First-overtone Mode Research Articles

A Parameter Study of 1D Atmospheric Models of Pulsating AGB Stars

Using the atmospheric pulsation code written by George Bowen, we have performed a parameter study examining the effects of modifying various parameters of models of oxygen-rich AGB atmospheres pulsating in the fundamental and first-overtone modes. For each pulsation mode, we have examined the effects of adjusting the dust condensation temperature, dust condensation temperature range, pulsation amplitude, dust opacity, and metallicity. Our model grids are generated with the constraint that their luminosities are chosen to span the range of observed mass loss rates at a chosen mass. The dust condensation temperature, pulsation amplitude, and dust opacity have strong effects on the ultimate location and shape of the final model grids in the mass luminosity plane. The mass loss rate evolution of the fundamental and first-overtone mode models show a significant difference in behavior. While the fundamental mode models exhibit the typically assumed power–law relation with mass and luminosity, the first-overtone mode models show significant non-power law behavior at observed mass loss rates. Effectively, models in the first-overtone mode require somewhat higher luminosities to reach the same mass loss rates seen in fundamental mode models of the same mass, consistent with observed AGB stars.

Non-evolutionary effects on period change in Magellanic Cepheids

Context. Period change studies offer a novel way to probe the evolution and dynamics of Cepheids. While evolutionary period changes have been well studied both observationally and theoretically, non-evolutionary period changes lack a systematic and quantitative description. Here, we deal with one such aspect of non-evolutionary period changes related to a crucial property, namely, the binarity-based nature of a Cepheid. With the advent of long-term photometry surveys covering Magellanic fields, the census of classical Cepheids in binary (or multiple) systems outside the Milky Way is timely. This may have implications for crucial aspects such as the period-luminosity relationship calibrations and our understanding of the nature of Cepheid companions. Aims. The overall objective is to have a quantitative understanding of the full picture of non-evolutionary period changes in Cepheids to develop a formalism to disentangle it from the secular evolutionary period change. In the first paper in the series, we aim to conduct a systematic search for non-evolutionary period changes to look for Cepheids in likely binary configurations and quantify their incidence rates in the Magellanic Clouds. Methods. We collected more than a decade-long time-series photometry from the publicly available, Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) survey, with more than 7200 Cepheids altogether from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Our sample contains both fundamental-mode and first-overtone mode Cepheids. Then, we calculate d the observed minus calculated (O–C) diagrams to reveal the light-travel time effect (LTTE). Finally, we calculated the minimum companion masses of the Cepheids and compared them with the predictions from Cepheid population synthesis results. Results. In our search, out of an overall sample of more than 7200 Cepheids, we found 52 candidate Cepheid binary systems in the LMC (30 fundamental and 22 first-overtone mode) and 145 in the SMC (85 fundamental and 60 first-overtone mode). The majority of the sample is characterized by orbital periods of 2000–4000 d and eccentricities of 0.2–0.5. Moreover, we report two candidates in each galaxy with the Cepheid likely existing with a giant companion. The incidence rate ratio for SMC to LMC calculated from our sample is in agreement with binary Cepheid population synthesis predictions. Conclusions. In our attempt to quantify the non-evolutionary period change connected with the LTTE, our systematic search has enriched the Cepheid binary sample by a factor of about 2 in both galaxies. The future spectroscopic follow-up can confirm the binarity nature of our sample and constrain the orbital parameters.

Cepheid Metallicity in the Leavitt Law (C-MetaLL) survey

Context. The highly debated effect of metallicity on the absolute magnitudes of classical Cepheid variables needs to be properly quantified for determining accurate and precise distances based on their Leavitt Law. Aims. Our goal is to obtain homogeneous optical and near-infrared light curves of Milky Way Cepheid variables complementing their already collected high-resolution spectroscopic metallicities as part of the C-MetaLL survey. Together with Gaia parallaxes, we investigate period-luminosity-metallicity relations for Cepheid variables at multiple wavelengths. Methods. We present homogeneous multiband (grizJHKs) time-series observations of 78 Cepheids including 49 fundamental mode variables and 29 first-overtone mode variables. These observations were collected simultaneously using the ROS2 and REMIR instruments at the Rapid Eye Mount telescope. Multiwavelength photometric data were used to investigate pulsation properties of Cepheid variables and derive their period–luminosity (PL) and period–Wesenheit (PW) relations. Results. The Cepheid sample covers a large range of distances (0.5 − 19.7 kpc) with varying precision of parallaxes, and thus astrometry-based luminosity fits were used to derive PL and PW relations in optical Sloan (griz) and near-infrared (JHKs) filters. These empirically calibrated relations exhibit large scatter primarily due to larger uncertainties in parallaxes of distant Cepheids, but their slopes agree well with those previously determined in the literature. Using homogeneous high-resolution spectroscopic metallicities of 61 Cepheids covering −1.1 < [Fe/H] < 0.6 dex, we quantified the metallicity dependence of PL and PW relations which varies between −0.30 ± 0.11 (in Ks) and −0.55 ± 0.12 (in z) mag dex−1 in grizJHKs bands. However, the metallicity dependence in the residuals of the PL and PW relations is predominantly seen for metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] < −0.3 dex), which also have larger parallax uncertainties. The modest sample size precludes us from separating the contribution to the residuals due to parallax uncertainties, metallicity effects, and reddening errors. While this Cepheid sample is not optimal for calibrating the Leavitt law, upcoming photometric and spectroscopic datasets of the C-MetaLL survey will allow the accurate derivation of PL and PW relations in the Sloan and near-infrared bandpasses, which will be useful for the distance measurements in the era of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time and upcoming extremely large telescopes.

The evolutionary stage of Betelgeuse inferred from its pulsation periods

Abstract Betelgeuse is a well known bright red supergiant that shows semi-regular variations with four approximate periods of 2200, 420, 230, and 185 days. While the longest period was customarily regarded as LSP (long secondary period) of unknown origin, we identify the ∼2200-d period as the radial fundamental mode, and the three shorter periods as the radial first, second, and third overtones. From a linear nonadiabatic pulsation analysis including the pulsation/convection coupling, we have found that these radial pulsation modes are all excited in the envelope of a model in a late stage of the core-carbon burning. Models with similar pulsation property have masses of 11 ∼ 12 M⊙ (19 M⊙ at ZAMS) with luminosities (log L/L⊙ = 5.27 ∼ 5.28) and effective temperatures (log Teff ≈ 3.53) that are consistent with the range of the observational determinations. We also find that a synthetic light curve obtained by adding the fundamental and the first-overtone mode is comparable with the light curve of Betelgeuse up to the Great Dimming. We conclude that Betelgeuse is likely in the late stage of core carbon burning, and a good candidate for the next Galactic Type II supernova.

Anomalous Cepheids: Updated Theoretical Period–Luminosity–Color and Period–Wesenheit Relations

AbstractIn the context of a project aimed to provide an updated theoretical scenario for various classes of radially pulsating stars, we present the first results obtained for anomalous Cepheids. By adopting reliable and updated evolutionary prescriptions concerning the luminosity levels for various core He-burning stellar models with masses suitable for entering the instability strip, we have computed nonlinear convective pulsation models for both fundamental and first-overtone mode anomalous Cepheids by exploring the impact of varying the metal abundance as well as the efficiency of super-adiabatic convection. These numerical simulations have allowed us to retrieve the boundaries of the instability strip and all relevant pulsation properties, namely period, amplitude, bolometric light and radial velocity curves. This theoretical scenario has been transformed into the Gaia photometric system to derive the first theoretical Period–Luminosity–Colour and Period–Wesenheit relations in the Gaia bands.

Dependence of Pulsation Mode of Cepheids on Metallicity

Abstract The Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the Milky Way, M33, and M31 are used to examine the dependence of pulsation mode on metallicity, which was previously found in red supergiants. The initial samples of Cepheids are collected from the Cepheid catalogs identified from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, PS1, DIRECT, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, and Zwicky Transient Facility surveys. The contaminants are removed with the help of the Gaia/EDR3 astrometric information for extra galaxies or by comparing the geometric distance and the distance from the P–L relation for the Milky Way. The division of fundamental (FU) and first-overtone (1O) modes is refined according to the gap between the two modes in the P–L diagram of the objects in each galaxy. The ratio of FU/(FU+1O) is found to be 0.59, 0.60, 0.69, 0.83, and 0.85 for the SMC, the LMC, the Milky Way, M33, and M31, respectively, in order of metallicity, which confirms that the pulsation mode depends on metallicity in the way that the ratio of FU/(FU+1O) increases with metallicity. This dependence is not changed if the incompleteness of the samples is taken into account.

Non-radial modes in classical Cepheids: what to look for in spectroscopy?

ABSTRACT Recent photometric observations of first-overtone classical Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars have led to the discovery of additional frequencies showing a characteristic period ratio of 0.60–0.65 with the main pulsation mode. In a promising model proposed by Dziembowski (2016), these signals are suggested to be due to the excitation of non-radial modes with degrees 7, 8, and 9 (Cepheids) or 8 and 9 (RR Lyrae). Such modes usually have low amplitudes in photometric data. Spectroscopic time series offer an unexplored and promising way forward. We simulated time series of synthetic line profiles for a representative first-overtone classical Cepheid model and added a low-amplitude non-radial mode. We studied sets of spectra with dense sampling and without noise, so-called ’perfect’ cases, as well as more realistic samplings and signal-to-noise levels. Besides the first-overtone mode and the non-radial mode, also the harmonics of both modes and combination signals were often detected, but a sufficiently high sampling and signal-to-noise ratio prove essential. The amplitudes of the non-radial mode and its harmonic depend on the azimuthal order m. The inclination is also an important factor determining the detectability of the non-radial mode and/or its harmonic. We compared the results obtained for the predicted high degrees with those for lower-degree modes. Finally, we studied the sampling requirements for detecting the non-radial mode. Our findings can be used to plan a spectroscopic observing campaign tailored to uncover the nature of these mysterious modes.

RR Lyrae Variables in Messier 53: Near-infrared Period–Luminosity Relations and the Calibration Using Gaia Early Data Release 3

Abstract We present new near-infrared, JHK s , period–luminosity relations (PLRs) for RR Lyrae variables in the Messier 53 (M53 or NGC 5024) globular cluster. Multi-epoch JHK s observations, obtained with the WIRCam instrument on the 3.6 m Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, are used for the first time to estimate precise mean magnitudes for 63 RR Lyrae stars in M53 including 29 fundamental-mode (RRab) and 34 first-overtone mode (RRc) variables. The JHK s -band PLRs for RR Lyrae stars are best constrained for RRab types with a minimal scatter of 22, 23, and 19 mmag, respectively. The combined sample of RR Lyrae is used to derive the K s -band PLR, K s = − 2.303 ( 0.063 ) log P + 15.212 ( 0.016 ) , exhibiting a 1σ dispersion of only 0.027 mag. Theoretical period–luminosity–metallicity (PLZ) relations are used to predict parallaxes for 400 Galactic RR Lyrae, resulting in a median parallax zero-point offset of −7 ± 3 μas in Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3), which increases to 22 ± 2 μas if the parallax corrections are applied. We also estimate a robust distance modulus, μ M53 = 16.403 ± 0.024 (statistical) ± 0.033 (systematic) mag, to M53 based on theoretical calibrations. Homogeneous and precise mean magnitudes for RR Lyrae in M53 together with similar literature data for M3, M4, M5, and ω Cen are used to empirically calibrate a new RR Lyrae PLZ K s relation, K s = − 0.848 ( 0.007 ) − 2.320 ( 0.006 ) log P + 0.166 ( 0.011 ) [ Fe / H ] , anchored with Gaia EDR3 distances and theoretically predicted relations, and to simultaneously estimate precise RR Lyrae-based distances to these globular clusters.

Resonant absorption of kink MHD waves in inclined and asymmetric coronal loops

ABSTRACT This paper separately evaluates the effects of inclination and asymmetry of solar coronal loops on the resonant absorption of kink magnetohydrodynamic oscillations. We modelled a typical coronal loop by a straight and axisymmetric cylindrical magnetic flux tube filled with cold plasma. We solved the dispersion relation numerically for different values of the longitudinal mass density stratification. We show that, in inclined and asymmetric loops, the frequencies and their corresponding damping rates of the fundamental and first-overtone modes of kink oscillations are smaller in comparison with semi-circular uninclined loops with the same lengths. The results also indicate that, the period ratio P1/P2, increases with increasing the inclination of the loop, but it decreases less than $2{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ while imposing the asymmetry to each loop side, up to $9.66{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the loop length. The ratio of each mode frequency to its corresponding damping rate remain unchanged approximately while the inclination or the asymmetry imposed. Hence, we conclude that these ratios are reliable for inferring the physical parameters of coronal loops and coronal medium, regardless of the loop shape or the state of its inclination. In addition, in contrast with the effect of asymmetry, which is not significant on the period ratio P1/P2, when an observed oscillating loop has a smaller apex height, the state of its inclination is an important factor that should be considered, especially when the period ratio P1/P2, is taken into consideration for coronal seismology.

Reddening map and recent star formation in the Magellanic Clouds based on OGLE IV Cepheids

Context. The reddening maps of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are constructed using the Cepheid period–luminosity (P–L) relations. Aims. We examine reddening distribution across the LMC and SMC through large data sets on classical Cepheids provided by the OGLE Phase IV survey. We also investigate the age and spatio-temporal distributions of Cepheids to understand the recent star formation history in the LMC and SMC. Methods. The V and I band photometric data of 2476 fundamental mode (FU) and 1775 first overtone mode (FO) Cepheids in the LMC, and 2753 FU and 1793 FO Cepheids in the SMC were analysed for their P–L relations. We converted the period of FO Cepheids to the corresponding period of FU Cepheids before combining the two modes of Cepheids. Both galaxies were divided into small segments and combined FU and FO P–L diagrams were drawn in two bands for each segment. The reddening analysis was performed on 133 segments covering a total area of about 154.6 deg2 in the LMC and 136 segments covering a total area of about 31.3 deg2 in the SMC. By comparison with well-calibrated P–L relations of these two galaxies, we determined reddening E(V − I) in each segment and equivalent reddening E(B − V) assuming the normal extinction law. The period–age relations were used to derive the age of the Cepheids. Results. Reddening maps were constructed using reddening values in different segments across the LMC and SMC. We find clumpy structures in the reddening distributions of the LMC and SMC. From the reddening map of the LMC, highest reddening of E(V − I) = 0.466 mag is traced in the region centred at α ∼ 85.°13, δ ∼ −69.°34 which is in close vicinity of the star forming HII region 30 Doradus. In the SMC, maximum reddening of E(V − I) = 0.189 mag is detected in the region centred at α ∼ 12.°10, δ ∼ −73.°07. The mean reddening values in the LMC and SMC are estimated as E(V − I)LMC = 0.113 ± 0.060 mag, E(B − V)LMC = 0.091 ± 0.050 mag, E(V − I)SMC = 0.049 ± 0.070 mag, and E(B − V)SMC = 0.038 ± 0.053 mag. Conclusions. The LMC reddening map displays heterogeneous distribution having small reddening in the central region and higher reddening towards the eastern side of the LMC bar. The SMC has relatively small reddening in its peripheral regions but larger reddening towards the south-west region. In these galaxies, we see evidence of a common enhanced Cepheid population at around 200 Myr ago which appears to have occurred due to a close encounter between the two clouds.

A NEW GENERATION OF PARSEC-COLIBRI STELLAR ISOCHRONES INCLUDING THE TP-AGB PHASE

Abstract We introduce a new generation of PARSEC–COLIBRI stellar isochrones that includes a detailed treatment of the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase, covering a wide range of initial metallicities (0.0001 < Z i < 0.06). Compared to previous releases, the main novelties and improvements are use of new TP-AGB tracks and related atmosphere models and spectra for M and C-type stars; inclusion of the surface H+He+CNO abundances in the isochrone tables, accounting for the effects of diffusion, dredge-up episodes and hot-bottom burning; inclusion of complete thermal pulse cycles, with a complete description of the in-cycle changes in the stellar parameters; new pulsation models to describe the long-period variability in the fundamental and first-overtone modes; and new dust models that follow the growth of the grains during the AGB evolution, in combination with radiative transfer calculations for the reprocessing of the photospheric emission. Overall, these improvements are expected to lead to a more consistent and detailed description of properties of TP-AGB stars expected in resolved stellar populations, especially in regard to their mean photometric properties from optical to mid-infrared wavelengths. We illustrate the expected numbers of TP-AGB stars of different types in stellar populations covering a wide range of ages and initial metallicities, providing further details on the “C-star island” that appears at intermediate values of age and metallicity, and about the AGB-boosting effect that occurs at ages close to 1.6-Gyr for populations of all metallicities. The isochrones are available through a new dedicated web server.

Peculiar double-periodic pulsation in RR Lyrae stars of the OGLE collection – II. Short-period stars with a dominant radial fundamental mode

We report the discovery of a new group of double-periodic stars in the OGLE Galactic bulge photometry. In 38 stars identified as fundamental-mode RR Lyrae and four classified as first-overtone RR Lyrae, we detected an additional shorter periodicity. The periods of the dominant variability in the newly discovered group are 0.28 < PD < 0.41 d. Period ratios (0.68–0.72) are smaller than the period ratios of the Galactic bulge RRd stars. The typical amplitude ratio (of the additional to the dominant periodicity) is 20 per cent for the stars identified as fundamental-mode RR Lyrae and 50 per cent for stars classified as first-overtone RR Lyrae. 10 stars from our sample exhibit equidistant peaks in the frequency spectrum, which suggests the Blazhko-type modulation of the main pulsation frequency and/or additional periodicity. The Fourier coefficients R21 and R31 are some of the lowest among fundamental-mode RR Lyrae stars, but among the highest for the first-overtone pulsators. For the phase Fourier coefficients φ21 and φ31, our stars lie between RRab and RRc stars. The stars discussed were compared with radial linear pulsation models. Their position in the Petersen diagram cannot be reproduced by assuming that two radial modes are excited and their physical parameters are like those characteristic of RR Lyrae stars. The non-radial-mode scenario also faces difficulties. We conclude that the dominant variability is most likely due to pulsation in the radial fundamental mode, which applies to stars classified as first-overtone mode pulsators. At this point, we cannot explain the nature of the additional periodicity. Even more, the classification of the stars as RR Lyrae should be treated as tentative.

Anomalous double-mode RR Lyrae stars in the Magellanic Clouds

We report the discovery of a new subclass of double-mode RR Lyrae stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The sample of 22 pulsating stars have been extracted from the latest edition of the OGLE collection of RR Lyrae variables in the Magellanic System. The stars pulsating simultaneously in the fundamental (F) and first-overtone (1O) modes have distinctly different properties than regular double-mode RR Lyrae variables (RRd stars). The $P_{1O}/P_F$ period ratios of our anomalous RRd stars are within a range 0.725-0.738, while "classical" double-mode RR Lyrae variables have period ratios in the range 0.742-0.748. In contrast to the typical RRd stars, in the majority of the anomalous pulsators the F-mode amplitudes are higher than the 1O-mode amplitudes. The light curves associated with the F-mode in the anomalous RRd stars show different morphology than the light curves of, both, regular RRd stars and single-mode RRab stars. Most of the anomalous double-mode stars show long-term modulations of the amplitudes (Blazhko-like effect). Translating the period ratios into the abundance parameter, Z, we find for our stars Z in the range (0.002,0.005) - an order of magnitude higher values than typical for RR Lyrae stars. The mass range of the RRd stars inferred from the $W_I$ vs. $P_F$ diagram is (0.55-0.75) of the solar mass. These parameters cannot be accounted for with single star evolution assuming a Reimers-like mass loss. Much greater mass loss caused by interaction with other stars is postulated. We blame the peculiar pulsation properties of our stars to the parametric resonance instability of the 1O-mode to excitation of the F- and 2O-modes as with the inferred parameters of the stars $2\omega_{\rm 1O}\approx\omega_{\rm F}+\omega_{\rm 2O}$.

Period–Luminosity relations derived from the OGLE-III first-overtone mode Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds

We present multi-band Period-Luminosity (PL) relations for first-overtone mode Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We derive optical band PL relations and the Wesenheit function using $VI$ mean magnitudes from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) survey. We cross-match OGLE-III first-overtone mode Cepheids to the 2MASS and SAGE-SMC catalogs to derive PL relations at near-infrared ($JHK_s$) and mid-infrared ($3.6~\&~4.5\mu\mathrm{m}$) wavelengths. We test for possible non-linearities in these PL relations using robust statistical tests and find a significant break only in the optical-band PL relations at 2.5 days for first-overtone mode Cepheids. We do not find statistical evidence for a non-linearity in these PL relations at 1 day. The multi-band PL relations for fundamental-mode Cepheids in the SMC also exhibit a break at 2.5 days. We suggest that the period break around 2.5 days is related to sharp changes in the light curve parameters for SMC Cepheids. We also derive new optical and mid-infrared band PL relations for first-overtone mode Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We compare multi-band PL relations for first-overtone mode Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds and find a significant difference in the slope of the $V$-band PL relations but not for $I$-band PL relations. The slope of PL relations are found to be consistent in most of the infrared bands. A relative distance modulus of $\Delta\mu=0.49\pm0.02$~mag between the two clouds is estimated using multi-band PL relations for the first-overtone mode Cepheids in the SMC and LMC.

Large Magellanic Cloud Near-Infrared Synoptic Survey – III. A statistical study of non-linearity in the Leavitt Laws

We present a detailed statistical analysis of possible non-linearities in the Period-Luminosity (P-L), Period-Wesenheit (P-W) and Period-Color (P-C) relations for Cepheid variables in the LMC at optical ($VI$) and near-infrared ($JHK_{s}$) wavelengths. We test for the presence of possible non-linearities and determine their statistical significance by applying a variety of robust statistical tests ($F$-test, Random-Walk, Testimator and the Davies test) to optical data from OGLE III and near-infrared data from LMCNISS. For fundamental-mode Cepheids, we find that the optical P-L, P-W and P-C relations are non-linear at 10 days. The near-infrared P-L and the $W^H_{V,I}$ relations are non-linear around 18 days; this break is attributed to a distinct variation in mean Fourier amplitude parameters near this period for longer wavelengths as compared to optical bands. The near-infrared P-W relations are also non-linear except for the $W_{H,K_s}$ relation. For first-overtone mode Cepheids, a significant change in the slope of P-L, P-W and P-C relations is found around 2.5 days only at optical wavelengths. We determine a global slope of $\textrm{-}3.212\pm0.013$ for the $W^H_{V,I}$ relation by combining our LMC data with observations of Cepheids in Supernovae host galaxies \citep{riess11}. We find this slope to be consistent with the corresponding LMC relation at short periods, and significantly different to the long-period value. We do not find any significant difference in the slope of the global-fit solution using a linear or non-linear LMC P-L relation as calibrator, but the linear version provides a $2\times$ better constraint on the slope and metallicity coefficient.

RR Lyrae mode switching in globular cluster M 68 (NGC 4590)

We build on our detailed analysis of time-series observations of the globular cluster M 68 to investigate the irregular pulsational behaviour of four of the RR Lyrae stars in this cluster. M 68 is one of only two globular clusters in which mode-switching of RR Lyrae stars has previously been reported, and we discuss one additional case, as well as a case of irregular behaviour, and we briefly revisit the two previously reported cases with a homogeneous analysis. We find that in 2013, V45 was pulsating in the first-overtone mode only, despite being previously reported as a double-mode (fundamental and first overtone) pulsator in 1994, and that the amplitude of the fundamental mode in V7 is increasing with time. We also suggest that V21 might not have switched pulsation modes as previously reported, although the first overtone seems to be becoming less dominant. Finally, our analysis of available archival data confirms that V33 lost a pulsation mode between 1950 and 1986.

New SX Phe variables in the globular cluster NGC 288★

We report the discovery of two new variable stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 288, found by means of time-series CCD photometry. We classified the new variables as SX Phoenicis due to their characteristic fundamental mode periods (1.02 +- 0.01 and 0.69 +- 0.01 hours), and refine the period estimates for other six known variables. SX Phe stars are known to follow a well-defined Period-Luminosity (P-L) relation and, thus, can be used for determining distances; they are more numerous than RR Lyraes in NGC~288. We obtain the P-L relation for the fundamental mode M_V = (-2.59 +- 0.18) log P_0(d) + (-0.34 +- 0.24) and for the first-overtone mode M_V = (-2.59 +- 0.18) log P_1(d) + (0.50 +- 0.25). Multi-chromatic isochrone fits to our UBV color-magnitude diagrams, based on the Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Database, provide <[Fe/H]> = -1.3 +- 0.1, E(B-V) = 0.02 +- 0.01 and absolute distance modulus (m-M)0 = 14.72 +- 0.01 for NGC 288.

PULSATION MODES OF LONG-PERIOD VARIABLES IN THE PERIOD-LUMINOSITY PLANE

We present a phenomenological analysis of long-period variables (LPVs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud with the aim of detecting pulsation modes associated to different period-luminosity (PL) relations. Among brighter LPVs we discover a group of triple-mode semiregular variables with the fundamental, first overtone and second overtone modes simultaneously excited, which fall on PL sequences C, C' and B, respectively. The mode identification in the fainter red giants is more complicated. We demonstrate that the fundamental-mode pulsators partly overlap with the first-overtone modes. We show a possible range of fundamental mode and first overtone periods in the PL diagram.

METAL ABUNDANCES, RADIAL VELOCITIES, AND OTHER PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS FOR THE RR LYRAE STARS IN THEKEPLERFIELD

Spectroscopic iron-to-hydrogen ratios, radial velocities, atmospheric parameters, and new photometric analyses are presented for 41 RR Lyrae stars (and one probable high-amplitude δ Sct star) located in the field-of-view of the Kepler space telescope. Thirty-seven of the RR Lyrae stars are fundamental-mode pulsators (i.e., RRab stars) of which sixteen exhibit the Blazhko effect. Four of the stars are multiperiodic RRc pulsators oscillating primarily in the first-overtone mode. Spectroscopic [Fe/H] values for the 34 stars for which we were able to derive estimates range from −2.54 ± 0.13 (NR Lyr) to −0.05 ± 0.13 dex (V784 Cyg), and for the 19 Kepler-field non-Blazhko stars studied by Nemec et al. the abundances agree will with their photometric [Fe/H] values. Four non-Blazhko RR Lyrae stars that they identified as metal-rich (KIC 6100702, V2470 Cyg, V782 Cyg and V784 Cyg) are confirmed as such, and four additional stars (V839 Cyg, KIC 5520878, KIC 8832417, KIC 3868420) are also shown here to be metal-rich. Five of the non-Blazhko RRab stars are found to be more metal-rich than [Fe/H] ∼−0.9 dex while all of the 16 Blazhko stars are more metal-poor than this value. New P––[Fe/H] relationships are derived based on ∼970 days of quasi-continuous high-precision Q0–Q11 long- and short-cadence Kepler photometry. With the exception of some Blazhko stars, the spectroscopic and photometric [Fe/H] values are in good agreement. Several stars with unique photometric characteristics are identified, including a Blazhko variable with the smallest known amplitude and frequency modulations (V838 Cyg).

Resonantly damped oscillations of elliptically shaped stratified emerging coronal loops

The effects of both elliptical shape and stage of emergence of the coronal loop on the resonant absorption of standing kink oscillations are studied. To do so, a typical coronal loop is modeled as a zero-beta longitudinally stratified cylindrical magnetic flux tube. We developed the connection formulae for the resonant absorption of standing transversal oscillations of a coronal loop with an elliptical shape, at various stages of its emergence. Using the connection formulae, the dispersion relation is derived and solved numerically to obtain the frequencies and damping rates of the fundamental and first-overtone kink modes. Our numerical results show that both the elliptical shape and stage of emergence of the loop alter the frequencies and damping rates of the tube as well as the ratio of frequencies of the fundamental and its first-overtone modes. However, the ratio of the oscillation frequency to the damping rate is not affected by the tube shape and stage of its emergence and also is independent of the density stratification parameter.