2001/10/22 by J. Christensen-Dalsgaard, H. Kjeldsen, J. A. Mattei · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Amplitude #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Convection #History and Developments in Astronomy #Luminosity #Stars #Stellar pulsation #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Variable star #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/338194
Astrophys. J. Lett., in the press. Processed with aastex and emulateapj
arxiv created 2001/10/22 · openalex publication_date 2002/07/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Oscillations of the Sun and solar-like stars are believed to be excited stochastically by convection near the stellar surface. Theoretical modeling predicts that the resulting amplitude increases rapidly with the luminosity of the star. Thus, one might expect oscillations of substantial amplitudes in red giants with high luminosities and vigorous convection. Here we present evidence that such oscillations may in fact have been detected in the so-called semiregular variables, extensive observations of which have been made by amateur astronomers in the American Association for Variable Star Observers. This may offer a new opportunity for studying the physical processes that give rise to the oscillations, possibly leading to further information about the properties of convection in these stars.