Is Delta Scuti Star Seismology Possible?

Abstract

The direct fit of theoretical pulsation frequencies to the observations (i.e. stellar seismology) proved to be a very efficient tool in the study of solar oscillations. In the case of other multiperiodic variables, like δ Scuti stars, Ap stars and white dwarfs the method suffers from the disturbing abundance of possible nonradial modes. Colour and/or radial velocity (or line profile) measurements can narrow down the number of possibilities, but these kinds of data are not often available with the desired accuracy and sampling rate. Since pulsational frequencies are the most readily and accurately computed and measured quantities of pulsation, we address the question of the accurate fit of the nonradial pulsation frequencies to the observations in the case of δ Scuti stars.