Tidal asteroseismology: Kepler's KOI-54

TL;DR

This paper develops a framework for analyzing high-precision lightcurves from eccentric binary stars, focusing on KOI-54, to extract stellar properties through asteroseismology using pulsation amplitudes, phases, and nonlinear mode coupling.

Contribution

It introduces a new asteroseismology method based on pulsation amplitudes and phases, and develops a linear, tidally forced stellar oscillation formalism including the Coriolis force.

Findings

Semi-quantitative models match observed pulsation spectra.

Resonant nonaxisymmetric modes may explain large-amplitude harmonics.

Nonharmonic pulsations can result from nonlinear three-mode coupling.

Abstract

We develop a general framework for interpreting and analyzing high-precision lightcurves from eccentric stellar binaries. Although our methods are general, we focus on the recently discovered Kepler system KOI-54, a face-on binary of two A stars with $e=0.83$ and an orbital period of 42 days. KOI-54 exhibits strong ellipsoidal variability during its periastron passage; its lightcurve also contains ~20 pulsations at perfect harmonics of the orbital frequency, and another ~10 nonharmonic pulsations. Analysis of such data is a new form of asteroseismology in which oscillation amplitudes and phases rather than frequencies contain information that can be mined to constrain stellar properties. We qualitatively explain the physics of mode excitation and the range of harmonics expected to be observed. To quantitatively model observed pulsation spectra, we develop and apply a linear, tidally forced, nonadiabatic stellar oscillation formalism including the Coriolis force. We produce temporal power spectra for KOI-54 that are semi-quantitatively consistent with the observations. Both stars in the KOI-54 system are expected to be rotating pseudosynchronously, with resonant nonaxisymmetric modes providing a key contribution to the total torque; such resonances provide a possible explanation for the two largest-amplitude harmonic pulsations observed in KOI-54, although we find quantitative problems with this interpretation. We show in detail that the nonharmonic pulsations observed in KOI-54 can be produced by nonlinear three-mode coupling. The methods developed in this paper can be generalized in the future to determine the best-fit stellar parameters given pulsation data. We also derive an analytic model of KOI-54's ellipsoidal variability, including both tidal distortion and stellar irradiation, which can be used to model other similar systems.