Solar-like oscillating stars as standard clocks and rulers for Galactic studies

TL;DR

This paper discusses how space-based observations of solar-like oscillating stars can serve as precise clocks and rulers, enabling advanced Galactic studies, while addressing current challenges and future prospects in this field.

Contribution

It reviews the current status and future potential of using asteroseismology of Sun-like and red-giant stars for Galactic research.

Findings

Detection of oscillations in hundreds of Sun-like stars

Identification of challenges in using stars as accurate clocks

Discussion of future prospects for ensemble asteroseismology

Abstract

The CoRoT and Kepler space missions have detected oscillations in hundreds of Sun-like stars and thousands of field red-giant stars. This has opened the door to a new era of stellar population studies in the Milky Way. We report on the current status and future prospects of harvesting space-based photometric data for ensemble asteroseismology, and highlight some of the challenges that need to be faced to use these stars as accurate clocks and rulers for Galactic studies.