Gregory Feiden, Uppsala University

Title: Convection of Low-Mass Stars  (Video)

Abstract: A majority of stars in the Galaxy are low-mass main-sequence stars. These stars are fusing hydrogen in their core and have convective outer layers. Convection is an important physical process that controls the transport of energy within low-mass stars. Therefore, convection influences the whole of a star's interior structure and many of a star's observable properties. Briefly, I will review the basic physics of stellar convection along with a simple phenomenological description used in models of stellar evolution. The latter provide a description of a star's life history. Under the simplified model of convection, it is typically assumed that convective properties of low-mass stars are qualitatively similar to those of the Sun, within some scaling factor. I'll present results from ongoing investigations that explore the validity of this assumption within the framework of stellar evolution models. These investigations provide empirical constraints on how convection in other stars scales to solar convective properties. Particular attention will be given to disagreements between empirical constraints and predictions from detailed radiation-hydrodynamic simulations. Potential explanations for the observed disagreements will be discussed along with possible ways forward.