An international team, including scientists from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has validated a new method to determine stellar mass using seismic waves. This marks a significant advancement in astrophysics.
For the first time, an old star was "weighed" using two independent methods, with results showing remarkable precision. This convergence is crucial for determining stellar mass and age, improving our understanding of the Milky Way's evolution.
The study, published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, focused on a red giant star in the binary system KIC 10001167. The team used orbital motion analysis and asteroseismology to estimate the star's mass. The Kepler satellite provided data on brightness variations, while the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) measured radial velocity variations.
The orbital mechanics, a powerful tool for measuring stellar masses, is well-described by classical gravity theory. Asteroseismology reveals the internal structure of stars, allowing comparison with evolutionary models to derive parameters like mass. The results from both techniques converged with less than a 1.4% difference, enabling the star's age to be estimated with 10% precision.
This is the first time that a stellar mass measurement derived from asteroseismology has been verified with another independent determination based on orbital dynamics, achieving sufficient precision to confirm its reliability. This breakthrough offers new insights into stellar evolution and the history of our galaxy.