| Stars and their 'good' vibrations |
| Conny Aerts |
|
Catholic University of Leuven
Belgium |
| High-precision photometric monitoring by space telescopes offered us an efficient tool to detect numerous oscillations in a variety of stars. Some of these oscillations are very good vibrations, in the sense that their observed properties allow us to derive how stars grow, age, rotate, and mix their material. In this talk we provide a basic introduction into asteroseismology for the non-expert. We discuss various types of oscillation modes and discuss their frequency ranges. We then move on to applications of space asteroseismology, focusing on results from 4-year Kepler light curves, gradually diving deeper into the stellar interior. We treat high-precision sizing, weighing, and ageing of stars throughout the Milky Way, derive the internal rotation of stars and try to unravel deep internal mixing inside stars with a convective core. We end with a future outlook for this booming research field of astrophysics, thanks to the ongoing NASA TESS and future ESA PLATO space missions. |