asteroseismology
Sign in to savethumb|Different oscillation modes have different sensitivities to the structure of a star. By observing multiple modes, one can therefore partially infer a star's internal structure. Asteroseismology is the study of oscillations in stars. Stars have many resonant modes and frequencies, and the path of sound waves passing through a star depends on the local speed of sound, which in turn depends on local temperature and chemical composition. Because the resulting oscillation modes are sensitive to different parts of the star, they inform astronomers about the internal structure of the star, whic
Article
20 sectionsContents
- Theoretical background
- Excitation mechanisms
- Kappa-mechanism
- Surface convection
- Convective blocking
- Tidal excitation
- Types of oscillators
- Solar-like oscillators
- Cepheid variables
- RR Lyrae variables
- Delta Scuti and Gamma Doradus stars
- Rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars
- Slowly pulsating B stars and Beta Cephei variables
- Variable subdwarf B stars
- White dwarfs
- Space missions
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- Software
thumb|Different oscillation modes have different sensitivities to the structure of a star. By observing multiple modes, one can therefore partially infer a star's internal structure. Asteroseismology is the study of oscillations in stars. Stars have many resonant modes and frequencies, and the path of sound waves passing through a star depends on the local speed of sound, which in turn depends on local temperature and chemical composition. Because the resulting oscillation modes are sensitive to different parts of the star, they inform astronomers about the internal structure of the star, which is otherwise not directly possible from overall properties like brightness and surface temperature.
Asteroseismology is closely related to helioseismology, the study of stellar pulsation specifically in the Sun. Though both are based on the same underlying physics, more and qualitatively different information is available for the Sun because its surface can be resolved.