Abstract
We now have a good measurement of the cooling rate of G117-B15 A. In the near future, we will have equally well determined cooling rates for other pulsating white dwarfs, including R548. The ability to measure their cooling rates offers us a unique way to study weakly interacting particles that would contribute to their cooling. Working toward that goal, we perform a careful asteroseismological analysis of G117-B15A and R548. We study them side by side because they have similar observed properties. We carry out a systematic, fine grid search for best-fit models to the observed period spectra of those stars. We freely vary four parameters: the effective temperature, the stellar mass, the helium layer mass, and the hydrogen layer mass. We identify and quantify a number of uncertainties associated with our models. Based on the results of that analysis and fits to the periods observed in R548 and G117-B15A, we clearly define the regions of the four-dimensional parameter space occupied by the best-fit models.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1505-1511 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 675 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 10 2008 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science