Probing populations of red giants in the galactic disk with CoRoT

Context. The detection with CoRoT of solar-like oscillations in nearly 800 red giants in the first 150-days long observational run paves the way for detailed studies of populations of galactic-disk red giants. Aims. We investigate which information on the observed population can be recovered by the distribution of the observed seismic constraints: the frequency of maximum oscillation power (nu(max)) and the large frequency separation (Delta nu). Methods. We propose to use the observed distribution of nu(max) and of Delta nu as a tool for investigating the properties of galactic red-giant stars through comparison with simulated distributions based on synthetic stellar populations. Results. We can clearly identify the bulk of the red giants observed by CoRoT as red-clump stars, i.e. post-flash core-He-burning stars. The distribution of nu(max) and of Delta nu gives us access to the distribution of the stellar radius and mass, and thus represent a most promising probe of the age and star formation rate of the disk, and of the mass-loss rate during the red-giant branch. Conclusions. CoRoT observations are supplying seismic constraints for the most populated class of He-burning stars in the galactic disk. This opens a new access gate to probing the properties of red-giant stars that, coupled with classical observations, promises to extend our knowledge of these advanced phases of stellar evolution and to add relevant constraints to models of composite stellar populations in the Galaxy.