Why should we correct reported pulsation frequencies for stellar line-of-sight Doppler velocity shifts?

TL;DR

High-precision stellar pulsation frequencies from space telescopes can be significantly affected by Doppler shifts due to stellar motion, necessitating routine correction or clear reporting of the reference frame.

Contribution

This paper introduces a correction method for stellar pulsation frequencies accounting for line-of-sight Doppler shifts, emphasizing its importance for high-precision data.

Findings

Doppler shifts can significantly alter reported pulsation frequencies.

Applying the correction improves the accuracy of stellar oscillation measurements.

Authors recommend routine correction or clear reporting of reference frames.

Abstract

In the age of Kepler and Corot, extended observations have provided estimates of stellar pulsation frequencies that have achieved new levels of precision, regularly exceeding fractional levels of a few parts in $10^{4}$. These high levels of precision now in principle exceed the point where one can ignore the Doppler shift of pulsation frequencies caused by the motion of a star relative to the observer. We present a correction for these Doppler shifts and use previously published pulsation frequencies to demonstrate the significance of the effect. We suggest that reported pulsation frequencies should be routinely corrected for stellar line-of-sight velocity Doppler shifts, or if a line-of-sight velocity estimate is not available, the frame of reference in which the frequencies are reported should be clearly stated.