Abstract.
Non radial oscillations of neutron stars are associated with
the emission of
gravitational waves. The characteristic frequencies of these
oscillations can be computed
using the theory of stellar perturbations, and they are shown to carry
detailed
information on the internal structure of the emitting source. Moreover,
they appear to
be encoded in various radiative processes, as for instance in the tail
of the giant flares
of Soft Gamma Repeaters. Thus, their determination is central to the
theory of stellar
perturbation. A viable approach to the problem consists in formulating
this theory as
a problem of resonant scattering of gravitational waves incident on the
potential barrier
generated by the spacetime curvature. This approach discloses some
unexpected
correspondences between the theory of stellar perturbations and the
theory of quantum
mechanics, and allows us to predict new relativistic effects.
Keywords : gravitational waves - black hole physics - stars:
oscillations - stars: neutron
- stars: rotation