Numerical simulations of Red Giant Stars
by
Albano 3: 6335 - Hekto (10 seats)
Albano Building 3
When low-mass stars leave the main sequence, their convective envelopes expand drastically, leading to complex interactions between convection, rotation, and magnetic fields. Observations show a wide range of rotation rates and magnetic activity behaviours, yet the connection between rotation profiles and angular momentum transport inside these stars remains poorly understood.
In this work, we study a 1 solar mass red giant star with a convection zone that reaches 80% of the star's radius. We use 3D hydrodynamic and magneto-hydrodynamic star-in-a-box simulations at different rotation rates. We analyse the flow structure, differential rotation profiles, and we are currently computing the angular momentum flux contribution to understand how rotation influences the transport processes inside the star, and how they shape the differential rotation profiles.
Preliminary results show clear effects of rotation on the flow pattern and differential rotation amplitude, with potential implications for the transport of angular momentum. Future work will include comparison with mean-field models.