Asteroseismology of pulsating stars

Abstract

The success of helioseismology is due to its capability of measuring p-mode oscillations in the Sun. This allows us to extract information on the internal structure and rotation of the Sun from the surface to the core. Similarly, asteroseismology is the study of the internal structure of the stars as derived from stellar oscillations. In this review we highlight the progress in the observational asteroseismology, including some basic theoretical aspects. In particular, we discuss our contributions to asteroseismology through the study of chemically peculiar stars under the ‘Nainital-Cape Survey’ project being conducted at ARIES, Nainital, since 1999. This survey aims to detect new rapidly-pulsating Ap (roAp) stars in the northern hemisphere. We also discuss the contribution of ARIES towards the asteroseismic study of the compact pulsating variables. We comment on the future prospects of our project in the light of the new optical 3.6-m telescope to be installed at Devasthal (ARIES). Finally, we present a preliminary optical design of the high-speed imaging photometers for this telescope.