The evolution and nucleosynthesis of low-mass stars

Abstract

The subject of low-mass stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis stands at the cusp of a revolution thanks to recent steps forward in several fields. In this review, I focus on three particular topics: asteroseismology, non-convective mixing on the giant branches and hydrodynamical simulations. Asteroseismology gives us, for the first time, a way of looking at what is happening in the deep interior of stars - regions that we have never before had access to. We are now beginning to appreciate the role that non-convective mechanisms (like rotation, thermohaline mixing and magnetic fields) play in the way material is moved around inside stars. Finally, hydrodynamical simulations have developed to the point where we can simulate significant portions of a stellar interior and watch how fluid motions transport chemical species. From this, we can hope to develop more realistic algorithms for the processes we wish to model in stellar evolution codes. Each of these fields is helping to push forward our understanding of stellar interiors and we can reasonably hope to see significant progress made in this field in the coming years. Show more