A New Catalog of 100,000 Variable TESS A-F Stars Reveals a Correlation between δ Scuti Pulsator Fraction and Stellar Rotation

Abstract

δ Scuti variables are found at the intersection of the classical instability strip and the main sequence on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. With space-based photometry providing millions of light curves of A-F type stars, we can now probe the occurrence rate of δ Scuti pulsations in detail. Using the 30 minutes cadence light curves from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite's first 26 sectors, we identify variability in 103,810 stars within 5–24 cycles per day down to a magnitude of T = 11.25. We fit the period–luminosity relation of the fundamental radial mode for δ Scuti stars in the Gaia G band, allowing us to distinguish classical pulsators from contaminants for a subset of 39,367 stars. Out of this subset, over 15,918 are found on or above the expected period–luminosity relation. We derive an empirical red edge to the classical instability strip using Gaia photometry. The center where the pulsator fraction peaks at 50%–70%, combined with the red edge, agrees well with previous work in the Kepler field. While many variable sources are found below the period–luminosity relation, over 85% of sources inside of the classical instability strip derived in this work are consistent with being δ Scuti stars. The remaining 15% of variables within the instability strip are likely hybrid or γ Doradus pulsators. Finally, we discover strong evidence for a correlation between pulsator fraction and spectral line broadening from the Radial Velocity Spectrometer on board the Gaia spacecraft, confirming that rotation has a role in driving pulsations in δ Scuti stars.