2003/05/31 by M. H. Montgomery, T. S. Metcalfe, D. E. Winget · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #Ambiguity #Asteroseismology #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Asymmetry #Circular symmetry #Educational Leadership and Practices #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Symmetry (geometry) #White dwarf #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06853.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 344 (2003) 657 · Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 8 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2003/06/01 · openalex publication_date 2003/09/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We demonstrate that there is an inherent symmetry in the way high-overtone stellar pulsations sample the core and the envelope, which can potentially lead to an ambiguity in the asteroseismologically derived locations of internal structures. We provide an intuitive example of the source of this symmetry by analogy with a vibrating string. For the stellar case, we focus on the white dwarf stars, establishing the practical consequences for high-order white dwarf pulsations both analytically and numerically. In addition, we verify the effect empirically by cross-fitting two different structural models, and we discuss the consequences that this approximate symmetry may have for past and present asteroseismological fits of the pulsating DBV, GD 358. Finally, we show how the signatures of composition transition zones that are brought about by physically distinct processes may be used to help alleviate this potential ambiguity in our asteroseismological interpretation of the pulsation frequencies observed in white dwarf stars.