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Concept
Semiregular variable star
Summary
In astronomy, a semiregular variable star, a type of variable star, is a giant or supergiant of intermediate and late (cooler) spectral type showing considerable periodicity in its light changes, accompanied or sometimes interrupted by various irregularities. Periods lie in the range from 20 to more than 2000 days, while the shapes of the light curves may be rather different and variable with each cycle. The amplitudes may be from several hundredths to several magnitudes (usually 1-2 magnitudes in the V filter).
The semiregular variable stars have been sub-divided into four categories for many decades, with a fifth related group defined more recently. The original definitions of the four main groups were formalised in 1958 at the tenth general assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) has updated the definitions with some additional information and provided newer reference stars where old examples such as S Vul have been re-classified.
The semiregular variable stars, particularly the SRa and SRb sub-classes, are often grouped with the Mira variables under the long-period variable heading. In other situations, the term is expanded to cover almost all cool pulsating stars. The semi-regular giant stars are closely related to the Mira variables: Mira stars generally pulsate in the fundamental mode; semiregular giants pulsate in one or more overtones.
Photometric studies in the Large Magellanic Cloud looking for gravitational microlensing events have shown that essentially all cool evolved stars are variable, with the coolest stars showing very large amplitudes and warmer stars showing only micro-variations. The semiregular variable stars fall on one of five main period-luminosity relationship sequences identified, differing from the Mira variables only in pulsating in an overtone mode. The closely related OSARG (OGLE small amplitude red giant) variables pulsate in an unknown mode.
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