ENEAS: The European network of excellence in asteroseismology

Abstract

Asteroseismology is one of the major important science topics in astrophysics in the coming decade. Several recent breakthroughs have indeed been made in Europe in this field. The observational data will improve significantly in the near future, as upgraded ground-based instruments are being built and two European asteroseismic space missions are planned for launch between 2005 and 2008. They will provide us for the first time with ultra-high-accuracy, high-temporal resolution data from space for stars other than the Sun. A successful asteroseismic study involves many different steps, from state-of-the-art raw data treatment to theoretical physical modelling of the oscillation frequencies. Our network is set up to meet the needs of combining and exchanging the different expertises of the participating institutes, of training PhD students and of both training and exchanging post-doctoral researchers. This will guarantee the most fruitful and efficient exploitation of the very substantial investments that are being made in Europe in future observations of stellar oscillations, strengthening Europe's leading position in this research field. Also, it will be a test-bed for the development of efficient procedures for collaboration across the internet, involving a vast range of procedures and skills, as well as extensive common use of a broad variety of data. Furthermore, procedures will be incorporated for the joint training of students, which is an essential part of our project.