Helioseismology at Birmingham and Queen Mary

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The Sun is a touchstone for stellar astrophysics. It is an anchor for studies of the internal physics, structure and dynamics of other stars. Understanding what drives the observed changes to its activity and emissions is not only of crucial importance to solar-terrestrial relations, but also has wider relevance to studies of the influence that other stars have on their local environments, with the obvious implications for habitability of detected exoplanets. Prominent among recent solar research are studies of solar activity, which has its origins in processes taking place in the solar interior. The most recent activity Cycle 24 has shown levels of activity that are unprecedentedly low in the era of modern telescope and satellite observations. As we move into the new Cycle 25, helioseismology has an important role to play in understanding not only the internal drivers for these changes, but also how long lasting they might be. We will track the seismic behaviour of the Sun through the rise of the next solar cycle, using the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON). We will mine these data and data from other ground-based and space-borne helioseismic instruments, to isolate and extract signatures of structural and dynamic changes in the solar interior. We will compare the seismic behaviour of the Sun in four successive solar minima; and study the rotation of the deep solar interior to better understand the dynamic evolution of the Sun.We will also utilize resolved-Sun data from satellites and the ground-based GONG network to monitor the development of near-surface flow patterns as we head into Cycle 25, which provide important information on how the Sun's activity is changing.