Over the last few years observational as well as theoretical evidence has accumulated that nonradial modes are more important than traditionally expected in the pulsations of RR Lyrae stars and Cepheids, and perhaps in the Long Period Variables as well. All these stars play a vital role in Astronomy and Cosmology and a thorough understanding of their properties is therefore imperative.
Here, a 2 and 3-dimensional numerical hydrodynamics code will be developed to make numerical simulations of full amplitude nonradial pulsations of these stars with the goal of explaining the recent observational data. The time is ripe for such novel numerical simulations despite their complicated nature, and the necessary computing power is available. It is anticipated that this study will also shed new light on the long standing problem of the Blazhko effect in RR Lyrae stars.
The techniques that will be employed here are expected to be very useful in other research areas as well, ranging from astronomy to nonlinear dynamics to medicine. The final numerical codes will be made publicly available after thorough testing. Support is included here for an undergraduate student who will be exposed to scientific research through this project and a postdoctoral research associate will be trained in multidimensional hydrodynamic simulations. This research will also be brought into the general education classroom through Dr. Buchler's teaching activities.
