Journal
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Volume 658, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
EDP SCIENCES S A
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202142375
Keywords
asteroseismology; stars: early-type; stars: oscillations; stars: massive; instrumentation: spectrographs
Categories
Funding
- Belgian federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) through the in-orbit demonstration ESA General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) programme of the European Space Agency
- NASA [NAS5-26555]
- NASA Office of Space Science [NAG5-7584]
- NASA Explorer Program
- Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) [12ZB620N, G0H5416N]
- KU Leuven Research Council [C16/18/005]
- BELgian federal Science Policy O ffice (BELSPO) through PRODEX grant PLATO
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This study aimed to search for pulsating massive stars suitable for the CubeSpec mission, specifically beta Cep stars. By combining literature research and analysis of photometric data from the TESS mission, 23 promising beta Cep stars were identified.
Context. There is currently a niche for providing high-cadence, high resolution, time-series optical spectroscopy from space, which can be filled by using a low-cost cubesat mission. The Belgian-led ESA/KU Leuven CubeSpec mission is specifically designed to provide space-based, low-cost spectroscopy with specific capabilities that can be optimised for a particular science need. Approved as an ESA in-orbit demonstrator, the CubeSpec satellite's primary science objective will be to focus on obtaining high-cadence, high resolution optical spectroscopic data to facilitate asteroseismology of pulsating massive stars. Aims. In this first paper, we aim to search for pulsating massive stars suitable for the CubeSpec mission, specifically beta Cep stars, which typically require time-series spectroscopy to identify the geometry of their pulsation modes. Methods. Based on the science requirements needed to enable asteroseismology of massive stars with the capabilities of CubeSpec's spectrograph, we combined a literature study for pulsation with the analysis of recent high-cadence time-series photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission to classify the variability for stars brighter than V <= 4 mag and between O9 and B3 in spectral type. Results. Among the 90 stars that meet our magnitude and spectral type requirements, we identified 23 promising beta Cep stars with high-amplitude (non-)radial pulsation modes with frequencies below 7 d(-1). Using further constraints on projected rotational velocities, pulsation amplitudes, and the number of pulsation modes, we devised a prioritised target list for the CubeSpec mission according to its science requirements and the potential of the targets for asteroseismology. The full target catalogue further provides a modern TESS-based review of line profile and photometric variability properties among bright O9-B3 stars.
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