Is the Blazhko effect the beating of a near-resonant double-mode pulsation?

Abstract

In this paper it is shown that the Blazhko effect may result from a near-resonant type of multi-mode pulsation, where two (or sometimes more) periodic oscillations with slightly different frequencies gradually slip in phase, producing a beat frequency type of modulation. Typically one of these oscillations is strongly non-sinusoidal. Two oscillations are sufficient for the standard Blazhko effect; additional oscillations are needed to explain multi-frequency modulation. Previous work on this hypothesis by Arthur N. Cox and others is extended in this paper by developing a simple (non-hydro) model that can accurately reproduce several important features found in Kepler data for RR Lyr, including the pulsation waveform, the upper and lower Blazhko envelope functions and the motion, disappearance and reappearance of the bump feature. The non-sinusoidal oscillation is probably generated by the fundamental mode and the other oscillations are probably generated by nonradial modes. This model provides an explanation for the strong asymmetry observed in the side peak spectra of most RR Lyrae stars. The motion and disappearance of the bump feature are shown to be an illusion, just an artifact of combining the oscillations. V445 Lyr is presented as an example with dual modulation. The mysterious double-maxima waveform observed for this star is explained, providing additional strong evidence that this beating-modes hypothesis is correct. Problems with other recent explanations of the Blazhko effect are discussed in some detail.

arXiv commentACCEPTED for Publication in ApJ. Important changes since first version: Emphasizes the double-maxima waveform of V445 Lyr as strong evidence for the paper's hypothesis; Discussion of Blazhko models now includes the ninth overtone model, the shock model and the Stothers model; Discusses rotational splitting model of Nowakowski & Dziembowski as a variant of current model

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• An observer's view on the future of asteroseismology
• On the Interactive-Beating-Modes Model: Generation of Asymmetric Multiplet Structures and Explanation of the Blazhko Effect