A Weak Modulation Effect Detected in the Light Curves of KIC 5950759: Intrinsic or Instrumental Effect?

Abstract

In this paper, the high-precision light curves of the Kepler target KIC 5950759 are analyzed. The Fourier analysis of the long cadence (LC) light curve reveals three independent frequencies. Two of them are main pulsation modes: F0 = 14.221373(21) d −1 and F1 = 18.337249(44) d −1 . The third independent frequency, f m  = 0.3193 d −1 , is found in LC data with a signal-to-noise ratio of 6.2. A weak modulation of f m to F0 and F1 modes (triplet structures centered on F0 and F1) are detected both in long and short cadence data. This is the first detection of the modulation effect in a double-mode high-amplitude δ Scuti (HADS) star. The most possible cause of the modulation effect in the light curves is amplitude modulation with the star’s rotation frequency of 0.3193 d −1 . The preliminary analysis suggests that KIC 5950759 is in the bottom of the HADS instability strip and likely situated in the main sequence. Spectroscopic observations are necessary to verify the true nature of the modulation terms.