Exploratory Simulation of Solar Granules: How Sharp is the Convection/Radiation Transition?

Extract

Currently, the most successful direct simulation of the solar granules (and the convection/radiation transition layer) is the three-dimensional (3D) model computed by Stein and Nordlund (1989). So far, there is no other similar 3D models available for comparison [however, see Ludwig et al. (1997) for a recent 2D calculation]. We are developing an alternative numerical approach to simulate the 3D radiation hydrodynamics of this layer. In this approach, the Eddington approximation is used to handle the radiation rather than solving the radiative transfer equations along rays, and the ADISM method (Chan and Wolff 1982) which solves the Navier Stokes equations in conservative forms is used to speed up the thermal relaxation of the fluid layer. We are in the process of testing the numerical accuracy of the codes. This paper summarizes the results of a test that illustrate the effects of vertical space resolution on the mean profiles of some important quantities.