A NEW ANALYSIS OF THE TWO CLASSICAL ZZ CETI WHITE DWARFS GD 165 AND ROSS 548. II. SEISMIC MODELING

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present the second of a two-part seismic analysis of the bright, hot ZZ Ceti stars GD 165 and Ross 548. In this second part, we report the results of detailed searches in parameter space for identifying an optimal model for each star that can account well for the observed periods, while being consistent with the spectroscopic constraints derived in our first paper. We find optimal models for each target that reproduce the six observed periods well within ∼0.3% on the average. We also find that there is a sensitivity on the core composition for Ross 548, while there is practically none for GD 165. Our optimal model of Ross 548, with its thin envelope, indeed shows weight functions for some confined modes that extend relatively deep into the interior, thus explaining the sensitivity of the period spectrum on the core composition in that star. In contrast, our optimal seismic model of its spectroscopic sibling, GD 165 with its thick envelope, does not trap/confine modes very efficiently, and we find weight functions for all six observed modes that do not extend into the deep core, hence accounting for the lack of sensitivity in that case. Furthermore, we exploit after the fact the observed multiplet structure that we ascribe to rotation. We are able to map the rotation profile in GD 165 (Ross 548) over the outermost ∼20% (∼5%) of its radius, and we find that the profile is consistent with solid-body rotation.