Asteroseismology for the Masses

Abstract

For many years, astronomers interested in white dwarf stars have promised that the study of these relatively simple compact objects would ultimately lead to useful information about the physics under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. We are finally ready to make good on that promise. Using the observational techniques of the Whole Earth Telescope developed over the past decade, and a new analytical method only recently made feasible by the availability of fast inexpensive computers, we demonstrate that meaningful constraints can now be made on the rates of important nuclear fusion reactions which cannot presently be measured in the laboratory.