A Theoretical Study of Acoustic Glitches in Low-Mass Main-Sequence Stars

A region of sharp variation in the sound speed inside a star--known as
acoustic glitch--leave a
characteristic signature on the oscillation frequencies of the star.
Such signatures on the oscillation
frequencies can be used to determine the extent of envelope convection
zone, location of helium ionization
zone, and the amount of helium present in the envelope of the star. In
this presentation,
I shall talk about the results that we get from a theoretical study of
the acoustic glitches in the models of low-mass
main-sequence stars. Particularly, I shall talk about the origin of
the signature from the helium ionization
zone glitch, and the ranges of mass and age in which they can be used
to study the stellar
interior most reliably.