CoRoT Measures Solar-Like Oscillations and Granulation in Stars Hotter Than the Sun

E. Michel, A. Baglin, M. Auvergne, C. Catala, R. Samadi, F. Baudin, T. Appourchaux, C. Barban, W. W. Weiss, B. Berthomieu, P. Boumier, M.-A. Dupret, R. Garcia, M. Fridlund, R. Garrido, M.-J. Goupil, H. Kjeldsen, Y. Lebreton, B. Mosser, A. Noels, E. Janot-Pacheco, J. Provost, I. W. Roxburgh, A. Thoul, T. Toutain, D. Tiphène, S. Turck-Chièze, S. Vauclair, G. Vauclair, C. Aerts, G. Alecian, J. Ballot, S. Charpinet, A.-M. Hubert, F. Lignières, P. Mathias, M. J. P. F. G. Monteiro, C. Neiner, E. Poretti, J. R. de Medeiros, I. Ribas, M. Rieutord, T. Roca Cortes, K. Zwintz

Abstract
Oscillations of the Sun have been used to understand its interior structure. The  extension of similar studies to more distant stars has raised many difficulties despite  the strong efforts of the international community over the past decades. The CoRoT  (Convection Rotation and Planetary Transits) satellite, launched in December 2006, has now measured  oscillations and the stellar granulation signature in three main sequence stars  that are noticeably hotter than the sun. The oscillation amplitudes are about 1.5 times as  large as those in the Sun; the stellar granulation is up to three times as high. The stellar  amplitudes are about 25% below the theoretic values, providing a measurement of the nonadiabaticity of the process ruling the oscillations in the outer layers of the stars.

Science
Volume 322, Page 558
October 2008

>> ADS>> DOI