Shortcomings of the Standard Solar Model

The SSM, invented in early nineteen sixties, remains a useful construction. There are now much larger number of its predictions that may be compared with observations than when it was first introduced. Seismic sounding based on oscillations frequencies provides the best test of the physical input for modelling stellar evolution. The results of the test must be viewed as a support for the standard theory of stellar evolution. However, significant differences in the sound-speed, photospheric He abundance, and other parameters between the Sun and the current models remain. Shortcomings in the EOS and in treatment of convection have been revealed. The differences in the sound-speed in the radiative interior may be explained by small opacity errors but other explanations are possible. Results of seismic sounding support the idea that the element mixing in the outer part of the radiative interior occurred during a significant fraction of the Sun's life. Such mixing is considered as a possible explanation of the deficit of lithium. The shortcomings of SSM cannot explain the deficits of measured neutrino fluxes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.