Hydrodynamical stellar models including rotation, internal gravity waves and atomic diffusion. I. Formalism and tests on Pop I dwarfs

In this paper, we develop a formalism in order to incorporate the contribution of internal gravity waves to the transport of angular momentum and chemicals over long time-scales in stars. We show that the development of a double peaked shear layer acts as a filter for waves, and how the asymmetry of this filter produces momentum extraction from the core when it is rotating faster than the surface. Using only this filtered flux, it is possible to follow the contribution of internal waves over long (evolutionary) time-scales. We then present the evolution of the internal rotation profile using this formalism for stars which are spun down via magnetic torquing. We show that waves tend to slow down the core, creating a "slow" front that may then propagate from the core to the surface. Further spin down of the surface leads to the formation of a new front. Finally we show how this momentum transport reduces rotational mixing in a 1.2Msun, Z=0.02 model, leading to a surface lithium abundance in agreement with observations in the Hyades.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in A&

Nucleosynthesis of light element isotopes in evolved stars experiencing extended mixing

We present computations of nucleosynthesis in red giants and asymptotic giant branch stars of Population I experiencing extended mixing. The assumed physical cause for mass transport is the buoyancy of magnetized structures, according to recent suggestions. The peculiar property of such a mechanism is to allow for both fast and slow mixing phenomena, as required for reproducing the spread in Li abundances displayed by red giants and as discussed in an accompanying paper. We explore here the effects of this kind of mass transport on CNO and intermediatemass nuclei and compare the results with the available evidence from evolved red giants and from the isotopic composition of presolar grains of AGB origin. It is found that a good general accord exists between predictions and measurements; in this framework we also show which type of observational data best constrains the various parameters. We conclude that magnetic buoyancy, allowing for mixing at rather different speeds, can be an interesting scenario to explore for explaining together the abundances of CNO nuclei and of Li.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, proceeding of 'The Origin of the Elements Heavier than Fe' September 24-28, 2008, Torino, Italy. PASA (accepted for publication

The halo by halo missing baryon problem

The global missing baryon problem - that the sum of observed baryons falls short of the number expected form BBN - is well known. In addition to this, there is also a local missing baryon problem that applies to individual dark matter halos. This halo by halo missing baryon problem is such that the observed mass fraction of baryons in individual galaxies falls short of the cosmic baryon fraction. This deficit is a strong function of circular velocity. I give an empirical estimate of this function, and note the presence of a critical scale of ~900 km/s therein. I also briefly review Omega_b from BBN, highlighting the persistent tension between lithium and the CMB, and discuss some pros and cons of individual galaxies and clusters of galaxies as potential reservoirs of dark baryons.Comment: 10 pages, review for IAU Symposium 244, Dark Galaxies & Lost Baryon

Impact of internal gravity waves on the rotation profile inside pre-main sequence low-mass stars

We study the impact of internal gravity waves (IGW), meridional circulation, shear turbulence, and stellar contraction on the internal rotation profile and surface velocity evolution of solar metallicity low-mass pre-main sequence stars. We compute a grid of rotating stellar evolution models with masses between 0.6 and 2.0Msun taking these processes into account for the transport of angular momentum, as soon as the radiative core appears and assuming no more disk-locking from that moment on.IGW generation along the PMS is computed taking Reynolds-stress and buoyancy into account in the bulk of the stellar convective envelope and convective core (when present). Redistribution of angular momentum within the radiative layers accounts for damping of prograde and retrograde IGW by thermal diffusivity and viscosity in corotation resonance. Over the whole mass range considered, IGW are found to be efficiently generated by the convective envelope and to slow down the stellar core early on the PMS. In stars more massive than ~ 1.6Msun, IGW produced by the convective core also contribute to angular momentum redistribution close to the ZAMS. Overall, IGW are found to significantly change the internal rotation profile of PMS low-mass stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (15 pages

Thermohaline instability and rotation-induced mixing. III - Grid of stellar models and asymptotic asteroseismic quantities from the pre-main sequence up to the AGB for low- and intermediate-mass stars at various metallicities

The availability of asteroseismic constraints for a large sample of stars from the missions CoRoT and Kepler paves the way for various statistical studies of the seismic properties of stellar populations. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of rotation-induced mixing and thermohaline instability on the global asteroseismic parameters at different stages of the stellar evolution from the Zero Age Main Sequence to the Thermally Pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch to distinguish stellar populations. We present a grid of stellar evolutionary models for four metallicities (Z = 0.0001, 0.002, 0.004, and 0.014) in the mass range between 0.85 to 6.0 Msun. The models are computed either with standard prescriptions or including both thermohaline convection and rotation-induced mixing. For the whole grid we provide the usual stellar parameters (luminosity, effective temperature, lifetimes, ...), together with the global seismic parameters, i.e. the large frequency separation and asymptotic relations, the frequency corresponding to the maximum oscillation power {\nu}_{max}, the maximal amplitude A_{max}, the asymptotic period spacing of g-modes, and different acoustic radii. We discuss the signature of rotation-induced mixing on the global asteroseismic quantities, that can be detected observationally. Thermohaline mixing whose effects can be identified by spectroscopic studies cannot be caracterized with the global seismic parameters studied here. But it is not excluded that individual mode frequencies or other well chosen asteroseismic quantities might help constraining this mixing.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&

On the Coupling between Helium Settling and Rotation-Induced Mixing in Stellar Radiative Zones: II- Application to light elements in population I main-sequence stars

In the two previous papers of this series, we have discussed the importance of t he $\mu$-gradients due to helium settling on rotation-induced mixing, first in a n approximate analytical way, second in a 2D numerical simulation. We have found that, for slowly rotating low mass stars, a process of ``creeping paralysis" in which the circulation and the diffusion are nearly frozen may take place below the convective zone. Here we apply this theory to the case of lithium and beryll ium in galactic clusters and specially the Hyades. We take into account the rota tional braking with rotation velocities adjusted to the present observations. We find that two different cells of meridional circulation appear on the hot side of the "lithium dip" and that the "creeping paralysis" process occurs, not dir ectly below the convective zone, but deeper inside the radiative zone, at the to p of the second cell. As a consequence, the two cells are disconnected, which ma y be the basic reason for the lithium increase with effective temperature on thi s side of the dip. On the cool side, there is just one cell of circulation and t he paralysis has not yet set down at the age of the Hyades; the same modelisatio n accounts nicely for the beryllium observations as well as for the lithium ones .Comment: 13 printed pages, 10 figures. ApJ, in press (April 20, 2003