Deriving the structure of pre-supernovae and delta Scuti stars using nonradial oscillations
Abstract
This is the final report of a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective is to learn more about the internal structure of two classes of variable stars, by using the observational data afforded by their pulsation properties. The authors updated the one-dimensional computer codes to calculate the evolution and pulsation frequencies of representative delta Scuti and LBV models. They compared the observed pulsation properties with model predictions in an iterative process to find a model (or models) with interior structures that matched the observational constraints for several delta Scuti stars. They carried out nonlinear hydrodynamic modeling of LBV envelopes and proposed a mechanism for their periodic outbursts. Finally, they began validation of a two-dimensional stellar evolution code that will be used to investigate the effects of rotation and hydrodynamic instabilities on the interior structure of these stars.