How to define the boundaries of a convective zone, and how extended is overshooting?

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 386; no. 4; pp. 1979 - 1989
• Main Authors: Deng, L., Xiong, D. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2008; Blackwell Science; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Astronomy; Astrophysics; convection; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; stars: evolution; Theory; Turbulence; convection; stars: evolution; Mixing; Mixing process; Temperature gradients; Turbulent convection; Stellar evolution; Convective overshooting; Mixing length; Correlations; Stellar interiors; Models; Energy transfer; Non local theory
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12969.x

In non-local convection theory, convection extends without limit and therefore an apparent boundary cannot be defined clearly, as in local theory. From the requirement that a similar structure for both local and non-local models has the same depth of convection zone, and taking into account the driving mechanism of turbulent convection, we argue that a proper definition of the boundary of a convective zone should be the place where the convective energy flux (i.e. the correlation of turbulent velocity and temperature) changes its sign. Therefore, it is a convectively unstable region when the flux is positive, and it is a convective overshooting zone when the flux becomes negative. The physical picture of the overshooting zone drawn by the usual non-local mixing-length theory is incorrect. In fact, convection is already subadiabatic (∇ < ∇ad) long before reaching the unstable boundary, while in the overshooting zone below the convective zone, convection is subadiabatic and superradiative (∇rad < ∇ < ∇ad). The transition between the adiabatic and radiative temperature gradients is continuous and smooth instead of being a sudden switch. In the unstable zone, the temperature gradient approaches a radiative temperature gradient rather than an adiabatic temperature gradient. We would like to note again that the overshooting distance is different for different physical quantities. In an overshooting zone at deep stellar interiors, the e-folding lengths of turbulent velocity and temperature are about 0.3HP, whereas that of the velocity–temperature correlation is much shorter, about 0.09HP. The overshooting distance in the context of stellar evolution, measured by the extent of the mixing of stellar matter, should be more extended. It is estimated to be as large as 0.25–1.7HP depending on the evolutionary time-scale. The larger the overshooting distance, the longer the time-scales. This is because of the participation of the extended overshooting tail in the mixing process.