Description
The Sun supports a rich spectrum of global modes of oscillation in the inertial frequency range. Many of these modes can be identified by comparing their observed frequencies and horizontal velocity eigenfunctions at the surface to the linear eigenmodes of a set of adjustable rotating solar models. This provides sensitive diagnostics of the differential rotation and properties of the deep solar convection zone which are currently poorly constrained. These properties include the superadiabatic temperature gradient, the latitudinal entropy gradient, and the turbulent viscosity. In addition, nonlinear simulations indicate that the high-latitude inertial modes play a dynamical role and place a limit on the maximum allowed latitudinal differential rotation
