Solar and Stellar Physics
Follow the links for further information about ...
Overview
An understanding of the structure and evolution of stars is central to much of astrophysics. The importance of stellar astrophysics is evident in a broad range of areas. Stars are the 'clocks' with which to measure the age of stellar systems within our Galaxy, providing constraints on the ages of different stellar components and hence on structure, evolution and age of the Galaxy itself. They are used for calibrating age and distance measurements in the Universe on the largest scales. Stars are the sites of most of the chemical evolution in the Universe, elements being created and destroyed by nuclear burning in stellar interiors, and the processed material being subsequently ejected into the interstellar medium. Stars are also laboratories in which to study physical processes of importance both in stellar evolution and in other areas of astrophysics, such as convection, nucleosynthesis, mass loss and accretion, rotation and magnetic fields.
The Sun is uniquely valuable in our study of stars in that we can study it close up, observing many phenomena that surely also take place in other stars but which cannot be resolved because of the enormous distances between those stars and the Earth.
The Solar and Stellar Group benefits from close connections with Douglas Gough, who is a visiting Professor in the Unit, and from many ongoing research collaborations with colleagues around the world.
The Group has especial interests in: helioseismology and asteroseismology - the study of the interior of the Sun and other stars by using observations of their resonant oscillations; convection inside stars; stellar dynamos; stellar rotation; and more generally astrophysical fluid dynamics inside stars. Members of the group are active participants in various helioseismology and asteroseismology projects.
In helioseismology, we are closely involved in the Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG), a project to study the solar interior using a six-station network of telescopes which are located around the Earth to obtain nearly continuous observations of the Sun's 'five-minute' oscillations, and in the Solar Oscillations Investigation (SOI) using the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on board the SOHO satellite.
We are also involved in Guest Investigator programmes on the two other helioseismology instruments on board SOHO, namely the Global Oscillations at Low Frequencies (GOLF) and Variability of Solar Irradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) experiments.
We have close collaborative links with ground-based helioseismology projects IRIS, BiSON and ECHO/LOWL. Members of the group are also actively involved in various planned asteroseismology missions: the Danish mission Measuring Oscillations on Nearby Stars (MONS) and the French mission COnvection et la ROTation des intérieurs stellaires (COROT).
Interests:
- Structure and Evolution of Stars
- Helioseismology
- Asteroseismology
- Dynamo Models
- Convection in Stars
- The Sun