Bibcode
DOI
D'Antona, F.; Montalbán, J.; Kupka, F.; Heiter, U.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 564, Issue 2, pp. L93-L96.
Advertised on:
1
2002
Journal
Citations
24
Refereed citations
18
Description
``Böhm-Vitense gaps,'' discontinuities in the color distribution of
A-F type stars along the main sequence, have traditionally been
attributed to the abrupt onset of strong convection (8000
K>=Teff>=6400 K) in stellar atmospheres and envelopes.
Using the full spectrum of turbulence model to describe convective
transport (Canuto, Goldman, & Mazzitelli) both in the interior and
in the atmosphere yields a very sharp transition between structures that
are convective only in the surface layers and structures that show a
well-developed convection also in the interior. This produces a sudden
change in the Teff of stars, around Teff~=6800 K.
Using numerical simulations, we show that this feature produces a
stellar depletion that is consistent with the gap at
0.33<~B-V<~0.38. The standard mixing-length theory does not show
this behavior. Consequently, this particular gap is a
``Teff'' gap and not a ``color'' gap. In fact, it is also
present in the V-I color distribution of the Hyades stars.