Probing the interior physics of stars through asteroseismology. (arXiv:1912.12300v1 [astro-ph.SR])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Aerts_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. Aerts</a>
Years-long high-precision brightness measurements assembled with telescopes
operating in space have become available for thousands of stars. Such data made
it possible to measure the physics of stellar interiors via nonradial
oscillations, opening a new avenue to study the stars in the Universe.
Asteroseismology, the interpretation of the characteristics of oscillation
modes in terms of the physical properties of the stellar interior, brought
entirely new insights in how stars rotate and how they build up their chemistry
throughout their evolution. We discuss how data-driven space asteroseismology
has allowed us to improve our knowledge of stellar physics. This delivered a
drastic increase in the reliability of computer models mimicking the evolution
of stars born with a variety of masses and metalicities. Such models are
critical ingredients for modern physics as a whole, because they are used
throughout various contemporary and multidisciplinary research fields in space
science, including the search for life outside the solar system, archeological
studies of the Milky Way, and supernova explosions of single and binary stars,
among which future gravitational wave sources. We illustrate the specific role
and potential of asteroseismology for those modern research fields. We end with
current limitations of asteroseismology and highlight how they can be overcome
with ongoing and future large infrastructures for survey astronomy combined
with new theoretical research in the era of high-performance computing. This
review presents some of the results obtained thanks to major community efforts
over the past decade. These breakthroughs were achieved in a collaborative and
inclusive spirit so characteristic of the asteroseismology community. The aim
was to write it in a way so as to make this research field well accessible.
Years-long high-precision brightness measurements assembled with telescopes
operating in space have become available for thousands of stars. Such data made
it possible to measure the physics of stellar interiors via nonradial
oscillations, opening a new avenue to study the stars in the Universe.
Asteroseismology, the interpretation of the characteristics of oscillation
modes in terms of the physical properties of the stellar interior, brought
entirely new insights in how stars rotate and how they build up their chemistry
throughout their evolution. We discuss how data-driven space asteroseismology
has allowed us to improve our knowledge of stellar physics. This delivered a
drastic increase in the reliability of computer models mimicking the evolution
of stars born with a variety of masses and metalicities. Such models are
critical ingredients for modern physics as a whole, because they are used
throughout various contemporary and multidisciplinary research fields in space
science, including the search for life outside the solar system, archeological
studies of the Milky Way, and supernova explosions of single and binary stars,
among which future gravitational wave sources. We illustrate the specific role
and potential of asteroseismology for those modern research fields. We end with
current limitations of asteroseismology and highlight how they can be overcome
with ongoing and future large infrastructures for survey astronomy combined
with new theoretical research in the era of high-performance computing. This
review presents some of the results obtained thanks to major community efforts
over the past decade. These breakthroughs were achieved in a collaborative and
inclusive spirit so characteristic of the asteroseismology community. The aim
was to write it in a way so as to make this research field well accessible.
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