20–27 Mar 2026
Wild View Resorts
Africa/Gaborone timezone

Seeing with Sound: Probing Stellar Interiors and Atmospheres through Asteroseismology

Not scheduled
20m
Wild View Resorts

Wild View Resorts

Plot 80 President Avenue, Kasane, Botswana
In-person - Poster Presentation 10 S&E poster Science & Engineering

Speaker

Getachew Mengistie (University of Zululand)

Description

The pulsating surfaces of stars, observed as minute oscillations in brightness due to its intrinsic behavior, provide a unique window into their otherwise hidden interiors. This field of asteroseismology allows us to effectively "see" stellar structure using the resonant sound waves acoustic p-modes that propagate within them. Driven by turbulent convection in the outer envelope, these waves travel through the stellar interior, refracting due to increasing sound speed, and forming a resonant cavity. The resulting oscillation frequencies are a direct probe of the star's internal physical conditions.

In addition, I will highlight how asteroseismology extends beyond the interior to characterize the stellar atmosphere. The oscillation modes are sensitive to the surface layers, allowing for precise measurements of surface gravity (log g) and enabling the calibration of stellar properties.

This talk will underscore how asteroseismology, has developed into an indispensable tool for stellar astrophysics. Further more, this talk provides the most robust method of derivation of photometric mode identification equations by analyzing the light outputs of non radially pulsating stars.

Stream Science or Engineering

Primary author

Getachew Mengistie (University of Zululand)

Presentation materials

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