A Procedure For Two-Dimensional Asymptotic Rotational-Splitting Inversion

Abstract

Rotational splitting Δω(n,l,m) of the eigenfrequencies of a star rotating with angular velocity Ω(r, θ) about a unique axis can be represented as a weighted integral of Ω over r and θ, (r, θ, φ) being spherical polar coordinates about the axis of rotation. For high-frequency acoustic modes, Δω/m collapses essentially to a function of ω — ω /(l+1/2) and M = m/(l + 1/2) alone, and the weighting kernel K(r,θ) becomes asymptotically degenerate, each factor being of essentially Abel type. Therefore, formally, the splitting integral can be inverted, once a procedure has been found for extending Δω over the domain of (ω, M) such that the turning points (r_t,ω_t), given by (c(r_t)/r_t, sinω_t) = (ω, M) where c is sound speed, span the star. Obtaining that representation is the most difficult stage of the inversion. We report on a procedure that treats the inverted two-dimensional Abel integral as a repeated double integral, representing the data successively along a set of parallel lines M =constant. The method is illustrated by an inversion of artificial data which is compared with the angular velocity from which those data were computed.