Solar-like oscillations with low amplitude in the CoRoT target HD 181906

TL;DR

This study analyzes CoRoT data of HD 181906, a solar-like star, to detect low-amplitude oscillations, determine its rotation, inclination, and p-mode parameters despite low signal-to-noise challenges.

Contribution

The paper introduces a comprehensive method combining wavelet transform, spot fitting, and likelihood maximization to extract stellar oscillation parameters from low S/N data.

Findings

Mean surface rotation rate ~4 microHz

Large separation of p modes ~87 microHz

Evidence of surface differential rotation

Abstract

Context: The F8 star HD 181906 (effective temperature ~6300K) was observed for 156 days by the CoRoT satellite during the first long run in the centre direction. Analysis of the data reveals a spectrum of solar-like acoustic oscillations. However, the faintness of the target (m_v=7.65) means the signal-to-noise (S/N) in the acoustic modes is quite low, and this low S/N leads to complications in the analysis. Aims: To extract global variables of the star as well as key parameters of the p modes observed in the power spectrum of the lightcurve. Methods: The power spectrum of the lightcurve, a wavelet transform and spot fitting have been used to obtain the average rotation rate of the star and its inclination angle. Then, the autocorrelation of the power spectrum and the power spectrum of the power spectrum were used to properly determine the large separation. Finally, estimations of the mode parameters have been done by maximizing the likelihood of a global fit, where several modes were fit simultaneously. Results: We have been able to infer the mean surface rotation rate of the star (~4 microHz) with indications of the presence of surface differential rotation, the large separation of the p modes (~87 microHz), and therefore also the ridges corresponding to overtones of the acoustic modes.