Princeton University Thunch Talk

Stellar multiplicity is the norm and stellar interactions are common. However, stars which have experienced mass transfer or merger often appear superficially similar or even identical to isolated stars. Asteroseismology provides an avenue for recognizing stellar merger remnants by identifying unusual internal structures which single stellar evolution cannot make. I show that red giants which engulf close main-sequence companions on the red giant branch can have conspicuous mismatches between their asteroseismic masses and g-mode period spacings. Furthermore, I show that the mergers of cataclysmic variables may account for an observed population of asteroseismically identified undermassive red clump stars, and may also produce significantly over-inflated, carbon-rich core helium burning stars.