On the possibility of using seismic probes to study the core composition in pulsating white dwarfs

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2012

Authors

Faria, JP (Author) FCUP; Monteiro, MJPFG (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Astronomische Nachrichten

Vol. 333

Pages: 954-957

ISSN: 0004-6337

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Physical sciences

CORDIS: Physical sciences > Astronomy

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-2PW

DOI: 10.1002/asna.201211830

Abstract (EN): White dwarfs correspond to the final stages of stellar evolution of solar-type stars. In these objects, production of energy by nuclear burning has ended which means that a white dwarf simply cools down over the course of the next billion years. It is now known that white dwarfs spend some of their cooling history in an instability strip. The pulsating white dwarfs with an hydrogen atmosphere (called DAV or ZZ Ceti stars) show non-radial oscillation modes with periods in the range 1001200 s. In this work we try to illustrate how the oscillation p-mode frequencies of idealized white dwarf models change as the result of a different chemical composition in the core, with the ultimate goal of determining the chemical stratification from seismic observations. The presence of acoustic glitches in the internal structure results in a periodic signal in the frequencies. We find that this signal depends on the chemical stratification/composition of the core in a form that can be analytically modelled ((c) 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific