Astrophysicists from the University of
Birmingham have captured the sounds of some of the oldest stars in our
galaxy, the Milky Way, according to research published today in
thejournal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The research team, from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, has reported the detection of resonant acoustic oscillations of stars in 'M4', one of the oldest known clusters of stars in the Galaxy, some 13 billion years old.
Using data from the NASA Kepler/K2 mission, the team has studied the resonant oscillations of stars using a technique called asteroseismology.
These oscillations lead to miniscule changes or pulses in brightness,
and are caused by sound trapped inside the stars. By measuring the tones
in this 'stellar music', it is possible to determine the mass and age
of individual stars. (You can listen to the sound of each star here.)
This discovery opens the door to using asteroseismology to study the very early history of our Galaxy.
Dr Andrea Miglio,
from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy,
who led the study, said: 'We were thrilled to be able to listen to some
of the stellar relics of the early universe. The stars we have studied
really are living fossils from the time of the formation of our Galaxy,
and we now hope be able to unlock the secrets of how spiral galaxies,
like our own, formed and evolved.'
Dr Guy Davies, from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics
and Astronomy, and co-author on the study, said: 'The age scale of stars
has so far been restricted to relatively young stars, limiting our
ability to probe the early history of our Galaxy. In this research we
have been able to prove that asteroseismology can give precise and
accurate ages for the oldest stars in the Galaxy '
Professor Bill Chaplin,
from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy and
leader of the international collaboration on asteroseismology, said:
'Just as archaeologists can reveal the past by excavating the earth, so
we can use sound inside the stars to perform Galactic archaeology.'
Further information
The new work appears in "Detection
of solar-like oscillations in relics of the Milky Way: asteroseismology
of K giants in M4 using data from the NASA K2 mission", A. Miglio,
W. J. Chaplin, K. Brogaard, M. N. Lund, B. Mosser, G. R. Davies, R.
Handberg, A. P. Milone, A. F. Marino, D. Bossini, Y. P. Elsworth, F.
Grundahl, T. Arentoft, L. R. Bedin, T. L. Campante, J. Jessen-Hansen, C.
D. Jones, J. S. Kuszlewicz, L. Malavolta, V. Nascimbeni and E. L.
Sandquist, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, in press.
Media contact
Harrison
Media Relations Manager
University of Birmingham
Tel: +44 (0)121 414 5134
Mob: +44 (0)7789 921163
l.harrison.1@bham.ac.uk
Science contact
Prof Andrea Miglio
University of Birmingham
miglioa@bison.ph.bham.ac.uk
Notes for editors
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Source: Royal Astronomical Society (RAS)
