Events in Physics
Junho Park (Coventry): Waves and instability-driven turbulence in rotating stars and their evolution
Angular momentum transport is a fundamental process governing the structure and evolution of stars. Understanding the physical mechanisms that re-distribute the angular momentum within stellar interiors remains one of the main challenges in astrophysics. In radiation zones in which a fluid is considered to be stably stratified, candidate mechanisms for the angular momentum transport include gravito-inertial waves and shear-driven turbulence. In the seminar, I will talk about some fundamental fluid dynamics of waves and shear instabilities in stellar radiation zones, which are stratified and (differentially) rotating. I will discuss about how horizontal and vertical shear flows could lead to turbulence via various instability mechanisms [1,2], what the roles of waves and instabilities are in dissipation and transport of turbulence [2-4], and how these waves and instabilities could impact stellar evolution processes.
References
[1] Park, Prat, et al., A&A, 646, A64 (2021)
[2] Park, Mathis, MNRAS, 540, 298 (2025)
[3] Dandoy, Park, et al., A&A, 673, A6 (2023)
[4] Moisset, Billant, et al., JFM, 1027, A28 (2026)