Kepler and the RR Lyrae Stars

Katrien Kolenberg, CfA

The spectacular data delivered by NASA's Kepler mission have not only boosted the discovery of planets orbiting other stars, but they have opened a window on the inner workings of the stars themselves. For the study of the RR Lyrae stars, Kepler has provided a breakthrough. To date, over 40 RR Lyrae stars are known in the Kepler field. They are studied within the RR Lyrae/Cepheid working group of the Kepler Astroseismic Science Consortium (KASC).

I will present some of the most interesting results on RR Lyrae stars obtained through Kepler so far, as well as some of my own research on these pulsating stars.