3D model atmospheres for giants, dwarfs, and white dwarfs, computed with the
CO5BOLD code and part of the CIFIST grid, have been used for spectroscopic and
asteroseismic studies. Unlike existing plane-parallel 1D structures, these
simulations predict the spatially and temporally resolved emergent intensity so
that granulation can be analysed, which provides insights on how convective
energy transfer operates in stars. The wide range of atmospheric parameters of
the CIFIST 3D simulations (3600 < Teff (K) < 13,000 and 1 < log g < 9) allows
the comparison of convective processes in significantly different environments.
We show that the relative intensity contrast is correlated with both the Mach
and Peclet numbers in the photosphere. The horizontal size of granules varies
between 3 and 10 times the local pressure scale height, with a tight
correlation between the factor and the Mach number of the flow. Given that
convective giants, dwarfs, and white dwarfs cover the same range of Mach and
Peclet numbers, we conclude that photospheric convection operates in a very
similar way in those objects.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, 37 pages online appendix, accepted for
publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic