A photometric study of Slowly Pulsating B Stars.

We present the results of an extended photometric study of a sample of Slowly Pulsating B Stars (SPBs.) Our observations were made using the College of Charleston Automatic Photometric Telescope located at Fairborn Observatory in Washington Camp, AZ. We observed using the technique of differential photometry in the Stromgren system. SPBs are hot, young stars that pulsate in a complex, nonradial fashion. Because they were discovered only fairly recently, not much data is available on these nonradial pulsators, and the aim of this research is to obtain a better understanding of SPB stars. By analyzing the light variations, the pulsational frequencies can be determined. Comparison with theoretical models enables us to estimate the pulsational mode as well as some physical properties of the star. Our study includes the known SPBs HD138764, HD222555, and HD21071 and the candidate stars HD192660 and HD44112. For the known members we have found one or more frequencies in addition to those determined by previous research. As for the other two candidate stars, we have detected pulsational frequencies which in fact point to classification as an SPB star. In addition to frequency determination, we have also found approximate ages and masses of these stars. * Supported by NSF Grant ast-0071260 as well as funding from NASA under the South Carolina Space Grant program.