Hydrodynamic Processes in Massive Stars

Abstract

The hydrodynamic processes operating within stellar interiors are far richer than represented by the best stellar evolution model available. Although it is now widely understood, through astrophysical simulation and relevant terrestrial experiment, that many of the basic assumptions which underlie our treatments of stellar evolution are flawed, we lack a suitable, comprehensive replacement. This is due to a deficiency in our fundamental understanding of the transport and mixing properties of a turbulent, reactive, magnetized plasma; a deficiency in knowledge which stems from the richness and variety of solutions which characterize the inherently non-linear set of governing equations. The exponential increase in availability of computing resources, however, is ushering in a new era of understanding complex hydrodynamic flows; and although this field is still in its formative stages, the sophistication already achieved is leading to a dramatic paradigm shift in how we model astrophysical fluid dynamics. We highlight here some recent results from a series of multi-dimensional stellar interior calculations which are part of a program designed to improve our one-dimensional treatment of massive star evolution and stellar evolution in general.