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Dynamical Processes in Red Giants: Pulsations, Convection, and Mass Loss of Cool, Luminous, Evolved Stars in 3D Models
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy.
2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Description
Abstract [en]

Stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) mark a critical, late phase of stellar evolution. They develop extended, cool atmospheres where pulsation-driven shocks lift gas, facilitating dust condensation and acceleration of stellar winds via radiation pressure. With high mass loss rates, these stars significantly enrich the interstellar medium. Observations reveal complex, time-variable structures in their atmospheres and envelopes, shaped by dynamic variability and feedback processes.

To investigate these processes, the research described in this thesis used global 3D radiation-hydrodynamics models computed with CO5BOLD. The simulations capture the entire star, revealing interior dynamics driven by global convection, surface granulation, stochastic waves, and pulsations. Instead of imposing pulsation behaviour, the models let pulsations arise naturally from internal dynamics, enabling investigations from first-principles.

A primary result of this work is the detailed characterisation of self-excited pulsations. Analysing two model grids spanning various stellar masses, luminosities, and densities, clear relationships emerged between pulsation properties and global stellar parameters. Dominant periods obey well-known scalings, including the period-mean density relation and period-luminosity sequences seen in Miras and semiregular variables. In high-luminosity, low-density models, pulsations in the fundamental radial mode dominate with large amplitudes, while higher-density models show multiple radial overtones and low-degree non-radial modes with mode-switching behaviour over time. 

Both convection and pulsations naturally arise in the 3D models, yet their interaction is complex. We examined this interplay to understand its non-linear effects on the stellar atmosphere. The coupling influences atmospheric structure, variability amplitude, and the lifting and cooling of material, ultimately leading to dust-driven winds. The formation of inhomogeneous, dusty clumps in the outer atmosphere is an essential process contributing to the highly structured and time-dependent nature of AGB winds. Preliminary analysis presented in this thesis lays groundwork for future efforts aimed at parameterising wind properties from a 3D perspective.

The 3D models are essential to capture the dynamic behaviour of evolved stars. They naturally produce pulsations and their interaction with convection and winds, explaining observations from atmospheric variability to dusty clump formation driving mass loss. Understanding these processes is vital for advancing our knowledge of late-stage stellar evolution and the chemical evolution of galaxies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2025. , p. 109
Series
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology, ISSN 1651-6214 ; 2528
Keywords [en]
convection, shock waves, methods: numerical, stars: AGB and post-AGB, stars: atmospheres, stars: oscillations
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Research subject
Astronomy with specialization in Astrophysics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-553728ISBN: 978-91-513-2457-9 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-553728DiVA, id: diva2:1949207
Public defence
2025-05-27, Polhemsalen, Ångströmslaboratoriet, Regementsvägen 10, Uppsala, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2025-04-28 Created: 2025-04-01 Last updated: 2025-04-28
List of papers
1. Properties of self-excited pulsations in 3D simulations of AGB stars and red supergiants
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Properties of self-excited pulsations in 3D simulations of AGB stars and red supergiants
2023 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 669, article id A49Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Context. The characteristic variability of cool giants and supergiants is attributed to a combination of stellar pulsation and large-scale convective flows. Full 3D radiation-hydrodynamical modelling is an essential tool for understanding the nature of these dynamical processes. The parameter space in our 3D model grid of red giants has expanded in recent years. These models can provide many insights on the nature and properties of the pulsations, including the interplay between convection and pulsations.

Aims. We treat 3D dynamical models of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and red supergiants (with current masses 1 M-circle dot <= M-* <= 12 M-circle dot) similar to observational data. We aim to explore the relation between stellar parameters and the properties of the self-excited pulsations.

Methods. Output from global 'star-in-a-box' models computed with the CO5BOLD radiation-hydrodynamics code were analysed, particularly in regards to the pulsation properties, to find possible correlations with input and emergent stellar parameters. The fast Fourier transform was applied to spherically averaged mass flows to identify possible radial pulsation periods beneath the photosphere of the modelled stars. Stellar parameters were investigated for correlations with the extracted pulsation periods.

Results. We find that the pulsation periods varied with the stellar parameters in good agreement with the current expectations. The pulsation periods follow Ritter's period-mean density relation well and our AGB models agree with period-luminosity relations derived from observations. A mass estimate formula was derived from the 3D models, relating the stellar mass to the fundamental mode pulsation period and the stellar radius.

Conclusions. While the non-linearity of the interplay between the self-excited pulsations and the self-consistent convection complicates analyses, the resulting correlations are in good agreement with respect to current theoretical and observational understandings.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EDP SciencesEDP Sciences, 2023
Keywords
convection, shock waves, methods, numerical, stars, AGB and post-AGB, atmospheres, oscillations
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-498126 (URN)10.1051/0004-6361/202244555 (DOI)000915330600002 ()
Funder
EU, European Research Council, 883867Swedish Research Council, 2019-04059
Available from: 2023-03-10 Created: 2023-03-10 Last updated: 2025-04-01Bibliographically approved
2. Multi-mode Pulsations in AGB Stars: Insights from 3D RHD CO5BOLD Simulations
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Multi-mode Pulsations in AGB Stars: Insights from 3D RHD CO5BOLD Simulations
(English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361Article in journal (Refereed) Submitted
Abstract [en]

Stars on the AGB can exhibit acoustic pulsation modes of different radial orders, along with non-radial modes. These pulsations are essential to the mass-loss process and influence the evolutionary pathways of AGB stars. P-L relations serve as a valuable diagnostic for understanding stellar evolution along the AGB. 3D RHD simulations provide a powerful tool for investigating pulsation phenomena driven by convective processes and their non-linear coupling with stellar oscillations. We investigate multi-mode pulsations in AGB stars using advanced 3D 'star-in-a-box' simulations with the CO5BOLD code. Signatures of these multi-mode pulsations were weak in our previous 3D models. Our focus is on identifying and characterising the various pulsation modes, examining their persistence and transitions, and comparing the results with 1D model predictions and observational data where applicable. We produced a new model grid comprising AGB stars with current masses of 0.7, 0.8, and 1M⊙. Fourier analysis was applied to dynamic, time-dependent quantities to extract dominant pulsation modes and their corresponding periods. Additionally, wavelet transforms were employed to identify mode-switching behaviour over time. The models successfully reproduce the P-L sequences found in AGB stars. Mode-switching phenomena are found in both the models and wavelet analyses of observational data, allowing us to infer similarities in the underlying pulsation dynamics. These 3D simulations highlight the natural emergence of multi-mode pulsations, including both radial and non-radial modes, driven by the self-consistent interplay of convection and oscillations. Our findings underscore the value of 3D RHD models in capturing the non-linear behaviour of AGB pulsations, providing insights into mode switching, envelope structures, and potential links to episodic mass-loss events. 

National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Research subject
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-553723 (URN)
Available from: 2025-04-01 Created: 2025-04-01 Last updated: 2025-04-01

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