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Turbulence and Rotation in Solar-Type Stars

  • PHYSICS OF STARS AND INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM
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Abstract

Microturbulence, macroturbulence, thermal motion, and rotation contribute to the broadening of line profiles in stellar spectra. Reliable data on the velocity distribution of turbulent motions in stellar atmospheres are needed to interpret the spectra of solar-type stars unambiguously in exoplanetary research. Stellar spectra with a high resolution of 115 000 obtained with the HARPS spectrograph provide an opportunity to examine turbulence velocities and their depth distributions in the photosphere of stars. Fourier analysis was performed for 17 iron lines in the spectra of 13 stars with an effective temperature of 4900–6200 K and a logarithm of surface gravity of 3.9–5.0 as well as in the spectrum of the Sun as a star. Models of stellar atmospheres were taken from the MARCS database. The standard concept of isotropic Gaussian microturbulence was assumed in this study. A satisfactory fit between the synthesized profiles of spectral lines and observational data verified the reliability of the Fourier method. The most likely estimates of turbulence velocities, the rotation velocity, and the iron abundance and their photospheric depth distribution profiles were obtained as a result. Microturbulence does not vary to any significant degree with depth, while macroturbulence has a marked depth dependence. The macroturbulence velocity increases with depth in the stellar atmosphere. The higher the effective temperature of a star and the stronger the surface gravity, the steeper the expected macroturbulence gradient. The mean macroturbulence velocity increases for stars with higher temperatures, weaker gravity, and faster rotation. The mean macro- and microturbulence velocities are correlated with each other and with the rotation velocity in the examined stars. The ratio between the macroturbulence velocity and the rotation velocity in solar-type stars varies from 1 (the hottest stars) to 1.7 (the coolest stars). The age dependence of the rotation velocity is more pronounced than that of the velocity of macroturbulent motions.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank Ya. Pavlenko and A. Ivanyuk for providing stellar spectra and for fruitful discussions.

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  1. Main Astronomical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143, Kyiv, Ukraine

    V. A. Sheminova

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Correspondence to V. A. Sheminova.

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This study was funded as part of the routine financing program for institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

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Translated by D. Safin

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Sheminova, V.A. Turbulence and Rotation in Solar-Type Stars. Kinemat. Phys. Celest. Bodies 35, 129–142 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3103/S088459131903005X

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