A Photometric Analysis of ZZ Ceti Stars: A Parameter-Free Temperature Indicator?

Abstract

We present a model atmosphere analysis of optical V RI and infrared JHK photometric data of about two dozen ZZ Ceti stars. We first show from a theoretical point of view that the resulting energy distributions are not particularly sensitive to surface gravity or to the assumed convective efficiency, a result which suggests a parameter-free effective temperature indicator for ZZ Ceti stars. We then fit the observed energy distributions with our grid of model atmospheres and compare the photometric effective temperatures with the spectroscopic values obtained from fits to the hydrogen line profiles. Our results are finally discussed in the context of the determination of the empirical boundaries of the ZZ Ceti instability strip.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA525157

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheres
  • Boundaries
  • Consistency
  • Convection
  • Data Sets
  • Efficiency
  • Electronic Mail
  • Hydrogen
  • Indicators
  • Infrared Telescopes
  • Instability
  • Measurement
  • Observatories
  • Photometry
  • Spectral Energy Distribution
  • Standards
  • Workshops

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Fluid Dynamics.