The Internal Solar Rotation Rate Inferred from Combined GONG and LOWL Data

Frequency splittings derived from the first 4 months of GONG data and from the 2 yr average of the LOWL data in the form of the Clebsch-Gordon coefficients are analyzed. The results show that the equatorial rotation rate is essentially "flat" (i.e., independent of radius) for 0.2 < R/R☉ < 0.6. They also indicate an increase in the rotation rate at high latitudes (of ~15% at latitude 60° for R/R☉ < 0.4), but it is emphasized that this result is a property of the data sets and should not be regarded as a property of the Sun without independent confirmation.