Abstract
We investigate simulated turbulent flow within thermally driven stellar convection zones. Different driving sources are studied, including cooling at the top of the convectively unstable region, as occurs in surface convection zones; and heating at the base by nuclear burning. The transport of enthalpy and kinetic energy, and the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation are studied. We emphasize the importance of global constraints on shaping the quasi-steady flow characteristics, and present an analysis of turbulent convection which is posed as a boundary value problem that can be easily incorporated into standard stellar evolution codes for deep, efficient convection. Direct comparison is made between the theoretical analysis and the simulated flow and very good agreement is found. Some common assumptions traditionally used to treat quasi-steady turbulent flow in stellar models are briefly discussed. The importance and proper treatment of convective boundaries are indicated.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 221-225 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Astrophysics and Space Science |
| Volume | 328 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- Convection
- Stars: interiors
- Turbulence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science