English

Solar calibration of $\alpha_{\rm MLT}$ using {\AE}SOPUS opacities in MESA

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2023-08-14 v1

Abstract

The simplistic but ubiquitous Mixing Length Theory (MLT) formalism is used to model convective energy transport within 1D stellar evolution calculations. The formalism relies on the free parameter αMLT\alpha_{\rm MLT}, which must be independently calibrated within each stellar evolution program and for any given set of physical assumptions. We present a solar calibration of αMLT\alpha_{\text{MLT}} appropriate for use with the AESOPUS opacities, which have recently been made available for use with the MESA stellar evolution software. We report a calibrated value of αMLT=1.931\alpha_{\rm MLT}=1.931 and demonstrate the impact of using an appropriately calibrated value in simulations of a 3M3 M_{\odot} asymptotic giant branch star.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2204.08598,
  title  = {Solar calibration of $\alpha_{\rm MLT}$ using {\AE}SOPUS opacities in MESA},
  author = {Giulia C Cinquegrana and Meridith Joyce},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2204.08598},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

4 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in RNAAS