Stellar Seismology

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My research is primarily directed toward understanding how stars work by analyzing the harmonic structure of sound waves that bounce around their interiors. The sound waves are not heard but seen. As a sound wave travels through the interior of a star it causes the material of the star to oscillate up and down into warmer and cooler regions of the star. The changes in temperature of the material can be seen on the surface of a star as minute variations in the star's brightness. From the brightness fluctuations, we can deduce the frequency and amplitude of the sound waves, which, in turn, can be used to build a picture of what is going on inside the star. Our methods are in many ways similar to the techniques used by seismologists to map out the composition of the interior of the earth using the vibrations produced by earthquakes.