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The Kepler space mission sheds a new light on variable A- and F-type stars

Abstract

The Kepler spacecraft is providing photometric time series with micromagnitude precision for thousands of variable stars. The continuous time-series of unprecedented timespan open up the opportunity to study the pulsational variability in much more detail than was previously possible from the ground. We present a first general characterization of the variability of A-F type stars as observed in the Kepler light curves of a sample of 750 candidate variable A-F type stars, and investigate the relation between gamma Doradus, delta Scuti, and hybrid stars. Our results suggest a revision of the current observational instability strips, and imply an investigation of pulsation mechanisms to drive hybrid pulsations.