Asteroseismic and orbital analysis of the triple star system HD 188753 observed by Kepler

Abstract

Context. The NASA Kepler space telescope has detected solar-like oscillations in several hundreds of single stars, thereby providing a way to determine precise stellar parameters using asteroseismology. Aims. In this work, we aim to derive the fundamental parameters of a close triple star system, HD 188753, for which asteroseismic and astrometric observations allow independent measurements of stellar masses. Methods. We used six months of Kepler photometry available for HD 188753 to detect the oscillation envelopes of the two brightest stars. For each star, we extracted the individual mode frequencies by fitting the power spectrum using a maximum likelihood estimation approach. We then derived initial guesses of the stellar masses and ages based on two seismic parameters and on a characteristic frequency ratio, and modelled the two components independently with the stellar evolution code CESTAM. In addition, we derived the masses of the three stars by applying a Bayesian analysis to the position and radial-velocity measurements of the system. Results. Based on stellar modelling, the mean common age of the system is 10.8 ± 0.2 Gyr and the masses of the two seismic components are MA = 0.99 ± 0.01 M⊙ and MBa = 0.86 ± 0.01 M⊙. From the mass ratio of the close pair, MBb/MBa = 0.767 ± 0.006, the mass of the faintest star is MBb = 0.66 ± 0.01 M⊙ and the total seismic mass of the system is then Msyst = 2.51 ± 0.02 M⊙. This value agrees perfectly with the total mass derived from our orbital analysis, Msyst = 2.51−0.18+0.20 M⊙, and leads to the best current estimate of the parallax for the system, π = 21.9 ± 0.2 mas. In addition, the minimal relative inclination between the inner and outer orbits is 10.9° ± 1.5°, implying that the system does not have a coplanar configuration.