Rapidly varying A-type stars in the SuperWASP archive

TL;DR

This study utilizes SuperWASP photometry to identify and analyze high-frequency pulsations in over 1.5 million A-type stars, discovering numerous pulsating stars and enabling statistical analysis of their frequency characteristics.

Contribution

It presents the first large-scale survey of A-type stars for rapid pulsations using SuperWASP data, revealing new pulsating stars and enabling statistical studies of their frequency overlap.

Findings

Discovered over 200 delta Scuti stars with frequencies above 50 d$^{-1}$

Identified several rapidly oscillating Ap stars

Detected at least one pulsating sdB star

Abstract

The searches for transiting exoplanets have produced a vast amount of time-resolved photometric data of many millions of stars. One of the leading ground-based surveys is the SuperWASP project. We present the initial results of a survey of over 1.5 million A-type stars in the search for high frequency pulsations using SuperWASP photometry. We are able to detect pulsations down to the 0.5 mmag level in the broad-band photometry. This has enabled the discovery of several rapidly oscillating Ap stars and over 200 delta Scuti stars with frequencies above 50 d$^{-1}$, and at least one pulsating sdB star. Such a large number of results allows us to statistically study the frequency overlap between roAp and delta Scuti stars and probe to higher frequency regimes with existing data.