Deeper Dive
My project is in the field of asteroseismology, which studies the interiors of stars through analyzing their pulsations. I was motivated to pursue this project because of the recent discovery of a new class of star in a binary system, known as the “tidally tilted pulsator” (TTP). This class of star is particularly valuable because it pulsates about a tilted axis, and as this axis spins around, observers have a unique full view of the pulsation behavior. In my project, I analyzed stars in search of a TTP. I discovered a TTP that was groundbreaking for reasons beyond its tidal properties and found that it actually exhibited pulsations around three, distinct, orthogonal axes, making it the first-ever triaxial pulsator to be discovered.
There were many challenges in conducting this project, particularly in finding a TTP. In my quest to find one, I scanned through sectors of 2000 stars, with an eye for interesting sources. At first, when I started my search, I did not have a strong intuition for the types of features to look for, and often chose sources for the wrong reasons. For instance, I selected some sources because I noticed a “bump” in lower frequencies of their frequency spectrum, but I later realized that those frequencies were a result of flux variations related to the star’s orbit rather than genuine pulsations. However, through these many failed attempts and conversations with my group, particularly Professor Saul Rappaport and Mr. Rahul Jayaraman, I built a strong intuition for the characteristics I should look for in the sources, including high-frequency pulsations and short periods. Their support and guidance motivated me to persevere through the setbacks of conducting research.
My discovery of the first-ever triaxial pulsator motivates a fundamental redefining of stellar astrophysics. Stellar pulsation frequency models that are crucial to predicting the interior structure of stars do not currently consider the possibility of a star exhibiting pulsations about three distinct, orthogonal axes. Thus, this star contradicts assumptions that underpin fundamental models of not just asteroseismology but also the entire field of stellar astrophysics. This star also contributes to understanding of the effects of the gravitational fields of a companion on a star’s pulsations, specifically on how pulsation axes are tilted.