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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
In stars which pulsate in more than one mode, be it acoustic or gravity modes, radial or non-radial, we have a chance to study the interior structure by use of seismic techniques. Generally the greater the number of modes observable the greater the chances will be to obtain valuable direct information about the stellar interior not accessible by any other technique.
The observational problem of acquiring high quality data divides the stars where seismic techniques can be applied into two groups: A group of stars with intensity amplitudes in the range of millimagnitudes and the stars with very small amplitudes around 10 μmagnitudes or less. The first group contains the white dwarfs, the rapidly oscillating Ap stars, the δ-Scuti stars and the β-Cephei stars. The modes are excited directly or indirectly by some form of к-mechanism due to an opacity source which vary from class to class. The second group is made up of stars with outer convective envelopes which generate acoustic noise that may excite resonant modes, often a very large number.
This paper is a discussion of the possibilities for observing these stars with ground based techniques, and also a statement about what can not be done from the ground.