Radial stellar pulsation and three-dimensional convection. IV. Full amplitude three-dimensional solutions

Abstract

Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of full amplitude RR Lyrae stars have been computed for several models across the instability strip. The three-dimensional nature of the calculations allows convection to be treated without reference to a phenomenological approach such as the local mixing length theory. Specifically, the time-dependent interaction of large-scale eddies and radial pulsation is controlled by conservation laws, while the effects of smaller convective eddies are simulated by an eddy viscosity model. The light amplitudes for these calculations are quite similar to those of our previous two-dimensional calculations in the middle of the instability strip, but somewhat lower near the red edge, the fundamental blue edge, and for the one first overtone model we computed. The time-dependent interaction between the radial pulsation and the convective energy transport is essentially the same in three dimensions as it is in two dimensions. There are some differences between the light curves of the two- and three-dimensional simulations, particularly during decreasing light. Reasons for the differences, both numerical and physical, are explored.