Asymmetry of oscillations in 43 Kepler stars

However, the line profiles of solar oscillations have been observed to be asymmetrical for the Sun. The physical origin of this line asymmetry is not fully understood; though, it should depend on the depth dependence of the source of wave excitation (convective turbulence) and details of the observable (velocity or intensity).

For oscillations of the Sun, it has been shown that neglecting the asymmetry leads to systematic errors in the frequency determination. This could subsequently affect the results of seismic inferences of the solar internal structure. Using light curves from the Kepler spacecraft, we have measured mode asymmetries in 43 stars.