Solar Variability: Modeling and Helioseismic Studies

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

This effort focuses on the underlying physical causes of the Sun's radiative variability using helioseismic information as input to the equations of stellar structure. The tasks include, (1) the construction of solar models with differing magnetic field configurations, (2) the analysis of Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) and Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) data to monitor helioseismic signatures of solar variability, (3) checking whether the models constructed under the first task satisfy these helioseismic constraints, (4) determining additional inputs necessary to improve the models which fare poorly in this comparison, and (5) developing two-dimensional stellar structure models capable of incorporating magnetic fields in a consistent, and non-perturbative fashion.