57 research outputs found
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&
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
Angular momentum transport by internal gravity waves. IV - Wave generation by surface convection zone, from the pre-main sequence to the early-AGB in intermediate mass stars
This is the fourth in a series of papers that deal with angular momentum
transport by internal gravity waves in stellar interiors. Here, we want to
examine the potential role of waves in other evolutionary phases than the main
sequence. We study the evolution of a 3Msun Population I model from the
pre-main sequence to the early-AGB phase and examine whether waves can lead to
angular momentum redistribution and/or element diffusion at the external
convection zone boundary. We find that, although waves produced by the surface
convection zone can be ignored safely for such a star during the main sequence,
it is not the case for later evolutionary stages. In particular, angular
momentum transport by internal waves could be quite important at the end of the
sub-giant branch and during the early-AGB phase. Wave-induced mixing of
chemicals is expected during the early-AGB phase.Comment: A&A in press; 11 figure
Angular momentum transport by internal gravity waves III - Wave excitation by core convection and the Coriolis effect
This is the third in a series of papers that deal with angular momentum
transport by internal gravity waves. We concentrate on the waves excited by
core convection in a 3Msun, Pop I main sequence star. Here, we want to examine
the role of the Coriolis acceleration in the equations of motion that describe
the behavior of waves and to evaluate its impact on angular momentum transport.
We use the so-called traditional approximation of geophysics, which allows
variable separation in radial and horizontal components. In the presence of
rotation, the horizontal structure is described by Hough functions instead of
spherical harmonics. The Coriolis acceleration has two main effects on waves.
It transforms pure gravity waves into gravito-inertial waves that have a larger
amplitude closer to the equator, and it introduces new waves whose restoring
force is mainly the conservation of vorticity. Taking the Coriolis acceleration
into account changes the subtle balance between prograde and retrograde waves
in non-rotating stars. It also introduces new types of waves that are either
purely prograde or retrograde. We show in this paper where the local deposition
of angular momentum by such waves is important.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication by 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 -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
3He-Driven Mixing in Low-Mass Red Giants: Convective Instability in Radiative and Adiabatic Limits
We examine the stability and observational consequences of mixing induced by
3He burning in the envelopes of first ascent red giants. We demonstrate that
there are two unstable modes: a rapid, nearly adiabatic mode that we cannot
identify with an underlying physical mechanism, and a slow, nearly radiative
mode that can be identified with thermohaline convection. We present
observational constraints that make the operation of the rapid mode unlikely to
occur in real stars. Thermohaline convection turns out to be fast enough only
if fluid elements have finger-like structures with a length to diameter ratio
l/d > 10. We identify some potentially serious obstacles for thermohaline
convection as the predominant mixing mechanism for giants. We show that
rotation-induced horizontal turbulent diffusion may suppress the 3He-driven
thermohaline convection. Another potentially serious problem for it is to
explain observational evidence of enhanced extra mixing. The 3He exhaustion in
stars approaching the red giant branch (RGB) tip should make the 3He mixing
inefficient on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). In spite of this, there are
observational data indicating the presence of extra mixing in low-mass AGB
stars similar to that operating on the RGB. Overmixing may also occur in
carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, modified version, accepted by Ap
WIYN/Hydra Detection of Lithium Depletion in F Stars of the Young Open Cluster M35 and Implications for the Development of the Lithium Gap
We report discovery of significant depletion of Li on the surfaces of F dwarf
stars in the 150-Myr-old open cluster M35, analagous to a feature in the
700-Myr-old Hyades cluster that has been referred to as the ``Li gap.'' We have
caught the gap in the act of forming: using high resolution, high S/N,
WIYN/Hydra observations, we detect Li in all but a few M35 F stars; the maximum
depletion lies at least 0.6-0.8 dex below minimally depleted (or undepleted)
stars. The M35 Li depletion region, a) is quite wide, with clear depletion seen
from 6000K to 6700K or hotter; b) shows a significant dispersion in Li
abundance at all T_eff, even with stars of the same T_eff; and c) contains
undepleted stars (as well as depleted ones) in the (narrow) classical Hyades
gap region, which itself shows no undepleted stars. All of these M35 Li
depletion properties support rotationally-induced slow mixing as the primary
physical mechanism that forms the gap, and argues against other proposed
mechanisms, particularly diffusion and steady main sequence mass loss. When
viewed in the context of the M35 Li depletion properties, the Hyades Li gap may
well be wider than is usually recognized.Comment: 14 Pages, 3 figures. Accepted to ApJ Letter
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