Some aspects of the theory of solar oscillations

Abstract

The study of nonradial oscillations of stars, based on the seminal work by Cowling half a century ago, is increasingly providing information about the interiors of stars. Observations of solar oscillations have led to detailed inferences about the structure and rotation of the solar interior. Nonradial oscillations have also been studied in white dwarfs and in rapidly oscillating Ap stars, and indications of solar-like oscillations have been detected in a few stars. Here I give an overview of some properties of nonradial oscillations, and discuss the diagnostic potential of low-degree modes for probing the core of the Sun and other stars. The observed solar frequencies appear to exclude several of the proposed solutions to the solar neutrino problem that involve modifications to solar models.