Prospects for helio- and asteroseismology

Abstract

Major progress has been made in helio- and asteroseismology in recent years. In helioseismology, much of the activity has been in local helioseismology. However, the recent revision of solar surface abundances, and the resulting problems in reconciling solar models with the helioseismic inferences, have lead to renewed activity in solar modelling and global helioseismology. Interesting, although perhaps not compelling, evidence has been found for solar g modes in observations with the GOLF instrument on the SOHO spacecraft. Extensive asteroseismic results have been obtained from ground-based observations as well as from the WIRE and MOST satellites, and much is expected from the upcoming launch of the CoRoT satellite and, in a few years, from the Kepler mission. In parallel, stellar modelling is being extended to take some account of hydrodynamical effects, while large-scale hydrodynamical calculations are providing increasingly realistic simulations of these effects. The outcome of these activities will undoubtedly be a far better understanding of stellar internal properties and stellar evolution, together with an improved insight into the physics of matter under the extreme conditions found in stars.