https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201510101014
Oscillations in g-mode period spacings in red giants as a way to determine their state of evolution
1 Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150762 Porto, Portugal
2 Centro de Astrofísica e Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
3 Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
4 Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Published online: 23 September 2015
In this work we consider the sensitivity of gravity-mode period spacings to sharp changes in the inner structure of red giant stars, more specifically in the buoyancy frequency inside the g-mode propagation cavity. Based on a comparison between the solutions to the linear pulsation equations in the Cowling approximation for pure g-modes with results obtained with a full oscillation code we identify and correctly interpret the signature of the above-mentioned sharp variations in the period spacings. Two examples, of red giant models in different evolutionary phases, are discussed. Detection of these signatures in CoRoT, Kepler or future PLATO red-giant stars would pin down their evolutionary state in an unprecedented way.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2015
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
