Gerald Handler
We report the discovery of pulsations in the N-rich PG 1159-type central star of the planetary nebula Kn 61 based on one month of Kepler Short Cadence observations. We detect four significant peaks in the frequency range consistent with…
We present the discovery of 52 eclipsing quadruple star candidates detected in TESS Full Frame Image eleanor data by machine learning and citizen scientists. The uniformly-vetted and -validated targets exhibit two sets of eclipses following…
HD 60435 is a well-known rapidly oscillating (roAp) Ap star with a series of alternating even and odd degree modes, making it a prime asteroseismic target. It is also an oblique pulsator with rotational inclination, $i$, and…
Stars in close binaries are tidally distorted, and this has a strong effect on their pulsation modes. We compute the mode frequencies and geometries of tidally distorted stars using perturbation theory, accounting for the effects of the…
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has enabled the discovery of numerous tidally tilted pulsators (TTPs), which are pulsating stars in close binaries where the presence of a tidal bulge has the effect of tilting the primary…
Significant advances have been achieved through the latest improvements in the photometric observations accomplished by the recent space missions, substantially boosting the study of pulsating stars via asteroseismology. The TESS mission…
The combined strength of asteroseismology and empirical stellar basic parameter determinations for in-depth asteroseismic analysis of massive pulsators in eclipsing binaries shows great potential for treating the challenging and mysterious…
We have discovered a $\delta$ Scuti pulsator in a tight binary (P = 1.053 d) with nine pulsation modes whose frequencies are between 38 and 56 d$^{-1}$. Each of these modes exhibits amplitude modulations and $\pi$-rad phase shifts twice per…
We present the results of new time series photometric observations of 29 pre-white dwarf stars of PG 1159 spectral type, carried out in the years 2014-2022. For the majority of stars, a median noise level in Fourier amplitude spectra of…
Massive stars are progenitors of supernovae, neutron stars and black holes. During the hydrogen-core burning phase their convective cores are the prime drivers of their evolution, but inferences of core masses are subject to unconstrained…
Using TESS 20-sec cadence data, we have discovered an unusual combination of pulsating stars in what we infer to be a binary system. The binary consists of a standard $\delta$ Scuti star with pulsations over the range 32-41 d$^{-1}$; this…
The tidally tilted pulsators are a new type of oscillating star in close binary systems that have their pulsation axis in the orbital plane because of the tidal distortion caused by their companion. We describe this group of stars on the…
Tidally tilted pulsators (TTPs) are an intriguing new class of oscillating stars in binary systems; in such stars, the pulsation axis coincides with the line of apsides, or semi-major axis, of the binary. All three TTPs discovered so far…
We present two new rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars, TIC 198781841 and TIC 229960986, discovered in TESS photometric data. The periodogram of TIC 198781841 has a large peak at 166.506 d$^{-1}$ (1.93 mHz), with two nearby peaks at 163.412…
Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are massive stars that are likely to be a transitionary phase between O stars and hydrogen-free classical Wolf-Rayet stars. The variability of these stars has been an area of study for both professional and…
We review recent research on Delta Scuti stars from an observer's viewpoint. First, some signposts helping to lead the way through the Delta Scuti jungle are placed. Then, some problems in studying individual pulsators in the framework of…
Up to 98% of all single stars will eventually become white dwarfs - stars that link the history and future evolution of the Galaxy, and whose previous evolution is engraved in their interiors. Those interiors can be studied using…
During the last two years we have received long time-series photometric observations of bright (V mag < 8) main-sequence A- and B-type stars observed by the NASA TESS spacecraft and the Austria-Poland-Canada BRITE satellites. Using TESS…
PV Tel variables are extreme helium (EHe) stars known to be intrinsic light and velocity variable on characteristic timescales 0.1 - 2 d. With two exceptions, they are best described as irregular. Light curves have invariably been obtained…
Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions that occur on the surfaces of white dwarf stars in interacting binary systems (Bode & Evans 2008). It has long been thought that the luminosity of classical novae is powered by continued nuclear…