What Can the Light Element Tracers (Li, Be, B) Tell Us About Stellar Interiors (and Cosmology)?
Prof. Constantine Deliyannis
Astronomy Department
Indiana University, Bloomington
Helioseismology strongly supports the Standard Solar Model, yet the current surface solar lithium (Li) abundance is about a factor of 50 lower than that predicted by this model, betraying a secret past life that our Sun has led. In fact, nearly all stars exhibit lower surface Li abundances than predicted by standard theory. I will discuss how these Li abundances, together with surface stellar Be and B abundances inform us about physical processes occurring inside stars that are not included in standard theory, such as rotationally-induced mixing, diffusion, and mass loss. I will point out implications for testing Big Bang Theory when trying to determine the primordial Li abundance from Li observations in the oldest stars.
Hosted by Prof. Mathews
All interested persons are invited to attend remotely—email physics@nd.edu for information.