On the efficiency of Ekman pumping for synchronization in close binaries

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

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Binary Stars, Boundary Value Problems, Ekman Layer, Stellar Interiors, Stellar Rotation, Angular Momentum, Boundary Conditions, Boundary Layer Transition, Navier-Stokes Equation, Spherical Harmonics

Scientific paper

In this paper we discuss the large-scale motions in a nonsynchronous binary component with constant properties. A consistent solution requires a two-parameter expansion in the small quantities epsilon(t) and delta/R- where epsilon(t) is the ratio of the tidal force to gravity at the equator, and delta/R is the relative thickness of the Ekman-type boundary layer. Indeed, because a purely azimuthal flow generates a tangential stress vector that has both a 'meridian' component and a smaller 'azimuthal' component that is proportional to epsilon(t), a large-scale meridional flow is always required to cancel out the latter component at the free surface. However, because our local approach breaks down in the equatorial belt, a global boundary-value method is used to describe this time-dependent motion in the tidally distorted configuration. In agreement with our previous studies of synchronization, it is found that these transient, tidally driven currents exchange mass - and, hence, angular momentum - between the surface boundary layer and the inviscid interior. This Ekman-pumping mechanism spins down the configuration in a time which is much smaller than the viscous decay time of residual motions.

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