Constraints on the opacity profile of the sun from helioseismic observables and solar neutrino flux measurements

TL;DR

This paper investigates how variations in solar opacity and composition affect observable properties of the sun, using a linear model to connect opacity changes with helioseismic and neutrino data, addressing the solar composition problem.

Contribution

It introduces a linear approach to relate opacity variations to solar observables and provides new constraints on solar opacity and composition from helioseismic and neutrino measurements.

Findings

Opacity kernels quantify how opacity changes influence observables.

Helioseismic and neutrino data constrain solar opacity variations.

The study offers insights into the solar composition problem.

Abstract

Motivated by the solar composition problem and by using the recently developed Linear Solar Model approach, we analyze the role of opacity and metals in the sun. After a brief discussion of the relation between the effects produced by a variation of composition and those produced by a modification of the radiative opacity, we calculate numerically the opacity kernels that, in a linear approximation, relate an arbitrary opacity variation to the corresponding modification of the solar observable properties. We use these opacity kernels to discuss the present constraints on opacity (and composition) provided by helioseismic and solar neutrino data.