Our understanding of stars

Our understanding of stars has grown significantly due to recent advances in asteroseismology, the stellar analog of helioseismology, the study of the Sun's acoustic wave oscillations. Using ground-based and satellite observatories to measure the frequency spectra of starlight, researchers are able to probe beneath a star's surface and map its interior structure.

This volume provides a wide-ranging and up-to-date overview of the theoretical, experimental and analytical tools for carrying out front-line research in stellar physics using asteroseismological observations, tools and inferences.

Chapters from seven eminent scientists in residence at the twenty-second Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics examine the interior of our Sun relative to data collected from distant stars, how to measure the fundamental parameters of single field stars, diffusion processes, and the effects of rotation on stellar structures.

The volume also provides detailed treatments of modeling and computing programs, providing astronomers and graduate students a practical, methods-based guide.