Dr. Metcalfe is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Asteroseismology provides a unique opportunity to probe the internal structure of pulsating stars, by matching the observed oscillation frequencies with stellar models. Several current and planned satellite missions will soon yield observations of revolutionary quality for dozens of Sun-like stars. Deriving reliable seismological constraints from these data will require a significant improvement in our analysis methods. Dr. Metcalfe will develop a sophisticated computational method for global seismological analyses of Sun-like stars. The three phases of the project will involve 1) adapting an optimization technique based on a genetic algorithm, originally developed for models of pulsating white dwarfs, to interface with main-sequence models, 2) applying this technique to existing observations of Delta-Scuti stars, currently the most promising main-sequence candidates for asteroseismology, and 3) documenting the performance of the method on solar-like oscillations using both synthetic data and space-based observations when they become available.
An important part of Metcalfe's project is to integrate his daily research with outreach activities through the Internet, allowing him to disseminate the results in a form that is broadly accessible. He will participate in content development for the "Windows to the Universe" project, a web-based learning system for the general public. This resource allows easy access to numerous sources of Earth and Space Science information at multiple educational levels. Metcalfe will contribute primarily in areas related to white dwarfs and pulsating stars.
