Accurate fundamental parameters and detailed abundance patterns from spectroscopy of 93 solar-type Kepler targets

Bruntt, H.; Basu, S.; Smalley, B.; Chaplin, W. J.; Verner, G. A.; Bedding, T. R.; Catala, C.; Gazzano, J.-C.; Molenda-Żakowicz, J.; Thygesen, A. O.; Uytterhoeven, K.; Hekker, S.; Huber, D.; Karoff, C.; Mathur, S.; Mosser, B.; Appourchaux, T.; Campante, T. L.; Elsworth, Y.; García, R. A.; Handberg, R.; Metcalfe, T. S.; Quirion, P.-O.; Régulo, C.; Roxburgh, I. W.; Stello, D.; Christensen-Dalsgaard, J.; Kawaler, S. D.; Kjeldsen, H.; Morris, R. L.; Quintana, E. V.; Sanderfer, D. T.
Bibliographical reference

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 423, Issue 1, pp. 122-131.

Advertised on:
6
2012
Number of authors
32
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
181
Refereed citations
166
Description
We present a detailed spectroscopic study of 93 solar-type stars that are targets of the NASA/Kepler mission and provide detailed chemical composition of each target. We find that the overall metallicity is well represented by Fe lines. Relative abundances of light elements (CNO) and α elements are generally higher for low-metallicity stars. Our spectroscopic analysis benefits from the accurately measured surface gravity from the asteroseismic analysis of the Kepler light curves. The accuracy on the log g parameter is better than 0.03 dex and is held fixed in the analysis. We compare our Teff determination with a recent colour calibration of VT-KS [TYCHO V magnitude minus Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) KS magnitude] and find very good agreement and a scatter of only 80 K, showing that for other nearby Kepler targets, this index can be used. The asteroseismic log g values agree very well with the classical determination using Fe I-Fe II balance, although we find a small systematic offset of 0.08 dex (asteroseismic log g values are lower). The abundance patterns of metals, α elements and the light elements (CNO) show that a simple scaling by [Fe/H] is adequate to represent the metallicity of the stars, except for the stars with metallicity below -0.3, where α-enhancement becomes important. However, this is only important for a very small fraction of the Kepler sample. We therefore recommend that a simple scaling with [Fe/H] be employed in the asteroseismic analyses of large ensembles of solar-type stars.
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Helio and Astero-Seismology and Exoplanets Search
The principal objectives of this project are: 1) to study the structure and dynamics of the solar interior, 2) to extend this study to other stars, 3) to search for extrasolar planets using photometric methods (primarily by transits of their host stars) and their characterization (using radial velocity information) and 4) the study of the planetary
Savita
Mathur