Convective Penetration - Context, Theory, and Simulations - Evan Anders

Explore convective penetration in stellar interiors through this 30-minute conference talk from the Transport in Stellar Interiors Conference at KITP. Delve into the context, theory, and simulations of this crucial process in stellar physics. Examine a simple model of radiative-convective boundaries, understand how convective overshoot causes entrainment, and investigate the three linked processes in convective boundary mixing. Gain insights into entrainment's role in building penetration zones and analyze toy models of fluxes in stellar convection and convective penetration. Discover the factors determining the size of convective penetration regions and observe the strong dependence on pressure in simulations. Learn how these 3D models translate to 1D stellar evolution codes like MESA. Conclude with a summary of current understanding, potential parameterization, and future research directions in convective penetration dynamics.

Stellar convective penetration: Context, theory, and simulations
A simple model of a radiative-convective boundary
Convective overshoot causes entrainment.
Three linked processes in convective boundary mixing A fluid dynamical perspective
Entrainment builds a penetration zone
A toy model of fluxes in stellar convection
What sets the size of a convective penetration region?
A toy model of fluxes in convective penetration
Strong PZ dependence on P in simulations
From 3D to MESA
Wrap up We think we understand convective penetration, generally We think it's parameterizeable. We need to expand the model & nail down parameter values. Questions?
Dynamics of convective penetration
Measured output profiles of a simulation of penetration