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Standard Solar Model

The Sun is the dominating feature of our solar system. It gives the light and warmth necessary for life on Earth and understanding how it formed and how it behaves gives scientist great insight into how our solar system was born. In order to develop a rigorous explanation of the Sun's lifetime, advanced fields of mathematics, such as in the form of the Standard Solar Model, have been formed to give a glimpse of what the Sun was like in the past and how it will act in the future.

Standard Solar Model
- The Standard Solar Model (SSM) is a dynamic, mathematical framework used to describe the Sun through the use of differential equations and the basic physical principles of the energy conservation laws and energy transport equations. These principles are solved for such attributes as luminosity (brightness), age, size and elemental makeup of the Sun. The values of these attributes change on a moment to moment basis so the SSM also changes consistently.
Purpose
- The primary purpose of the Standard Solar Model is to estimate the abundance of helium and the amount of convection taking place within the Sun. Other attributes of the Sun can be derived from the SSM with the addition of further physics and mathematics. These attributes include the rate of rotation, size and shape of the Sun's magnetic fields and the modelling of solar turbulence. The model adjusts to accommodate new discoveries made regarding the Sun. In essence, the SSM serves to model the evolution of the Sun from its birth to its present age.
Energy Transport
- The SSM models three types of energy transport mechanisms: convection, conduction and radiation. Convection energy is the movement of hot gas within the Sun; it describes movement from lower regions to upper regions of the Sun before the gases fall back down due to a decrease in temperature. The process is similar to that of a lava lamp. Conduction is the transfer of heat within areas of the Sun due to differences in temperatures. Heat flows from high temperature areas to lower temperature areas. Radiative energy is the electromagnetic radiation (photons) that flows from near the core of the Sun outward and is radiated away into space.
Procedure
- The SSM is built first by creating a model of the Sun at its birth, guess at the values of certain parameters such as helium abundance. Using differential equations and energy transport equation, the model of the Sun is then evolved to its current age. The model's attributes are then compared to the attributes of the actual Sun. The noted discrepancies then allow for the correction of the model's initial conditions until more and more accurate models of the development of the Sun are calculated.

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