First Kepler results on compact pulsators VIII: Mode identifications via period spacings in $g-$mode pulsating Subdwarf B stars

TL;DR

This study analyzes Kepler and CoRoT data on 14 hot subdwarf B stars to identify regular period spacings in g-mode pulsations, aiding mode identification and stellar structure understanding.

Contribution

It provides the first systematic detection of nearly equal period spacings in sdB stars, confirming theoretical asymptotic relationships and improving mode identification methods.

Findings

Ell=1 period spacings range from 231 to 272 s.

Significant equal period spacings detected in 13 out of 14 stars.

Ell=2 spacings relate to ell=1 by 1/√3 asymptotic relationship.

Abstract

We investigate the possibility of nearly-equally spaced periods in 13 hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars observed with the Kepler spacecraft and one observed with CoRoT. Asymptotic limits for gravity (g-)mode pulsations provide relationships between equal period spacings of modes with differing degrees and relationships between periods of the same radial order but differing degrees. Period transforms, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, and linear least-squares fits have been used to detect and determine the significance of equal period spacings. We have also used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the likelihood that the detected spacings could be produced randomly. Period transforms for nine of the Kepler stars indicate ell=1 period spacings, with five also showing peaks for ell=2 modes. 12 stars indicate ell=1 modes using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test while another shows solely ell=2 modes. Monte Carlo results indicate that equal period spacings are significant in 10 stars above 99% confidence and 13 of the 14 are above 94% confidence. For 12 stars, the various methods find consistent regular period spacing values to within the errors, two others show some inconsistencies, likely caused by binarity, and the last has significant detections but the mode assignment disagrees between methods. We find a common ell=1 period spacing spanning a range from 231 to 272 s allowing us to correlate pulsation modes with 222 periodicities and that the ell=2 period spacings are related to the ell=1 spacings by the asymptotic relationship $1/\sqrt{3}$. We briefly discuss the impact of equal period spacings which indicate low-degree modes with a lack of significant mode trappings.