Pulsations of the Oe Star ζ Ophiuchi from MOST Satellite Photometry and Ground-based Spectroscopy

Author(s)
G. A. H. Walker, R. Kuschnig, J. M. Matthews, P. Reegen, T. Kallinger, E. Kambe, H. Saio, P. Harmanec, D. B. Guenther, A. F. J. Moffat, S. M. Rucinski, D. Sasselov, W. W. Weiss, D. A. Bohlender, H. Božić, O. Hashimoto, P. Koubský, R. Mann, D. Ruždjak, P. Škoda, M. Šlechta, D. Sudar, M. Wolf, S. Yang
Abstract

Twenty-four days of highly precise Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) satellite photometry obtained in mid-2004 of the rapidly rotating O9.5 V star ζ Oph have yielded at least a dozen significant oscillation frequencies between 1 and 10 cycles day-1, clearly indicating its relationship to β Cephei variables. Eight periods were found in He I λ4922 and Hβ line profile variations (LPV) of which six coincide with those from the MOST photometry. This unique photometric and spectroscopic detection of radial and nonradial pulsations leads to a plausible model in which high l-modes are excited when their frequencies in the corotating frame are similar to those of low-order radial modes. We propose that the dominant photometric 4.6 hr period (f1) corresponds to a radial first overtone excited by the κ-mechanism associated with the Fe opacity bump. No unambiguous rotational period can be identified in either the light curve or the LPV.

A Canadian Space Agency mission, jointly operated by Dynacon Inc., the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies, and the University of British Columbia with the assistance of the University of Vienna.

Organisation(s)
Department of Astrophysics
External organisation(s)
University of British Columbia (UBC), National Defense Academy of Japan, Tohoku University, Charles University Prague, Czech Academy of Sciences, Saint Mary's University, University of Montreal, University of Toronto, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, National Research Council Canada (NRC-CNRC), University of Zagreb, Gunma Astronomical Observatory, University of Victoria
Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Volume
623
ISSN
0004-637X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1086/430254
Publication date
04-2005
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103004 Astrophysics
Keywords
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c19a0a47-247d-4c92-97e8-0e5ccc82fc87