NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011B-0095
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011B-0095 |
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PI: Judith Provencal, University of Delaware, jlp@udel.edu
Address: Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 223 Sharp Laboratory, Newark, DE 19716, USA
CoI: Mike Montgomery, University of Texas
CoI: Mike Reed, Southwestern Missouri State
CoI: James Dalessio, University of Delaware
CoI: S. O. Kepler, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sol
CoI: Andrez Baran, Southweatern Missouri State
CoI: Luciano Fraga, SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope)
Title: The Empirical Determination of Convection in Pulsating White Dwarf Stars
Abstract:
We propose high speed photometric observations of the hydrogen
atmosphere white dwarf HS0507+0434B as part of a coordinated
international campaign designed to determine the properties of
convection in white dwarf atmospheres. Convection is one of the largest
sources of theoretical uncertainty in our understanding of stellar
physics. Asteroseismology has proven a powerful tool to attack this
problem. White dwarf pulsations appear as local surface temperature
variations, leading to local changes in the convection zone's depth and
its ability to absorb/release energy. As the convection zone waxes and
wanes, it modulates the local energy flux, leading to highly nonlinear
light curves. We will use the observed nonlinearities in high precision
light curves provided by SOAR, combined with accurate frequency,
amplitude, and phase information provided by the Kitt Peak 2.1 m and the
entire WET run to directly probe the nature of HS0507+0434B's convection
zone.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011B-0095 |
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