Acoustic wave reflection by stellar cores: can it be seen in the autocorrelation function of p-mode measurements?

Ian W. Roxburgh (1, 2, 3) , Sergei Vorontsov (1)

1 School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary Unversity of London
2 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
3 Pôle Astronomie du LESIA

The rapid variation of density with depth in a stellar core can distort acoustic wave propagation in stellar interiors, producing a reflected wave. The reflectivity can come from a rapid density change at the boundary of a convective core, or from the steep gradients established in a radiative core during chemical evolution. We analyse this wave reflection within the framework of wave scattering theory, and address the question of the detectability of the reflected wave in the autocorrelation function of stellar p-mode measurements.

Domaines: Astrophysique [astro-ph]; Planète et Univers [physics]

Ian W. Roxburgh, Sergei Vorontsov. Acoustic wave reflection by stellar cores: can it be seen in the autocorrelation function of p-mode measurements?. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2007, 379, pp.801-806. ⟨10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11979.x⟩. ⟨hal-03730549⟩