Abstract
Shell convection driven by nuclear burning in a stellar core is a common hydrodynamic event in the evolution of many types of stars. We encounter and simulate this convection (1) in the helium core of a low-mass red giant during core helium flash leading to a dredge-down of protons across an entropy barrier, (2) in a carbon-oxygen core of an intermediate-mass star during core carbon flash, and (3) in the oxygen and carbon burning shell above the silicon-sulfur rich core of a massive star prior to supernova explosion. Our results, which were obtained with the hydrodynamics code HERAKLES, suggest that both entropy gradients and entropy barriers are less important for stellar structure than commonly assumed. Our simulations further reveal a new dynamic mixing process operating below the base of shell convection zones.
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Acknowledgements
The simulations were performed at the Rechenzentrum Garching of the Max Planck Society. The authors want to thank Casey Meakin for providing us with an initial model of the oxygen burning shell and valuable discussions. Miroslav Mocák acknowledges financial support from the Communauté française de Belgique – Actions de Recherche Concertées.
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Mocák, M., Müller, E., Siess, L. (2012). Hydrodynamic Simulations of Shell Convection in Stellar Cores. In: Miglio, A., Montalbán, J., Noels, A. (eds) Red Giants as Probes of the Structure and Evolution of the Milky Way. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18418-5_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18418-5_9
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