A Grid of 3D Stellar Atmosphere Models of Solar Metallicity: I. General Properties, Granulation and Atmospheric Expansion

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new grid of 3D stellar atmosphere models for late type stars, improving the accuracy of stellar observations interpretation and stellar evolution understanding by incorporating detailed convection simulations.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive grid of 3D convective stellar atmosphere models based on advanced simulations, enhancing the reliability over previous simplified models.

Findings

Granulation size varies with atmospheric parameters

Convective expansion affects acoustic cavity size

Models align well with observational data

Abstract

Present grids of stellar atmosphere models are the workhorses in interpreting stellar observations, and determining their fundamental parameters. These models rely on greatly simplified models of convection, however, lending less predictive power to such models of late type stars. We present a grid of improved and more reliable stellar atmosphere models of late type stars, based on deep, 3D, convective, stellar atmosphere simulations. This grid is to be used in general for interpreting observations, and improve stellar and asteroseismic modeling. We solve the Navier Stokes equations in 3D and concurrent with the radiative transfer equation, for a range of atmospheric parameters, covering most of stellar evolution with convection at the surface. We emphasize use of the best available atomic physics for quantitative predictions and comparisons with observations. We present granulation size, convective expansion of the acoustic cavity, asymptotic adiabat, as function of atmospheric parameters. These and other results are also available in electronic form.