS data for a sample of 117 stars to classify their behaviour regarding variability and place them in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram using Gaia DR2 data. Included within our sample are the eponymous members of two pulsator classes, γ Doradus and SX Phoenicis. Our sample of pulsating intermediate-mass stars observed by TESS also allows us to confront theoretical models of pulsation driving in the classical instability strip for the first time and show that mixing processes in the outer envelope play an important role. We derive an empirical estimate of 74 per cent for the relative amplitude suppression factor as a result of the redder TESS passband compared to the Kepler mission using a pulsating eclipsing binary system. Furthermore, our sample contains many high-frequency pulsators, allowing us to probe the frequency variability of hot young δ Scuti stars, which were lacking in the Kepler mission data set, and identify promising targets for future asteroseismic modelling. The TESS data also allow us to refine the stellar parameters of SX Phoenicis, which is believed to be a blue straggler. © 2019 The Author(s), We thank the referee for useful comments and discussions. This paper includes data collected by the TESS mission. Funding for the TESS mission is provided by the NASA Explorer Program. Funding for the TESS Asteroseismic Science Operations Centre is provided by the Danish National Re-search Foundation (Grant agreement no.: DNRF106), ESA PRODEX (PEA 4000119301), and Stellar Astrophysics Centre (SAC) at Aarhus University. We thank the TESS and TASC/TASOC teams for their support of this work. This research has made use of the SIMBAD data base, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. Some of the data presented in this paper were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-2655. Funding for the Stellar Astrophysics Centre is provided by The Danish National Research Foundation (Grant agreement no.: DNRF106). MC was supported by FCT -Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through national funds and by FEDER through COMPETE2020 -Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao by these grants: UID/FIS/04434/2019, PTDC/FIS-AST/30389/2017, and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030389. MC is supported in the form of work contract funded by national funds through FCT (CEECIND/02619/2017). JDD acknowledges support from the Polish National Science Center (NCN), grant no. 2018/29/B/ST9/02803. AGH acknowledges funding support from Spanish public funds for research under projects ESP201787676-2-2 and ESP2015-65712-C5-5-R of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education. FKA gratefully acknowledges funding through grant 2015/18/A/ST9/00578 of the Polish National Science Centre (NCN). JPe acknowledges funding support from the NSF REU program under grant number PHY-1359195. APi and KK acknowledge support provided by the Polish National Science Center (NCN) grant No. 2016/21/B/ST9/01126. This project has been supported by the Lendulet Program of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, project No. LP2018-7/2018, and by the support provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the K16 funding scheme, project No. 115709. JCS acknowledges funding support from Spanish public funds for research under projects ESP2017-87676-2-2 and ESP2015-65712-C5-5-R, and from project RYC2012-09913 under the 'Ramon y Cajal' program of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education. The research leading to these results has (partially) received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement N.670519: MAMSIE), from the KULeuven Research Council (grant C16/18/005: PARADISE), from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) under grant agreement G0H5416N (ERC Runner Up Project), as well as from the BELgian federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) through PRODEX grant PLATO. SBF acknowledges support by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) through project No. 'ESP2017-87676-C5-1-R' and No MDM-2017-0737 Unidad de Excelencia `Maria de Maeztu'-Centro de Astrobiolog ' ia (CSICINTA). ZsB acknowledges the support provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the PD1717 funding scheme, project no. PD-123910. DLB acknowledges support from the Whitaker Foundation. SC gratefully acknowledges funding through grant 2015/18/A/ST9/00578 of the Polish National Science Centre (NCN). CCL gratefully acknowledges support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. GMM acknowledges funding by the STFC consolidated grant ST/R000603/1. RMO, SC, and DR were supported in this work by the 'Programme National de Physique Stellaire' (PNPS) of CNRS/INSU co-funded by CEA and CNES. IS acknowledges the partial support of projects DN 08-1/2016 and DN 18/13-12.12.2017. PS acknowledges financial support by the Polish NCN grant 2015/18/A/ST9/00578. MS acknowledges the Postdoc@MUNI project CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16-027/0008360. JPG, JRR, and MLM acknowledge funding support from Spanish public funds for research under project ESP2017-87676-C5-5-R and from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the 'Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa' award for the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709). JAE acknowledges STFC for funding support (reference ST/N504348/1). LFM acknowledges the financial support from the DGAPA-UNAM under grant PAPIIT IN100918. DMk acknowledges his work as part of the research activity of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT), which is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Thailand. MR acknowledges the support of the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), under grant ESRR (ANR-16-CE31-0007-01). We acknowledge the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) for supporting the SoFAR international team http://www.issi.unibe.ch/teams/sofar/.TW acknowledges the NSFC of China (Grant Nos. 11873084 and 11521303) and YunnanApplied Basic Research Projects (GrantNo. 2017B008). IS acknowledges for a partial support of DN 08-1/2016 funded by the Bulgarian NSF. This work hasmade use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, ht tps://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium).Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 670519: MAMSIE) and from the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO) under the grant agreement G0H5416N (ERC Opvangproject). This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier). The original description of the VizieR service was published in A&AS 143, 23. This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.

We present the first asteroseismic results for $��$ Scuti and $��$ Doradus stars observed in Sectors 1 and 2 of the TESS mission. We utilise the 2-min cadence TESS data for a sample of 117 stars to classify their behaviour regarding variability and place them in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram using Gaia DR2 data. Included within our sample are the eponymous members of two pulsator classes, $��$ Doradus and SX Phoenicis. Our sample of pulsating intermediate-mass stars observed by TESS also allows us to confront theoretical models of pulsation driving in the classical instability strip for the first time and show that mixing processes in the outer envelope play an important role. We derive an empirical estimate of 74% for the relative amplitude suppression factor as a result of the redder TESS passband compared to the Kepler mission using a pulsating eclipsing binary system. Furthermore, our sample contains many high-frequency pulsators, allowing us to probe the frequency variability of hot young $��$ Scuti stars, which were lacking in the Kepler mission data set, and identify promising targets for future asteroseismic modelling. The TESS data also allow us to refine the stellar parameters of SX Phoenicis, which is believed to be a blue straggler., 33 pages (incl. appendix), accepted for publications in MNRAS

The Fourier spectrum of the $��$-Dor variable KIC 5608334 shows remarkable frequency groups at $\sim$3, $\sim$6, $\sim$9, and 11--12\,d$^{-1}$. We explain the four frequency groups as prograde sectoral g modes in a rapidly rotating star. Frequencies of intermediate-to-high radial order prograde sectoral g modes in a rapidly rotating star are proportional to $|m|$ (i.e., $��\propto |m|$) in the co-rotating frame as well as in the inertial frame. This property is consistent with the frequency groups of KIC 5608334 as well as the period vs. period-spacing relation present within each frequency group, if we assume a rotation frequency of $2.2$\,d$^{-1}$, and that each frequency group consists of prograde sectoral g modes of $|m| = 1, 2, 3,$ and 4, respectively. In addition, these modes naturally satisfy near-resonance conditions $��_i\approx��_j+��_k$ with $m_i=m_j+m_k$. We even find exact resonance frequency conditions (within the precise measurement uncertainties) in many cases, which correspond to combination frequencies., 12 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS

The �� Dor pulsating stars present high-order gravity modes, which make them important targets in the intermediate-and low-mass main-sequence region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Whilst we have only access to rotation in the envelope of the Sun, the g modes of �� Dor stars can in principle deliver us constraints on the inner layers. With the puzzling discovery of unexpectedly low rotation rates in the core of red giants, the �� Dor stars appear now as unique targets to explore internal angular momentum transport in the progenitors of red giants. Yet, the �� Dor pulsations remain hard to detect from the ground for their periods are close to 1 day. While the CoRoT space mission first revealed intriguing frequency spectra, the almost uninterrupted 4-year photometry from the Kepler mission eventually shed a new light on them. It revealed regularities in the spectra, expected to bear signature of physical processes, including rotation, in the shear layers close to the convective core. We present here the first results of our effort to derive exploitable seismic diagnosis for mid- to fast rotators among �� Dor stars. We confirm their potential to explore the rotation history of this early phase of stellar evolution., 4 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of the 22nd Los Alamos Stellar Pulsation Conference, "Wide-field variability surveys: a 21st-century perspective" held in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2016

The angle ψ between a planet’s orbital axis and the spin axis of its parent star is an important diagnostic of planet formation, migration, and tidal evolution. We seek empirical constraints on ψ by measuring the stellar inclination i s via asteroseismology for an ensemble of 25 solar-type hosts observed with NASA’s Kepler satellite. Our results for i s are consistent with alignment at the 2 σ level for all stars in the sample, meaning that the system surrounding the red-giant star Kepler-56 remains as the only unambiguous misaligned multiple-planet system detected to date. The availability of a measurement of the projected spin–orbit angle λ for two of the systems allows us to estimate ψ . We find that the orbit of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-7b is likely to be retrograde ( ##IMG## [http://ej.iop.org/images/0004-637X/819/1/85/apj522683ieqn1.gif] $psi =116rc. 4_-14.7^+30.2$ ), whereas that of Kepler-25c seems to be well aligned with the stellar spin axis ( ##IMG## [http://ej.iop.org/images/0004-637X/819/1/85/apj522683ieqn2.gif] $psi =12rc. 6_-11.0^+6.7$ ). While the latter result is in apparent contradiction with a statement made previously in the literature that the multi-transiting system Kepler-25 is misaligned, we show that the results are consistent, given the large associated uncertainties. Finally, we perform a hierarchical Bayesian analysis based on the asteroseismic sample in order to recover the underlying distribution of ψ . The ensemble analysis suggests that the directions of the stellar spin and planetary orbital axes are correlated, as conveyed by a tendency of the host stars to display large values of inclination.

With four years of nearly-continuous photometry from Kepler, we are finally in a good position to apply asteroseismology to $��$ Doradus stars. In particular several analyses have demonstrated the possibility to detect non-uniform period spacings, which have been predicted to be directly related to rotation. In the present work, we define a new seismic diagnostic for rotation in $��$ Doradus stars that are too rapidly rotating to present rotational splittings. Based on the non uniformity of their period spacings, we define the observable $��$ as the slope of the period spacing when plotted as a function of period. We provide a one-to-one relation between this observable $��$ and the internal rotation, which applies widely in the instability strip of $��$ Doradus stars. We apply the diagnostic to a handful of stars observed by Kepler. Thanks to g-modes in $��$ Doradus stars, we are now able to determine the internal rotation of stars on the lower main sequence, which is still not possible for Sun-like stars., 17 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication on MNRAS

$��$ Cygni is an F3 spectral-type main-sequence star with visual magnitude V=4.48. This star was the brightest star observed by the original Kepler spacecraft mission. Short-cadence (58.8 s) photometric data using a custom aperture were obtained during Quarter 6 (June-September 2010) and subsequently in Quarters 8 and 12-17. We present analyses of the solar-like oscillations based on Q6 and Q8 data, identifying angular degree $l$ = 0, 1, and 2 oscillations in the range 1000-2700 microHz, with a large frequency separation of 83.9 plus/minus 0.4 microHz, and frequency with maximum amplitude 1829 plus/minus 54 microHz. We also present analyses of new ground-based spectroscopic observations, which, when combined with angular diameter measurements from interferometry and Hipparcos parallax, give T_eff = 6697 plus/minus 78 K, radius 1.49 plus/minus 0.03 solar radii, [Fe/H] = -0.02 plus/minus 0.06 dex, and log g = 4.23 plus/minus 0.03. We calculate stellar models matching the constraints using several methods, including using the Yale Rotating Evolution Code and the Asteroseismic Modeling Portal. The best-fit models have masses 1.35-1.39 solar masses and ages 1.0-1.6 Gyr. theta Cyg's T_eff and log g place it cooler than the red edge of the gamma Doradus instability region established from pre-Kepler ground-based observations, but just at the red edge derived from pulsation modeling. The pulsation models show gamma Dor gravity-mode pulsations driven by the convective-blocking mechanism, with frequencies of 1 to 3 cycles/day (11 to 33 microHz). However, gravity modes were not detected in the Kepler data, one signal at 1.776 cycles/day (20.56 microHz) may be attributable to a faint, possibly background, binary. Asteroseismic studies of theta Cyg and other A-F stars observed by Kepler and CoRoT, will help to improve stellar model physics and to test pulsation driving mechanisms., Accepted for Publication in The Astrophysical Journal, July 1, 2016

We use four years of Kepler photometry to study the non-eclipsing spectroscopic binary KIC 10080943. We find both components to be $��$ Doradus/$��$ Scuti hybrids, which pulsate in both p and g modes. We present an analysis of the g modes, which is complicated by the fact that the two sets of $\ell=1$ modes partially overlap in the frequency spectrum. Nevertheless, it is possible to disentangle them by identifying rotationally split doublets from one component and triplets from the other. The identification is helped by the presence of additive combination frequencies in the spectrum that involve the doublets but not the triplets. The rotational splittings of the multiplets imply core rotation periods of about 11 d and 7 d in the two stars. One of the stars also shows evidence of $\ell=2$ modes., 6 pages, 3 small tables, 6 figures of which 5 are colour. Grayscale printing is fine. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Asteroseismology of evolved solar-like stars is experiencing a growing interest due to the wealth of observational data from space-borne instruments such as the \emph{CoRoT} and \emph{Kepler} spacecraft. In particular, the recent detection of mixed modes, which probe both the innermost and uppermost layers of stars, paves the way for inferring the internal structure of stars along their evolution through the subgiant and red giant phases. Mixed modes can also place stringent constraints on the physics of such stars and on their global properties (mass, age, etc...). Here, using two \emph{Kepler} stars (KIC 4351319 and KIC 6442183), we demonstrate that measurements of mixed mode characteristics allow us to estimate the mode inertias, providing a new and additional diagnostics on the mode trapping and subsequently on the internal structure of evolved stars. We however stress that the accuracy may be sensitive to non-adiabatic effects., Comment: ApJ Letter

We present the results of long-baseline optical interferometry observations using the Precision Astronomical Visual Observations (PAVO) beam combiner at the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array to measure the angular sizes of three bright Kepler stars: �� Cygni, and both components of the binary system 16 Cygni. Supporting infrared observations were made with the Michigan Infrared Combiner (MIRC) and Classic beam combiner, also at the CHARA Array. We find limb-darkened angular diameters of 0.753+/-0.009 mas for �� Cyg, 0.539+/-0.007 mas for 16 Cyg A and 0.490+/-0.006 mas for 16 Cyg B. The Kepler Mission has observed these stars with outstanding photometric precision, revealing the presence of solar-like oscillations. Due to the brightness of these stars the oscillations have exceptional signal-to-noise, allowing for detailed study through asteroseismology, and are well constrained by other observations. We have combined our interferometric diameters with Hipparcos parallaxes, spectrophotometric bolometric fluxes and the asteroseismic large frequency separation to measure linear radii (�� Cyg: 1.48+/-0.02 Rsun, 16 Cyg A: 1.22+/-0.02 Rsun, 16 Cyg B: 1.12+/-0.02 Rsun), effective temperatures (�� Cyg: 6749+/-44 K, 16 Cyg A: 5839+/-42 K, 16 Cyg B: 5809+/-39 K), and masses (�� Cyg: 1.37+/-0.04 Msun, 16 Cyg A: 1.07+/-0.05 Msun, 16 Cyg B: 1.05+/-0.04 Msun) for each star with very little model dependence. The measurements presented here will provide strong constraints for future stellar modelling efforts., 9 pages, 4 figures, and 5 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We present a detailed spectroscopic study of 93 solar-type stars that are targets of the NASA/Kepler mission and provide detailed chemical composition of each target. We find that the overall metallicity is well-represented by Fe lines. Relative abundances of light elements (CNO) and alpha-elements are generally higher for low-metallicity stars. Our spectroscopic analysis benefits from the accurately measured surface gravity from the asteroseismic analysis of the Kepler light curves. The log g parameter is known to better than 0.03 dex and is held fixed in the analysis. We compare our Teff determination with a recent colour calibration of V-K (TYCHO V magnitude minus 2MASS Ks magnitude) and find very good agreement and a scatter of only 80 K, showing that for other nearby Kepler targets this index can be used. The asteroseismic log g values agree very well with the classical determination using Fe1-Fe2 balance, although we find a small systematic offset of 0.08 dex (asteroseismic log g values are lower). The abundance patterns of metals, alpha elements, and the light elements (CNO) show that a simple scaling by [Fe/H] is adequate to represent the metallicity of the stars, except for the stars with metallicity below -0.3, where alpha-enhancement becomes important. However, this is only important for a very small fraction of the Kepler sample. We therefore recommend that a simple scaling with [Fe/H] be employed in the asteroseismic analyses of large ensembles of solar-type stars., Comment: MNRAS, in press, 12 pages

The granulation pattern that we observe on the surface of the Sun is due to hot plasma from the interior rising to the photosphere where it cools down, and descends back into the interior at the edges of granules. This is the visible manifestation of convection taking place in the outer part of the solar convection zone. Because red giants have deeper convection zones and more extended atmospheres than the Sun, we cannot a priori assume that granulation in red giants is a scaled version of solar granulation. Until now, neither observations nor 1D analytical convection models could put constraints on granulation in red giants. However, thanks to asteroseismology, this study can now be performed. The resulting parameters yield physical information about the granulation. We analyze \sim1000 red giants that have been observed by Kepler during 13 months. We fit the power spectra with Harvey-like profiles to retrieve the characteristics of the granulation (time scale tau_gran and power P_gran). We also introduce a new time scale, tau_eff, which takes into account that different slopes are used in the Harvey functions. We search for a correlation between these parameters and the global acoustic-mode parameter (the position of maximum power, nu_max) as well as with stellar parameters (mass, radius, surface gravity (log g) and effective temperature (T_eff)). We show that tau_eff nu_max^{-0.89} and P_gran nu_max^{-1.90}, which is consistent with the theoretical predictions. We find that the granulation time scales of stars that belong to the red clump have similar values while the time scales of stars in the red-giant branch are spread in a wider range. Finally, we show that realistic 3D simulations of the surface convection in stars, spanning the (T_eff, log g)-range of our sample of red giants, match the Kepler observations well in terms of trends., Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

A set of long and nearly continuous observations of alpha Centauri A should allow us to derive an accurate set of asteroseismic constraints to compare to models, and make inferences on the internal structure of our closest stellar neighbour. We intend to improve the knowledge of the interior of alpha Centauri A by determining the nature of its core. We combined the radial velocity time series obtained in May 2001 with three spectrographs in Chile and Australia: CORALIE, UVES, and UCLES. The resulting combined time series has a length of 12.45 days and contains over 10,000 data points and allows to greatly reduce the daily alias peaks in the power spectral window. We detected 44 frequencies that are in good overall agreement with previous studies, and found that 14 of these show possible rotational splittings. New values for the large and small separations have been derived. A comparison with stellar models indicates that the asteroseismic constraints determined in this study allows us to set an upper limit to the amount of convective-core overshooting needed to model stars of mass and metallicity similar to those of alpha Cen A., Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, A&A accepted

Comparing models and data of pulsating stars is a powerful way to understand the stellar structure better.��Hyi is an evolved solar-type pulsator with mixed modes in its frequency spectrum, making it very interesting for asteroseismic studies.The goal of this work is to search for the best model of the solar-type star ��Hyi, based on up-to-date non-seismic and seismic data.We present a revised list of frequencies for 33 modes, which we produced by analysing the power spectrum of the published observations again using a new weighting scheme that minimises the daily sidelobes.We ran several grids of evolutionary models with different input parameters and different physics, using the stellar evolutionary code ASTEC.For the models that are inside the observed error box of ��Hyi, we computed their frequencies with the pulsation code ADIPLS.We used two approaches to find the model that oscillates with the frequencies that are closest to the observed frequencies of ��Hyi:(i)we assume that the best model is the one that reproduces the star's interior based on the radial oscillation frequencies alone, to which we have applied the correction for the near-surface effects;(ii)we assume that the best model is the one that produces the lowest value of the chi-square (\chi2), i.e. that minimises the difference between the observed frequencies of all available modes and the model predictions, after all model frequencies are corrected for near-surface effects.We show that after applying this correction to the frequencies of the best models, we can reproduce the observed modes well, including the mixed modes.The model that gives the lowest value of the \chi2 is a post-main-sequence model with a mass of 1.04 MSun and a metallicity slightly lower than that of the Sun.Our results underscore the importance of having individual frequencies to constrain the properties of the stellar model.

We present the results of a 5.5-year CCD photometric campaign that monitored 261 bright, southern, semi-regular variables with relatively precise Hipparcos parallaxes. The data are supplemented with independent photoelectric observations of 34 of the brightest stars, including 11 that were not part of the CCD survey, and a previously unpublished long time-series of VZ Cam. Pulsation periods and amplitudes are established for 247 of these stars, the majority of which have not been determined before. All M giants with sufficient observations for period determination are found to be variable, with 87% of the sample (at S/N >= 7.5) exhibiting multi-periodic behaviour. The period ratios of local SRVs are in excellent agreement with those in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Apparent K-band magnitudes are extracted from multiple NIR catalogues and analysed to determine the most reliable values. We review the effects of interstellar and circumstellar extinction and calculate absolute K-band magnitudes using revised Hipparcos parallaxes., 18 pages, 15 figures; accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We present the results of modelling the subgiant star $��$ Hydri using the seismic observational constraints. We have computed several grids of stellar evolutionary tracks using Aarhus STellar Evolution Code (ASTEC, Christensen-Dalsgaard, 2008a), with and without helium diffusion and settling. For those models on each track that are located at the observationally determined position of $��$ Hydri in the HR diagram, we have calculated the oscillation frequencies using Aarhus adiabatic pulsation package (ADIPLS, Christensen-Dalsgaard, 2008b). Applying the near-surface corrections to the calculated frequencies using the empirical law presented by Kjeldsen et al. (2008), we have compared the corrected model frequencies with the observed frequencies of the star. We show that after correcting the frequencies for the near-surface effects, we have a fairly good fit for both $l$=0 and $l$=2 frequencies. We also have good agreement between the observed and calculated $l$=1 mode frequencies although there is room for improvement in order to fit all the observed mixed modes simultaneously., 4 pages, 3 figures. Published by ApSS

Establishing relations between global stellar parameters and asteroseismic quantities can help improve our understanding of stellar astrophysics and facilitate the interpretation of observations. We present an observed relation between the large frequency separation, $����$, and the frequency of maximum power, $��_{max}$. We find that $����$ is proportional to $(��_{max})^0.77$, allowing prediction of $����$ to about 15 per cent given $��_{max}$. Our result is further supported by established scaling relations for $����$ and $��_{max}$ and by extended stellar model calculations, which confirm that $����$ can be estimated using this relation for basically any star showing solar-like oscillations in the investigated range (0.5, 5 pages, 8 figures, Letter accepted by MNRAS

We have recently developed a new method for adjusting weights to minimize sidelobes in the spectral window. Here we show the results of applying this method to published two-site velocity observations of three stars (alpha Cen A, alpha Cen B and beta Hyi). Compared to our previous method of minimizing sidelobes, which involved adjusting the weights on a night-by-night basis, we find a significant improvement in frequency resolution. In the case of alpha Cen A, this should allow the detection of extra oscillation modes in the data., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, proc. SOHO XXI/GONG 2008

We present the first results of our variability survey for the globular cluster NGC 362. We found numerous variable stars in the field including 23 RR Lyr stars, 4 eclipsing binaries and 5 other pulsating stars. Four of the RR Lyr ae stars are located behind the cluster, possibly in the farthest extensions of the SMC., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the Workshop "Stellar pulsation and evolution", 2005. Monte Porzio Catone, Italy. Eds.: A. R. Walker and G. Bono

We present an analysis of observations of the bright star Altair (alpha Aql) obtained using the star camera on the Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) satellite. Although Altair lies within the delta Scuti instability strip, previous observations have not revealed the presence of oscillations. However, the WIRE observations show Altair to be a low-amplitude (Delta m < 1 ppt) delta Scuti star with at least 7 modes present., 15 pages, 6 figure files (only 5 figures), 2 tables

We have used optical interferometry to obtain multi-wavelength visibility curves for eight red giants over the wavelength range 650--1000 nm. The observations consist of wavelength-dispersed fringes recorded with MAPPIT (Masked APerture-Plane Interference Telescope) at the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. We present results for four Miras (R Car, $o$ Cet, R Hya, R Leo) and four semi-regular variables (R Dor, W Hya, L$_2$ Pup, $\gamma$ Cru). All stars except $\gamma$ Cru show strong variations of angular size with wavelength. A uniform-disk model was found to be a poor fit in most cases, with Gaussian (or other more tapered profiles) preferred. This, together with the fact that most stars showed a systematic increase in apparent size toward the blue and a larger-than-expected linear size, even in the red, all point toward significant scattering by dust in the inner circumstellar environment. Some stars showed evidence for asymmetric brightness profiles, while L$_2$ Pup required a two-component model, indicating an asymmetrical circumstellar dust shell., Comment: 10 Pages, 18 Postscript Figures

We have analysed the three-colour photometry of 34 pulsating red giants that was published by Percy, Wilson and Henry (2001). As is common with semiregulars, many of these stars have long secondary periods (LSPs) of several years, in addition to the usual shorter-period pulsations. We measured pulsation amplitudes in VRI and found that both the V/R and V/I amplitude ratios in most stars are systematically lower for the LSPs that for the shorter periods. These results must be taken into account by any theory that attempts to explain LSPs., Comment: In "Asteroseismology Across the HR Diagram" (Porto, July 2002), Eds. Thompson M.J., Cunha M.S. and Monteiro M.J.P.F.G. (Kluwer)

We present the latest results from our analysis of time resolved spectroscopy of PG 1605+072, a high amplitude pulsating sdB star. The star is believed to have evolved off the extreme horizontal branch, and it is uncertain whether it pulsates in p- or g-modes. Previous studies of PG 1605+072 have found amplitude variation and/or very closely spaced frequencies. We compare our velocity measurements with new simultaneous spectrophotometric measurements and analyse phase differences for the 8 frequencies found in velocity. Phase differences between velocity, spectrophotometry and equivalent width are discussed., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in "Asteroseismology Across the HR Diagram" (Porto, July 2002), Eds. Thompson M.J., Cunha M.S. and Monteiro M.J.P.F.G. (Kluwer)

We report Doppler measurements of alpha Cen A from time-series spectroscopy made with UCLES at the 3.9-m AAT. Wavelength calibration using an iodine absorption cell produced high-precision velocity measurements, whose power spectrum shows the clear signature of solar-like oscillations, confirming the detection reported by Bouchy and Carrier (2001)., Comment: To appear in "Asteroseismology Across the HR Diagram" (Porto, July 2002), Eds. Thompson M.J., Cunha M.S. and Monteiro M.J.P.F.G. (Kluwer)

Velocity measurements of the G2 subgiant beta Hyi with both UCLES and CORALIE show a clear excess of power centred at 1.0 mHz. In the UCLES data we find evidence for a short-lived, high-amplitude oscillation event. If confirmed as a feature of subgiants, such `starquakes' would make it harder to measure accurate mode frequencies and perform asteroseismology., Comment: 4 pages, latex, eps figures, To appear in Proc. IAU Colloq. 185: "Radial and Nonradial Pulsations as Probes of Stellar Physics", edited by C. Aerts, T.R. Bedding and J. Christensen-Dalsgaard, ASP Conf. Series, Vol. 259, p. 464

We present visibility measurements of the nearby Mira-like star R Doradus taken over a wide range of wavelengths (650-990 nm). The observations were made using MAPPIT (Masked APerture-Plane Interference Telescope), an interferometer operating at the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. We used a slit to mask the telescope aperture and prism to disperse the interference pattern in wavelength. We observed in R Dor strong decreases in visibility within the TiO absorption bands. The results are in general agreement with theory but differ in detail, suggesting that further work is needed to refine the theoretical models., Comment: 2 pages. Poster at IAU Symposium 205: Galaxies and their Constituents at the Highest Angular Resolutions, Manchester UK, August 2000. Proceedings to be published by ASP, edited by R. Schilizzi, S. Vogel, F. Paresce, M. Elvis

We present period-luminosity diagrams for nearby Miras and semiregulars, selecting stars with parallaxes better than 20 per cent and well-determined periods. Using K-band magnitudes, we find two well-defined P-L sequences, one corresponding to the standard Mira P-L relation and the second shifted to shorter periods by a factor of about 1.9. The second sequence only contains semiregular variables, while the Mira sequence contains both Miras and semiregulars. Several semiregular stars show double periods in agreement with both relations. The Whitelock evolutionary track is shown to fit the data, indicating that the semiregulars are Mira progenitors. The transition between the two sequences may correspond to a change in pulsation mode or to a change in the stellar structure. Large amplitude pulsations leading to classical Mira classification occur mainly near the tip of the local AGB luminosity function., Comment: 10 pages with figures, accepted by ApJ Letters

We describe a first attempt to apply adaptive optics to the study of resolved stellar populations in galaxies. Advantages over traditional approaches are (i) improved spatial resolution and point-source sensitivity through adaptive optics, and (ii) use of the near-infrared region, where the peak of the spectral energy distribution for old populations is found. Disadvantages are the small area covered and the need for excellent seeing. We made observations with the ADONIS system at the European Southern Observatory of the peculiar elliptical galaxy NGC 5128; the irregular galaxy IC 5152 (a possible outer member of the Local Group); the Sc galaxy NGC 300 (a member of the Sculptor group); and the Sgr window in the bulge of the Milky Way. These different fields give excellent test cases for the potential of adaptive optics. In the first two cases, we failed to obtain photometry of individual stars, which would have required excellent seeing. For NGC 300 we measured magnitudes for nine individual supergiants (H = 18.3 to 20.2), but did not go deep enough to detect the tip of the RGB of an old population. For the Sgr field we produced a infrared luminosity function and colour-magnitude diagram for 70 stars down to about K = 19.5. These are the deepest yet measured for the Galactic bulge, reaching beyond the turn-off., Comment: 5 pages, latex with figures, accepted by A&A (Main Journal)

We present spectra and high-resolution images taken with HST, the NTT, the VLA, and the MPIA/ESO 2.2m of the emission-line star He 3-1475 which we suggest is a post-AGB star. The star is at the origin of a 15-arcsec-long structure containing symmetrically opposing bright knots. The knots have radial velocities of about 500 km/s from the center of He 3-1475 to the ends of the jets. HST snapshots show that the core of He 3-1475 is unipolar with a star at the SE end and the nebula fanning out toward the NW. VLA observations show the presence of OH masers, which are positioned parallel to the optical jets. A model is proposed that accounts for all of the observational data. This unusual object may link the OH/IR stars having extreme outflow velocities with highly bipolar planetary nebulae., 14 pages, uu-encoded postcript. 6 figures available on request from Matt Bobrowski (matt@cta.com)

We recently reported strong evidence for solar-like oscillations in the G0 IV star eta Boo (Kjeldsen et al. 1995, AJ 109, 1313). We measured small temperature fluctuations produced by oscillations through their effect on the equivalent widths of the Balmer lines. Here we address several issues that were raised at this conference. In particular, we show a power spectrum made without applying a high-pass filter to the observations. This spectrum shows increased noise at low frequencies, as expected, and the oscillation signature is still clearly visible., Comment: uuencoded and compressed Postscript (2 pages, including figures); To appear in Proceedings of IAU Colloquium 155, "Astrophysical Applications of Stellar Pulsation", Cape Town, South Africa

MAPPIT is an optical interferometer installed at the coude focus of the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. The instrument combines non-redundant masking with wavelength dispersion and is able to record fringes simultaneously over a wide bandwidth. For typical observations centred near 600 nm, the bandwidth is 55 nm and the spectral resolution is 3 nm. This paper describes the instrument and the data processing methods and presents some results. We find the star sigma Sgr to be a close binary; the system is only partially resolved, with a separation of (11.5 +/- 2) milliarcsec (assuming the components to have equal magnitudes). We also give angular diameter measurements of two red giant stars, alpha Sco and beta Gru. The observations of beta Gru (spectral type M5 III) resolve the star for the first time and give an equivalent uniform-disk diameter of (27 +/- 3) milliarcsec., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. (9 pages, uuencoded and compressed PostScript; hardcopy on request from tbedding@eso.org). ESO-BRM0494

We analyze ISO/SWS spectra of the RV Tau star R Scuti. The infrared spectra are dominated by H2O emission bands. The near- and mid-infrared excess is attributed to H2O; the dust contribution is less important. We also identify CO, SiO and CO2 bands. The various molecular emission bands originate from an extended atmosphere, an atmosphere above the photosphere. The extended atmosphere of R Sct is formed from matter which gradually have lifted up from the photosphere through the pulsations of the star. In contrast to the abundant molecules around the star, the silicate dust feature is weak and the dust mass-loss rate is only 10^{-11} solar mass per year. This implies that there might be a process to inhibit dust formation from molecules. RV Tau stars are commonly considered as post-AGB stars. While a detached dust envelope around R Sct is consistent with such an interpretation, we show that its period evolution is slower than expected. We argue that R Sct may be a thermal-pulsing AGB star, observed in a helium-burning phase., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&A

We comment on the potential for continuing asteroseismology of solar-type and red-giant stars in a 2-wheel Kepler Mission. Our main conclusion is that by targeting stars in the ecliptic it should be possible to perform high-quality asteroseismology, as long as favorable scenarios for 2-wheel pointing performance are met. Targeting the ecliptic would potentially facilitate unique science that was not possible in the nominal Mission, notably from the study of clusters that are significantly brighter than those in the Kepler field. Our conclusions are based on predictions of 2-wheel observations made by a space photometry simulator, with information provided by the Kepler Project used as input to describe the degraded pointing scenarios. We find that elevated levels of frequency-dependent noise, consistent with the above scenarios, would have a significant negative impact on our ability to continue asteroseismic studies of solar-like oscillators in the Kepler field. However, the situation may be much more optimistic for observations in the ecliptic, provided that pointing resets of the spacecraft during regular desaturations of the two functioning reaction wheels are accurate at the < 1 arcsec level. This would make it possible to apply a post-hoc analysis that would recover most of the lost photometric precision. Without this post-hoc correction---and the accurate re-pointing it requires---the performance would probably be as poor as in the Kepler-field case. Critical to our conclusions for both fields is the assumed level of pointing noise (in the short-term jitter and the longer-term drift). We suggest that further tests will be needed to clarify our results once more detail and data on the expected pointing performance becomes available, and we offer our assistance in this work., NASA Kepler Mission White Paper; 10 pages, 2 figures

Having started science operations in May 2009, the Kepler photometer has been able to provide exquisite data of solar-like stars. Five out of the 42 stars observed continuously during the survey phase show evidence of oscillations, even though they are rather faint (magnitudes from 10.5 to 12). In this paper, we present an overview of the results of the seismic analysis of 4 of these stars observed during more than eight months., 5 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the ASP proceedings of "The 61st Fujihara seminar: Progress in solar/stellar physics with helio- and asteroseismology", 13th-17th March 2011, Hakone, Japan

More than 1000 red giants have been observed by NASA/Kepler mission during a nearly continuous period of ~ 13 months. The resulting high-frequency resolution (< 0.03 muHz) allows us to study the granulation parameters of these stars. The granulation pattern results from the convection motions leading to upward flows of hot plasma and downward flows of cooler plasma. We fitted Harvey-like functions to the power spectra, to retrieve the timescale and amplitude of granulation. We show that there is an anti-correlation between both of these parameters and the position of maximum power of acoustic modes, while we also find a correlation with the radius, which agrees with the theory. We finally compare our results with 3D models of the convection., 4 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the ASP proceedings of "The 61st Fujihara seminar: Progress in solar/stellar physics with helio- and asteroseismology", 13th-17th March 2011, Hakone, Japan

We study the internal structure and evolutionary state of KIC 4351319, a red-giant star observed with the Kepler satellite. The use of 25 individual oscillation frequencies, together with the accurate atmospheric data provided by ground-based spectroscopic observations, allowed us to estimate the main parameters of this star with a level of precision without precedents for a red giant. In addition, the excellent quality of the observations enabled us to define the location of the base of the convective envelope and to learn about the internal rotation, the helium abundance, the surface effects and extra mixing effects such as diffusion and overshooting.