3D Numerical Experimentation on the Core Helium Flash of low-mass Red Giants

Abstract

We model the core helium flash in a low-mass red giant using Djehuty, a fully three-dimensional (3D) code. The 3D structures were generated from converged models obtained during the 1D evolutionary calculation of a 1$\Msun$ star. Independently of which starting point we adopted, we found that after some transient relaxation the 3D model settled down with a briskly convecting He-burning shell that was not very different from what the 1D model predicted.

32 pages, 13 figures, accepted by ApJ. Figures reduced from high-res eps to low-res gif for rapid download. Contact Lattanzio for a copy of the higher res images (included, inplace, in the manuscript)