Interferometric and seismic constraints on the roAp star alpha Cir

We present new constraints on the rapidly oscillating Ap star alpha Cir, derived from a combination of interferometric and photometric data obtained with the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) and the WIRE satellite. The highlights of our study are:

1. The first determination of the angular diameter of an roAp star.
2. A nearly model-independent determination of the effective temperature of alpha Cir, which is found to be lower than previously estimated values.
3. Detection of two new oscillation frequencies allowing a determination of the large separation of alpha Cir. Based on this new information, we have computed non-magnetic and magnetic models for alpha Cir. We show that the value of the observed large separation found from the new data agrees well with that derived from theoretical models. Moreover, we also show how the magnetic field may explain some of the anomalies seen in the oscillation spectrum and how these in turn provide constraints on the magnitude and topology of the magnetic field.