Impact on asteroseismic analyses of regular gaps in Kepler data

García, R. A.; Mathur, S.; Pires, S.; Régulo, C.; Bellamy, B.; Pallé, P. L.; Ballot, J.; Barceló Forteza, S.; Beck, P. G.; Bedding, T. R.; Ceillier, T.; Roca Cortés, T.; Salabert, D.; Stello, D.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 568, id.A10, 8 pp.

Advertised on:
8
2014
Number of authors
14
IAC number of authors
4
Citations
116
Refereed citations
98
Description
Context. The NASA Kepler mission has observed more than 190 000 stars in the constellations of Cygnus and Lyra. Around 4 years of almost continuous ultra high-precision photometry have been obtained reaching a duty cycle higher than 90% for many of these stars. However, almost regular gaps due to nominal operations are present in the light curves on different time scales. Aims: In this paper we want to highlight the impact of those regular gaps in asteroseismic analyses, and we try to find a method that minimizes their effect on the frequency domain. Methods: To do so, we isolate the two main time scales of quasi regular gaps in the data. We then interpolate the gaps and compare the power density spectra of four different stars: two red giants at different stages of their evolution, a young F-type star, and a classical pulsator in the instability strip. Results: The spectra obtained after filling the gaps in the selected solar-like stars show a net reduction in the overall background level, as well as a change in the background parameters. The inferred convective properties could change as much as ~200% in the selected example, introducing a bias in the p-mode frequency of maximum power. When asteroseismic scaling relations are used, this bias can lead to a variation in the surface gravity of 0.05 dex. Finally, the oscillation spectrum in the classical pulsator is cleaner than the original one.
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Mathur