2003/01/13 by S. Vauclair, Sylvie Vauclair, S. Théado +1 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/368259
published as Astrophys.J. 587 (2003) 777-783 · 7 printed pages, 1 figure. ApJ, in press (April 20, 2003)
arxiv created 2003/01/13 · openalex publication_date 2003/04/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
In the presence of rotation-induced mixing, element diffusion still occurs in stellar radiative zones, although at a slower rate than in the case of a complete stability of the stellar gas. As a consequence, helium settling leads to vertical μ-gradients that, because of the meridional circulation, turn into horizontal fluctuations. Up to now, the feedback effect of this process on the rotation-induced mixing has been neglected in the computations of abundance variations in stellar surfaces or artificially reduced. Here we analyze its consequences and derive an approximate analytical solution in a quasi-stationary case. We also discuss the relative importance of the various physical effects that influence the meridional circulation velocity. In a second paper, we will present a complete two-dimensional numerical simulation of this process, while a third paper will be devoted to special applications to Population I stars.