Precision asteroseismology of the pulsating white dwarf GD 1212 using a two-wheel-controlled Kepler spacecraft

Bibliographic Details
Title: Precision asteroseismology of the pulsating white dwarf GD 1212 using a two-wheel-controlled Kepler spacecraft
Authors: Hermes, J. J., Charpinet, S., Barclay, Thomas, Pakstiene, E., Mullally, Fergal, Kawaler, Steven D., Bloemen, S., Castanheira, Barbara G., Winget, D. E., Montgomery, M. H., Van Grootel, V., Huber, Daniel, Still, Martin, Howell, Steve B., Caldwell, Douglas A., Haas, Michael R., Bryson, Stephen T.
Publication Year: 2014
Collection: Astrophysics
Subject Terms: Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
More Details: We present a preliminary analysis of the cool pulsating white dwarf GD 1212, enabled by more than 11.5 days of space-based photometry obtained during an engineering test of the two-reaction-wheel-controlled Kepler spacecraft. We detect at least 19 independent pulsation modes, ranging from 828.2-1220.8 s, and at least 17 nonlinear combination frequencies of those independent pulsations. Our longest uninterrupted light curve, 9.0 days in length, evidences coherent difference frequencies at periods inaccessible from the ground, up to 14.5 hr, the longest-period signals ever detected in a pulsating white dwarf. These results mark some of the first science to come from a two-wheel-controlled Kepler spacecraft, proving the capability for unprecedented discoveries afforded by extending Kepler observations to the ecliptic.
Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal
Document Type: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/85
Access URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/1405.3665
Accession Number: edsarx.1405.3665
Database: arXiv
More Details
DOI:10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/85