The Sun’s Core May Spin Faster Than Its Outer Layers

A 2017 study of vibrations inside the Sun, led by Eric Fossat, concluded that the solar core rotates 3.8 times faster than the surrounding radiative envelope, with a rotation period of about one week. The result came from gravity-mode oscillations that are very hard to detect from the surface. In 2019 Scherrer and Gough reanalyzed data from several instruments and concluded that the evidence was not robust. The rotation rate of the solar core remains an open question, and the 3.8 figure is a claim that has not been confirmed.