A Study of Subsurface Convection Zones of Fast Rotating Massive Stars

TL;DR

This study investigates how rapid rotation affects the evolution of subsurface convective zones in massive stars, revealing that rotation expands these zones and may explain observed surface microturbulence.

Contribution

The paper introduces detailed stellar models showing the impact of rotation on subsurface convective zones in massive stars across various metallicities.

Findings

Rapid rotation expands subsurface convective zones.

Subsurface CZs can develop in low-metallicity stars.

Rotating models better match observed microturbulence.

Abstract

The subsurface convective zones (CZs) of massive stars significantly influences many of their key characteristics. Previous studies have paid little attention to the impact of rotation on the subsurface convective zone (CZ), so we aim to investigate the evolution of this zone in rapidly rotating massive stars. We use the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) to simulate the subsurface CZs of massive stars during the main sequence phase. We establish stellar models with initial masses ranging from 5 $M_{\odot}$ to 120 $M_{\odot}$, incorporating four metallicities (Z = 0.02, 0.006, 0.002, and 0.0001) and three rotational velocities ($\mit\omega/\omega_{\text {crit}}$ = 0, $\mit\omega/\omega_{\text {crit}}$ = 0.50, and $\mit\omega/\omega_{\text {crit}}$ = 0.75). We find that rapid rotation leads to an expansion of the subsurface CZ, increases convective velocities, and promotes the development of this zone. Additionally, subsurface CZs can also emerge in stars with lower metallicities. Comparing our models with observations of massive stars in the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Small Magellanic Cloud, we find that rotating models better encompass the observed samples. Rotation significantly influences the evolution of the subsurface CZ in massive stars. By comparing with the observed microturbulence on the surfaces of OB stars, we propose that the subsurface CZs may be one of the sources of microturbulence.