Asteroseismology of Solar-Type and Red-Giant Stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews how asteroseismology, enabled by space missions like Kepler and CoRoT, provides new insights into stellar interiors, evolution, and their broader implications for astronomy.

Contribution

It summarizes recent advances in asteroseismology of solar-type and red-giant stars, highlighting the significance of space-based observations for stellar physics.

Findings

Rich spectra of solar-like oscillations observed in target stars

Enhanced understanding of stellar evolution and interior physics

Implications for stellar populations and exoplanet research

Abstract

We are entering a golden era for stellar physics driven by satellite and telescope observations of unprecedented quality and scope. New insights on stellar evolution and stellar interiors physics are being made possible by asteroseismology, the study of stars by the observation of natural, resonant oscillations. Asteroseismology is proving to be particularly significant for the study of solar-type and red-giant stars. These stars show rich spectra of solar-like oscillations, which are excited and intrinsically damped by turbulence in the outermost layers of the convective envelopes. In this review we discuss the current state of the field, with a particular emphasis on recent advances provided by the Kepler and CoRoT space missions and the wider significance to astronomy of the results from asteroseismology, such as stellar populations studies and exoplanet studies.