Recent observations of our own Sun as well as other stars suggest the need for new approach to modeling stellar evolution, which fully takes into account the inevitably magnetized nature of stars. Dr. Pascale Garaud (University of California - Santa Cruz) will work on the construction of a multidimensional stellar evolution model which takes into account magnetic fields, rotation and all other associated dynamical effects. As a part of this project a new numerical model developed which couples the exact solutions of the nuclear evolution equations to a dynamical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model for the internal flows and fields on the larger scales, and a well-tested and experimentally calibrated turbulent MHD closure model for the smaller scales. This new work is a natural extension of Dr. Garaud's ongoing research on the MHD structure of stellar interiors.
Dr. Garaud and her collaborators will also launch a yearly international Summer School and Workshop in Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics (AFD). The lecture series will be loosely modeled on the world-renowned Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Summer School hosted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The lectures will be focused on teaching students the theoretical (mathematical and computational) tools for certain classes of problems in AFD. A related scientific workshop will be organized at the end of each lecture series inviting this time both theorists and observers, thus completing the program with a state-of-the art dual perspective in the topic studied. The venue will alternate between different partner countries to enhance the international dimension of the program and share organizational costs. The lectures will be published on the web.
