SOLAR CORE ROTATION FROM LOW-DEGREE BISON-ASTERISK P-MODE SPLITTINGS - 1981-95

In this paper, we present an analysis of the rotational splittings of low-degree solar p modes, as measured in full-disc helioseismological data collected by the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON) be tween 1981 and 1995. These data provide coverage over solar activity c ycles 21 and 22. Rotationally split multiplets were fitted in two 4-mo nth and seven 8-month frequency spectra with a technique that minimize s a maximum-likelihood function consistent with chi(2) 2-d.o.f. statis tics. The fitted modes used in the analysis map the range 1 less than or equal to l less than or equal to 3 and 2.0 less than or equal to v less than or equal to 3.1 mHz. The lower limit to the analysed frequen cy range was determined by the poorer quality of the pre-1990 data; th e upper, very conservative, cut-off was imposed in order to avoid usin g data where the linewidths of the modes begin to increase substantial ly above 1 mu Hz.