2025ApJS..281...17S -
Astrophys. J., Suppl. Ser., 281, 17 (2025/November-0)
Observational Properties of β Cephei Stars: 88 New Samples Discovered Based on TESS and Gaia Data.
SHI X.-D., QIAN S.-B., ZHU L.-Y., LI L.-J., ZHAO E.-G., MKRTICHIAN D., KHAMRAKULOV F. and LIN W.-X.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present a systematic investigation of β Cephei (BCEP) stars by integrating photometric data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) with astrometric parameters from Gaia Data Release 3. Utilizing TESS's short-cadence (SC) and full-frame image (FFI) photometry, along with Gaia parallaxes and temperatures derived from the Extended Stellar Parametrizer for Hot Stars pipeline, we identify 88 new BCEP stars and candidates-85 from SC data and three from SPOC-processed FFI observations. These targets exhibit visual magnitudes ranging from 8.0 to 12.0 mag, parallaxes between 0.11 and 1.74 mas, effective temperatures of 18,000-30,000 K, and luminosities from 1500-38,000 L⊙, consistent with previously cataloged BCEP populations, thereby demonstrating the robustness of our classification criteria. Key findings include: (1) a significant detection disparity between SC and FFI datasets, with 30% of SC targets exceeding 18,000 K compared to only 0.7% in FFI, reflecting observational biases toward high-luminosity, hotter stars in SC data; (2) four samples near the red edge of the theoretical instability strip, exhibiting sparse pulsation modes that are important samples for testing pulsation models under low-mass, low-temperature conditions; and (3) spatial clustering within the Galactic disk (∣b∣ < 20°), with two high-latitude outliers likely representing runaway stars ejected from disk environments. Our analysis underscores the critical role of space-based photometry in detecting low-amplitude pulsators and the transformative potential of multisurvey integration in the era of time-domain astronomy. These results provide new samples to constrain stellar pulsation theories of massive stars and to study Galactic dynamics.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Massive stars - Pulsating variable stars
Simbad objects:
95
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