Supercomputer windows into the solar convection zone
Åke Nordlund, Robert F. Stein, Axel Brandenburg · 1996
. We discuss the properties of convection in the solar convection zone(CZ), as revealed by supercomputer simulations. One class of models, covering roughly the first half of the logarithmic mass density interval from the photosphere to the bottom of the convection zone, is an accurate representation of the solar surface layers. These models provide quantitative information on the physically complicated top boundary layer, where fluctuation amplitudes are large, radiative energy transfer is important, and where the structure is crucial for both global solar structure and p-mode reflection properties. The second class of models are "toy models" that cover the second half of the logarithmic range in density and include the bulk and bottom CZ boundary, but whose parameters deviate in several ways from the actual solar CZ. These models are still able to provide a basis for discussions and speculations about the bottom boundary layer of the solar convection zone. Key words: Convection, turb...