English

Using Lithium and Beryllium to Study Structure and Evolution of Rotating Stars

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2025-03-20 v1 High Energy Physics - Experiment Nuclear Theory

Abstract

The chemical composition of the Sun is still a highly controversial issue. No solar model has yet been able to simultaneously reproduce the solar lithium and beryllium abundances, along with helioseismic results, including the rotation profile. Lithium and beryllium are fragile elements that are highly sensitive to the physical conditions, as well as to transport and mixing processes within and below the convective zone (CZ). Uncovering the transport mechanisms responsible for the depletion of Li and Be in the Sun is crucial for using them as tools to understand stellar interiors and the associated transport and mixing processes. We constructed rotating solar models based on Magg's abundance scale, incorporating the effects of convective overshoot and magnetic fields. The rotating model exhibits superior sound speed and density profile and successfully reproduces the observed ratios r02r_{02} and r13r_{13}. It also matches the seismically inferred CZ depth, surface helium abundance, and rotation profile, as well as the detected Li and Be abundances and neutrino fluxes within 1σ1\sigma. The depletion of Li is dominated by convective overshoot and rotational mixing, while Be depletion is primarily driven by gravitational settling and rotational mixing. The presence of the tachocline accelerates Li depletion but slows down Be depletion. These distinct depletion mechanisms result in the surface abundances of Li and Be evolving differently over time.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2503.14804,
  title  = {Using Lithium and Beryllium to Study Structure and Evolution of Rotating Stars},
  author = {Wuming Yang and Haibo Yuan and Yaqian Wu and Shaolan Bi and Zhijia Tian},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.14804},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

Accepted for publication in ApJ

R2 v1 2026-06-28T22:26:05.586Z