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BRITE-Constellation high-precision time-dependent photometry of the early O-type supergiant zeta Puppis unveils the photospheric drivers of its small- and large-scale wind structures

  • From 5.5 months of dual-band optical photometric monitoring at the 1 mmag level, BRITE-Constellation has revealed two simultaneous types of variability in the O4I(n)fp star ζ Puppis: one single periodic non-sinusoidal component superimposed on a stochastic component. The monoperiodic component is the 1.78-d signal previously detected by Coriolis/Solar Mass Ejection Imager, but this time along with a prominent first harmonic. The shape of this signal changes over time, a behaviour that is incompatible with stellar oscillations but consistent with rotational modulation arising from evolving bright surface inhomogeneities. By means of a constrained non-linear light-curve inversion algorithm, we mapped the locations of the bright surface spots and traced their evolution. Our simultaneous ground-based multisite spectroscopic monitoring of the star unveiled cyclical modulation of its He ii λ4686 wind emission line with the 1.78-d rotation period, showing signatures of corotating interaction regions that turn out to be driven by the brightFrom 5.5 months of dual-band optical photometric monitoring at the 1 mmag level, BRITE-Constellation has revealed two simultaneous types of variability in the O4I(n)fp star ζ Puppis: one single periodic non-sinusoidal component superimposed on a stochastic component. The monoperiodic component is the 1.78-d signal previously detected by Coriolis/Solar Mass Ejection Imager, but this time along with a prominent first harmonic. The shape of this signal changes over time, a behaviour that is incompatible with stellar oscillations but consistent with rotational modulation arising from evolving bright surface inhomogeneities. By means of a constrained non-linear light-curve inversion algorithm, we mapped the locations of the bright surface spots and traced their evolution. Our simultaneous ground-based multisite spectroscopic monitoring of the star unveiled cyclical modulation of its He ii λ4686 wind emission line with the 1.78-d rotation period, showing signatures of corotating interaction regions that turn out to be driven by the bright photospheric spots observed by BRITE. Traces of wind clumps are also observed in the He ii λ4686 line and are correlated with the amplitudes of the stochastic component of the light variations probed by BRITE at the photosphere, suggesting that the BRITE observations additionally unveiled the photospheric drivers of wind clumps in ζ Pup and that the clumping phenomenon starts at the very base of the wind. The origins of both the bright surface inhomogeneities and the stochastic light variations remain unknown, but a subsurface convective zone might play an important role in the generation of these two types of photospheric variability.show moreshow less

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Author details:Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa, Anthony F. J. MoffatORCiD, Robert Harmon, R. IgnaceORCiDGND, Nicole St-LouisORCiD, Dany Vanbeveren, Tomer ShenarORCiDGND, Herbert Pablo, Noel D. RichardsonORCiD, Ian D. Howarth, Ian R. StevensORCiD, Caroline PiauletORCiD, Lucas St-Jean, Thomas EversbergGND, Andrzej PigulskiORCiD, Adam PopowiczORCiD, Rainer Kuschnig, Elzbieta Zoclonska, Bram Buysschaert, Gerald HandlerORCiD, Werner W. WeissORCiD, Gregg A. Wade, Slavek M. Rucinski, Konstanze ZwintzORCiDGND, Paul Luckas, Bernard Heathcote, Paulo CacellaORCiD, Jonathan PowlesORCiD, Malcolm Locke, Terry BohlsenORCiD, André-Nicolas ChenéORCiD, Brent MiszalskiORCiD, Wayne L. Waldron, Marissa M. KotzeORCiD, Enrico J. KotzeORCiD, Torsten BöhmORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2671
ISSN:0035-8711
ISSN:1365-2966
Title of parent work (English):Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher:Oxford Univ. Press
Place of publishing:Oxford
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Date of first publication:2017/10/13
Publication year:2018
Release date:2022/02/04
Tag:stars: massive; stars: rotation; stars: winds, outflows; starspots; supergiants; techniques: photometric; techniques: spectroscopic
Volume:473
Issue:4
Number of pages:38
First page:5532
Last Page:5569
Funding institution:Canadian Space Agency (CSA) grant FAST; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Fonds de Recherche du Quebec - Nature et Technologies; CSA; University of Toledo; Helen Luedtke Brooks Endowed Professorship; National Science Centre (NCN) [2016/21/B/ST9/01126, 2016/21/D/ST9/00656, 2015/18/A/ST9/00578]; Polish NCN [2011/01/M/ST9/05914]; NSERCNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Austrian Fonds zur Forderung derwissenschaftlichen ForschungAustrian Science Fund (FWF) [V431-NBL]; Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG); University of Vienna; Technical University of Graz; University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies; Foundation for Polish Science and Technology; European Research Council under the Research Council (ERC) [670519: MAMSIE]
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie
DDC classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 52 Astronomie / 520 Astronomie und zugeordnete Wissenschaften
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access / Green Open-Access
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