Abstract
The increasing central concentration of the Sun with age modifies the acoustic eigenfrequencies. In particular, the frequency separation d l =3(2l+3)−1〈v n,l −v n−1,l+2〉 for modes with l + 1/2 ≪ n decreases as nuclear reactions augment the molecular-weight gradient in the energy-generating core. If, for example, the Sun were older than is generally believed, one might therefore expect d l to be smaller than current theoretical predictions. On the other hand, to ensure that the luminosity is consistent with observations, the presumed initial hydrogen abundance would need to be enhanced, thereby reducing the resultant molecular-weight gradient. Thus there is some degree of cancellation of the two major factors that determine d l .
Various authors have either reported directly on the sensitivity of d l , or have provided the information from which it can be calculated. We have added our own computations. There is broad agreement amongst the results: d l diminishes with the presumed age of the Sun at the rate of about 1 μHz per Gy for l = 0; the magnitude of the rate appears to decline with increasing l.
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Gough, D.O., Novotny, E. Sensitivity of solar eigenfrequencies to the age of the sun. Sol Phys 128, 143–160 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00154154
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00154154