29 research outputs found
Vibrational Instability of Metal-Poor Low-Mass Main-Sequence Stars
We find that low-degree low-order g-modes become unstable in metal-poor
low-mass stars due to the -mechanism of the pp-chain. Since the
outer convection zone of these stars is limited only to the very outer layers,
the uncertainty in the treatment of convection does not affect the result
significantly. The decrease in metallicity leads to decrease in opacity and
hence increase in luminosity of a star. This makes the star compact and results
in decrease in the density contrast, which is favorable to the
-mechanism instability. We find also instability for high order
g-modes of metal-poor low-mass stars by the convective blocking mechanism.
Since the effective temperature and the luminosity of metal-poor stars are
significantly higher than those of Pop I stars, the stars showing
Dor-type pulsation are substantially less massive than in the case of Pop I
stars. We demonstrate that those modes are unstable for about
stars in the metal-poor case.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, To be published in Astrophysics and Space Science
Proceedings series (ASSP). Proceedings of the "20th Stellar Pulsation
Conference Series: Impact of new instrumentation and new insights in stellar
pulsations", 5-9 September 2011, Granada, Spai
Surface-effect corrections for solar-like oscillations using 3D hydrodynamical simulations
The space-borne missions have provided us with a wealth of high-quality
observational data that allows for seismic inferences of stellar interiors.
This requires the computation of precise and accurate theoretical frequencies,
but imperfect modeling of the uppermost stellar layers introduces systematic
errors. To overcome this problem, an empirical correction has been introduced
by Kjeldsen et al. (2008, ApJ, 683, L175) and is now commonly used for seismic
inferences. Nevertheless, we still lack a physical justification allowing for
the quantification of the surface-effect corrections. We used a grid of these
simulations computed with the COBOLD code to model the outer layers of
solar-like stars. Upper layers of the corresponding 1D standard models were
then replaced by the layers obtained from the horizontally averaged 3D models.
The frequency differences between these patched models and the 1D standard
models were then calculated using the adiabatic approximation and allowed us to
constrain the Kjeldsen et al. power law, as well as a Lorentzian formulation.
We find that the surface effects on modal frequencies depend significantly on
both the effective temperature and the surface gravity. We further provide the
variation in the parameters related to the surface-effect corrections using
their power law as well as a Lorentzian formulation. Scaling relations between
these parameters and the elevation (related to the Mach number) is also
provided. The Lorentzian formulation is shown to be more robust for the whole
frequency spectrum, while the power law is not suitable for the frequency
shifts in the frequency range above .Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables; accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysic
Angular momentum redistribution by mixed modes in evolved low-mass stars. I. Theoretical formalism
Seismic observations by the space-borne mission \emph{Kepler} have shown that
the core of red giant stars slows down while evolving, requiring an efficient
physical mechanism to extract angular momentum from the inner layers. Current
stellar evolution codes fail to reproduce the observed rotation rates by
several orders of magnitude, and predict a drastic spin-up of red giant cores
instead. New efficient mechanisms of angular momentum transport are thus
required.
In this framework, our aim is to investigate the possibility that mixed modes
extract angular momentum from the inner radiative regions of evolved low-mass
stars. To this end, we consider the Transformed Eulerian Mean (TEM) formalism,
introduced by Andrews \& McIntyre (1978), that allows us to consider the
combined effect of both the wave momentum flux in the mean angular momentum
equation and the wave heat flux in the mean entropy equation as well as their
interplay with the meridional circulation.
In radiative layers of evolved low-mass stars, the quasi-adiabatic
approximation, the limit of slow rotation, and the asymptotic regime can be
applied for mixed modes and enable us to establish a prescription for the wave
fluxes in the mean equations. The formalism is finally applied to a benchmark model, representative of observed CoRoT and \emph{Kepler}
oscillating evolved stars.
We show that the influence of the wave heat flux on the mean angular momentum
is not negligible and that the overall effect of mixed modes is to extract
angular momentum from the innermost region of the star. A quantitative and
accurate estimate requires realistic values of mode amplitudes. This is
provided in a companion paper.Comment: Accepted in A&A, 11 pages, and 6 figure
Angular momentum redistribution by mixed modes in evolved low-mass stars. II. Spin-down of the core of red giants induced by mixed modes
The detection of mixed modes in subgiants and red giants by the CoRoT and
\emph{Kepler} space-borne missions allows us to investigate the internal
structure of evolved low-mass stars. In particular, the measurement of the mean
core rotation rate as a function of the evolution places stringent constraints
on the physical mechanisms responsible for the angular momentum redistribution
in stars. It showed that the current stellar evolution codes including the
modelling of rotation fail to reproduce the observations. An additional
physical process that efficiently extracts angular momentum from the core is
thus necessary.
Our aim is to assess the ability of mixed modes to do this. To this end, we
developed a formalism that provides a modelling of the wave fluxes in both the
mean angular momentum and the mean energy equations in a companion paper. In
this article, mode amplitudes are modelled based on recent asteroseismic
observations, and a quantitative estimate of the angular momentum transfer is
obtained. This is performed for a benchmark model of 1.3 at three
evolutionary stages, representative of the evolved pulsating stars observed by
CoRoT and Kepler.
We show that mixed modes extract angular momentum from the innermost regions
of subgiants and red giants. However, this transport of angular momentum from
the core is unlikely to counterbalance the effect of the core contraction in
subgiants and early red giants. In contrast, for more evolved red giants, mixed
modes are found efficient enough to balance and exceed the effect of the core
contraction, in particular in the hydrogen-burning shell. Our results thus
indicate that mixed modes are a promising candidate to explain the observed
spin-down of the core of evolved red giants, but that an other mechanism is to
be invoked for subgiants and early red giants.Comment: Accepted in A&A, 7 pages, 8 figure
Recherche d'une quatrieme famille de leptons dans les interactions proton-antiproton a 630 GeV avec le detecteur UA1
SIGLECNRS T Bordereau / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc
Current updated grids of 1D stellar models: Cestam mockgrid.
International audienc
Analysis of surface effect on solar-like oscillation frequencies using 3D hydrodynamical models
We evaluate the frequency difference between standard stellar models and models patched with 3D hydrodynamical models across the Teff–g plane. It allows us to constrain frequency corrections for surface effect. The coefficients in the correction functionals are thus provided as functions of effective temperature and surface gravity
Calibration of the mixing length of the MLT and FST models using 3D hydrodynamical models
International audienceRich spectra of solar-like oscillations obtained with space observations are expected to enable us to perform precise determinations of stellar properties. To make the best of the spectra, we need theoretical stellar models with precise near-surface structure, since the near-surface structure has significant influence on solar-like oscillation frequencies. The mixing-length parameter, α, is a key factor to determine the near-surface structure. We aimed at determining appropriate α values based on 3D radiation-coupled hydrodynamical models produced by the CO^5BOLD code. For such calibration, previous works concentrated on the classical mixing-length theory (MLT). Here we also analyzed the full spectrum turbulence (FST) models. The trends of the calibrated α values in the Teff-g plane is found to be similar to those of previous calibrations with the other grids of RHD models. A T(τ) relation based on the so-called VAL-C solar-atmosphere model is found to give better correspondence to the photospheric-minimum entropy in the 3D model than the Eddington T(τ) relation. Although the structure below the photosphere depends on convection models, not a single convection model gives the best correspondence to the 3D model since physical quantities in the 3D models are not necessarily related via an equation of states unlike those in the 1D models. Although the FST model with a form of a mixing length (l=rtop-r+α*Hp,{top}) is found to give solar-oscillation frequencies apparently closest to the observed ones, the acoustic cavity of this model is formed with compensatory effects between deviating density and temperature profiles just below the top of the convective envelope. In future work, a more sophisticated treatment of the top part of the 1D convective envelope is necessary
Influence of metallicity on the near-surface effect on oscillation frequencies
International audienceContext. The CoRoT and Kepler missions have provided high-quality measurements of the frequency spectra of solar-like pulsators, enabling us to probe stellar interiors with a very high degree of accuracy by comparing the observed and modelled frequencies. However, the frequencies computed with 1D models suffer from systematic errors related to the poor modelling of the uppermost layers of stars. These biases are what is commonly named the near-surface effect. The dominant effect is thought to be related to the turbulent pressure that modifies the hydrostatic equilibrium and thus the frequencies. This has already been investigated using grids of 3D hydrodynamical simulations, which also were used to constrain the parameters of the empirical correction models. However, the effect of metallicity has not been considered so far.Aims. We aim to study the impact of metallicity on the surface effect, investigating its influence across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and providing a method for accounting for it when using the empirical correction models.Methods. We computed a grid of patched 1D stellar models with the stellar evolution code CESTAM in which poorly modelled surface layers have been replaced by averaged stratification computed with the 3D hydrodynamical code CO5BOLD. It allowed us to investigate the dependence of both the surface effect and the empirical correction functions on the metallicity. Results. We found that metallicity has a strong impact on the surface effect: keeping Teff and log g constant, the frequency residuals can vary by up to a factor of two (for instance from [Fe/H] = + 0.0 to [Fe/H] = + 0.5). Therefore, the influence of metallicity cannot be neglected. We found that the correct way of accounting for it is to consider the surface Rosseland mean opacity. It allowed us to give a physically grounded justification as well as a scaling relation for the frequency differences at νmax as a function of Teff, log g and κ. Finally, we provide prescriptions for the fitting parameters of the most commonly used correction functions.Conclusions. We show that the impact of metallicity through the Rosseland mean opacity must be taken into account when studying and correcting the surface effect