Assessing the accuracy of the gravity determination in late-type stars with solar-like pulsators

TL;DR

This study evaluates the accuracy of stellar surface gravity measurements in late-type stars using solar-like pulsations, demonstrating strong agreement with classical methods and highlighting the value of seismic data as benchmarks.

Contribution

The paper validates the use of oscillation frequencies to determine stellar gravity, comparing it with traditional methods and emphasizing its precision and utility in large surveys.

Findings

Seismic gravities agree within 0.05 dex of classical methods.

Discrepancies can reach up to ~0.2 dex, indicating some scatter.

Seismic data serve as effective benchmarks for stellar parameter estimation.

Abstract

The frequency of maximum oscillation power measured in dwarfs and giants exhibiting solar-like pulsations provides a precise, and potentially accurate, inference of the stellar surface gravity. An extensive comparison for about 40 well-studied pulsating stars with gravities derived using classical methods (ionisation balance, pressure-sensitive spectral features or location with respect to evolutionary tracks) supports the validity of this technique and reveals an overall remarkable agreement with mean differences not exceeding 0.05 dex (although with a dispersion of up to ~0.2 dex). It is argued that interpolation in theoretical isochrones may be the most precise way of estimating the gravity by traditional means in nearby dwarfs. Attention is drawn to the usefulness of seismic targets as benchmarks in the context of large-scale surveys.