Pulsational instability in B-type supergiant stars

Abstract

We present results of the instability analysis of the post-main sequence massive star models against radial and nonradial pulsations. We confirm that both p- and g-modes can be excited by the $\kappa$-mechanism acting in the metal opacity bump. However, as opposed to the previous claims, we find that an intermediate convective zone (ICZ) related to the hydrogen burning shell is not necessary for excitation of g-modes. These modes can be reflected at a minimum of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, located at the top of the chemical composition gradient region surrounding the radiative helium core. This minimum is associated with the change of actual temperature gradient from the adiabatic value in the semiconvective zone to the radiative value above it. Thus, the existence of pulsations at this evolutionary stage does not prove the existence of the convective zone but only some reflective layer. Finally, we show that no regular patterns can be expected in oscillation spectra of blue supergiant pulsators but there is a prospect for identification of the mode degree, $\ell$, from multicolour photometry.

accepted for publication in MNRAS, 8 pages, 9 figures

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• Revising the evolutionary stage of HD 163899: the effects of convective overshooting and rotation
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