Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995a%26a...296..127r&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.296, p.127
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
45
Convection, Hydrodynamics, Turbulence, Sun: Interior, Rotation, Stars: Interiors
Scientific paper
Recent numerical simulations of compressible convection in a stratified medium suggest that strong downwards directed flows may play an important role in stellar convective envelopes, both in the dynamics and in the energy transport. We transpose this idea to stellar convective envelopes by assuming that these plumes are turbulent plumes which may be described by Taylor's entrainment hypothesis, whose validity is well established in various geophysical conditions. We consider first the ideal case of turbulent plumes occurring in an isentropic atmosphere, and ignore all types of feedback. Thereafter we include the effect of the backflow generated by the plumes, and take into account the contribution of the radiative flux. The main result is that plumes originating from the upper layers of a star are able to reach the base of its convective envelope. Their number is necessarily limited because of their conical shape; the backflow further reduces their number to a maximum of about 1000. In these plumes the flux of kinetic energy is directed downwards, but it is less than the upwards directed enthalpy flux, so that the plumes always carry a net energy flux towards the surface. Our plume model is not applicable near the surface, where the departures from adiabaticity become important due to radiative leaking; therefore it cannot predict the depth of the convection zone, which is determined mainly by the transition from the radiative regime above to the nearly adiabatic conditions below. Neither does it permit to evaluate the extent of penetration, which strongly depends on the (unknown) number of plumes. We conclude that, to be complete, a phenomenological model of stellar convection must have a dual character: it should include both the advective transport through diving plumes, which is outlined in this paper, and the turbulent diffusion achieved by the interstitial medium. Only the latter process is apprehended by the familiar mixing-length treatment.
Rieutord Michel
Zahn Jean-Paul
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