New β Cep pulsators discovered with K2 space photometry

We present the discovery of three new beta Cep pulsators, three new pulsators with frequency groupings, and frequency patterns in a B3Ib star, all of which show pulsations with frequencies as high as about 17 d(-1), with K2 space mission photometry. Based on a Fourier analysis and iterative pre-whitening, we present a classification and evaluate the potential for asteroseismic modelling. We include the lists of pulsation frequencies for three new beta Cep pulsators, CD-28 12286, CD-27 10876, LS 3978, and additional pulsation mode frequencies for the known beta Cep pulsator HD 164741. In addition, we characterize the regular frequency spacing found in the new pulsator HD 169173, and discuss its origin. We place the newly discovered variables in a colour-magnitude diagram using parallaxes from Gaia DR2 (second data release), showcasing their approximate location in the massive star domain. The identified frequency lists of these multiperiodic pulsators are a good starting point for future forward seismic modelling, after identification of at least one pulsation frequency from high-resolution time-series spectroscopy and/or multicolour photometry.