CHAOS IN STARS (AND IN STELLAR EVOLUTION THEORY?)
David Arnett
University of Arizona
November 20, 2006, 4PM, Steward N210
Recent 3D simulations of turbulent convection (Meakin and Arnett 2006abc)
throw new light on the old problem of convection and mixing in
stellar evolution. The simulations show a robust statistical behavior
which allows us to construct a general theoretical model of the
process. A completely new feature in the stellar context is
the growth of the convective region by turbulent entrainment
(although it is well known in meteorology, oceanography, and
experiments with fluid flow).
In retrospect the survival of Mixing-Length Theory (Boehm-Vitense 1957)
for almost half a century becomes understandable. These new results
have wide impact in astrophysics, including topics as diverse as
the solar neon puzzle, the ages of clusters, the nature of the
First stars, supernova and nova progenitors, nucleosynthesis
yields, and rotation in stellar evolution.
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