The autocorrelation function of stellar p-mode measurements and its diagnostic properties

Abstract

The basic properties of acoustic wave propagation in stellar interiors can be analysed from the autocorrelation function (ACF) of intensity (or velocity) observations without measuring the resonant p-mode frequencies. We show how the strength of acoustic wave refraction in the stellar core, or forward acoustic amplitude, can be measured from a modulation in the ACF. This is the basic physical quantity which governs the so-called 'small frequency separations', and its measurement from the ACF can be used for determining the small frequency separations when the data is of insufficient quality for a reliable identification of the stellar p-mode frequencies. © 2006 RAS.