Pulsating B and Be stars in the Magellanic Clouds

TL;DR

This paper investigates pulsating B and Be stars in the Magellanic Clouds to test stellar pulsation models at low metallicities, which challenge current predictions about instability strips in these environments.

Contribution

It provides observational data on pulsating stars in low-metallicity environments to evaluate and challenge existing stellar pulsation theories.

Findings

Detection of pulsating B and Be stars in the Magellanic Clouds

Evidence suggesting instability strips may exist at low metallicities

Implications for stellar pulsation models at different metallicities

Abstract

Stellar pulsations in main-sequence B-type stars are driven by the $\kappa$-mechanism due to the Fe-group opacity bump. The current models do not predict the presence of instability strips in the B spectral domain at very low metallicities. As the metallicity of the Magellanic Clouds has been measured to be around $Z=0.002$ for the SMC and $Z=0.007$ for the LMC, they constitute a very suitable objects to test these predictions.