An Adaptive Code For Radial Stellar Pulsations

Abstract

We describe an implicit 1--D adaptive mesh hydrodynamics code that is specially tailored for radial stellar pulsations. In the Lagrangean limit the code reduces to the well tested Fraley scheme. The code has the useful feature that unwanted, long lasting transients can be avoided by smoothly switching on the adaptive mesh features starting from the Lagrangean code. Thus, a limit cycle pulsation that can readily be computed with the relaxation method of Stellingwerf will converge in a few tens of pulsation cycles when put into the adaptive mesh code. The code has been checked with two shock problems, viz Noh and Sedov, for which analytical solutions are known, and it has been found to be both accurate and stable. Superior results were obtained through the solution of the total energy (gravitational + kinetic + internal) equation rather than that of the internal energy only.