Asteroseismological measurements on PG 1159-035, the prototype of the GW Virginis variable stars

Aims. An asteroseismological study of PG 1159−035, the prototype of the GW Vir variable stars, has been performed on the basis of detailed and full PG 1159 evolutionary models presented by Miller Bertolami & Althaus (2006, A&A, 454, 845). Methods. We carried out extensive computations of adi...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Corsico, Alejandro Hugo, Althaus, Leandro Gabriel, Kepler, S. O., Costa, J. E. S., Miller Bertolami, Marcelo Miguel
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2008
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/44918
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/44918
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Evolution of stars
Interior stars
Oscillations
Variable stars
White dwarfs
PG 1159-035 (estrella)
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:Aims. An asteroseismological study of PG 1159−035, the prototype of the GW Vir variable stars, has been performed on the basis of detailed and full PG 1159 evolutionary models presented by Miller Bertolami & Althaus (2006, A&A, 454, 845). Methods. We carried out extensive computations of adiabatic g-mode pulsation periods on PG 1159 evolutionary models with stellar masses spanning the range 0.530 to 0.741 M. These models were derived from the complete evolution of progenitor stars, including the thermally pulsing AGB phase and the born-again episode. We constrained the stellar mass of PG 1159−035 by comparing the observed period spacing with the asymptotic period spacing and with the average of the computed period spacings. We also employed the individual observed periods reported by Costa et al. (2007) to find a representative seismological model for PG 1159−035. Results. We derive a stellar mass in the range 0.56–0.59 M from the period-spacing data alone. We also find, on the basis of a period-fit procedure, an asteroseismological model representative of PG 1159−035 that reproduces the observed period pattern with an average of the period differences of δΠi = 0.64–1.03 s, consistent with the expected model uncertainties. The model has an effective temperature Teff = 128 000+8 600 −2 600 K, a stellar mass M∗ = 0.565+0.025 −0.009 M, a surface gravity log g = 7.42+0.21 −0.12, a stellar luminosity and radius of log(L∗/L) = 2.15 ± 0.08 and log(R∗/R) = −1.62+0.06 −0.09, and a He-rich envelope thickness of Menv = 0.017 M. The results of the period-fit analysis carried out in this work suggest that the surface gravity of PG 1159−035 would be 1σ larger than the spectroscopically inferred gravity. For our best-fit model of PG 1159−035, all of the pulsation modes are characterized by positive rates of period changes, at odds with the measurements by Costa & Kepler (2007, A&A, submitted).