Barker, AJ, Dempsey, AM and Lithwick, Y (2014) Theory and Simulations of Rotating Convection. The Astrophysical Journal, 791. 13. ISSN 0004-637X
Abstract
We study thermal convection in a rotating fluid in order to better understand the properties of convection zones in rotating stars and planets. We first derive a mixing-length theory for rapidly rotating convection, arriving at the results of Stevenson via simple physical arguments. The theory predicts the properties of convection as a function of the imposed heat flux and rotation rate, independent of microscopic diffusivities. In particular, it predicts the mean temperature gradient, the rms velocity and temperature fluctuations, and the size of the eddies that dominate heat transport. We test all of these predictions with high resolution three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of Boussinesq convection in a Cartesian box. The results agree remarkably well with the theory across more than two orders of magnitude in rotation rate. For example, the temperature gradient is predicted to scale as the rotation rate to the four-fifths power at fixed flux, and the simulations yield 0.75 ± 0.06. We conclude that the mixing-length theory is a solid foundation for understanding the properties of convection zones in rotating stars and planets.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2014. The American Astronomical Society. This is an author produced version of a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Convection; hydrodynamics: stars: interiors; stars: rotation; turbulence |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Mathematics (Leeds) > Applied Mathematics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Mar 2017 10:14 |
Last Modified: | 20 Jan 2018 15:36 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The American Astronomical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1088/0004-637X/791/1/13 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108975 |