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Spots on Am stars

Balona, LA; Catanzaro, G; Abedigamba, OP; Ripepi, V; Smalley, B

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Authors

LA Balona

G Catanzaro

OP Abedigamba

V Ripepi



Abstract

We investigate the light variations of 15 Am stars using four years of high-precision photometry from the Kepler spacecraft and an additional 14 Am stars from the K2 Campaign 0 field. We find that most of the Am stars in the Kepler field have light curves characteristic of rotational modulation due to star-spots. Of the 29 Am stars observed, 12 are d Scuti variables and one is a ? Doradus star. One star is an eclipsing binary and another was found to be a binary from time delay measurements. Two Am stars show evidence for flares which are unlikely to be due to a cool companion. The fact that 10 out of 29 Am stars are rotational variables and that some may even flare strongly suggests that Am stars possess significant magnetic fields. This is contrary to the current understanding that the enhanced metallicity in these stars is due to diffusion in the absence of a magnetic field. The fact that so many stars are d Scuti variables is also at odds with the prediction of diffusion theory. We suggest that a viable alternative is that the metal enhancement could arise from accretion.

Acceptance Date Jan 13, 2015
Publication Date Feb 12, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Publisher Oxford University Press
Pages 1378 - 1388
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv076
Keywords stars, chemically peculiar, oscillations
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv076

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