76

Database and Animation Package of Stellar Evolution Study

Mahasena Putra, Muhamad Irfan Hakim, Aprilia Wardana, Winardi Sutantyo
Astronomy Group, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung
e-mail: mahasena@as.itb.ac.id
Received May 2006, accepted for publication August 2006

Abstrak
Studi tentang evolusi bintang adalah sebuah cabang yang sangat aktif di dalam bidang astrofisika. Hasil yang
diperoleh dari studi evolusi bintang sangat diperlukan di bidang-bidang lain seperti evolusi kimiawi gugus bintang dan
galaksi. Akhir-akhir ini studi teoritis/komputasi evolusi bintang seringkali melibatkan populasi bintang yang sangat
besar (~10
6
) yang membutuhkan basis data jejak evolusi bintang dengan berbagai parameter (massa, komposisi kimia,
dan lain-lain) yang realistik. Di dalam artikel ini dilaporkan usaha untuk membangun basis data tersebut, dan berbagai
animasi isokron dan evolusi struktur dalam bintang yang berguna sebagai alat bantu dalam mengajarkan teori evolusi
bintang.
Kata kunci: Bintang, Jejak evolusi, Struktur dalam bintang, Konveksi
Abstract
The study of stellar evolution is an active major branch in astrophysics. Results from stellar evolution studies are
indispensable for studies in some other areas such as chemical evolution of star clusters and galaxies. Recently
theoretical/computational studies of stellar evolution often involve large populations of stars (~10
6
) which need
databases of evolution tracks with various realistic parameters (mass, chemical composition, etc). In this paper, an
attempt in building such a database and construction of animations of the evolution of stellar internal structures and
isochrones which is useful in teaching stellar evolution were described.
Keywords: Stars, Evolution track, Internal structure, Convection
1. Introduction
The evolution of stars has been studied
systematically since early twentieth century, or
probably even much earlier. Some of the early
motivations for the study are the following. First, like
our Sun, most stars radiate energy with enormous rate
(~10
32
-10
38
erg / sec); it is hard to imagine such a
system to be static for a long time. Second, if stars with
known distance are plotted in a diagram showing the
relation between luminosity and surface temperature
(known as Hertzsprung-Russell diagram or HR
diagram), they are not distributed randomly. HR
diagrams of star clusters show patterns which are now
known to be determined by the age of the clusters.
Third, for stars of known mass, there is a correlation
between luminosity and mass: stars of larger mass have
larger luminosity.
One has to be able to find quasistatic solutions
of stellar structure equations before they can follow
the evolution of stars. There are many textbooks which
give detailed account on this subject (Eddington, 1930;
Schwarzschild, 1958; Kippenhahn and Weigert, 1990).
The theory was developed to reproduce among others,
the aforementioned observational facts.

At present, the understanding of stellar
structure and their evolution is relatively established.
However, the increasing quantity and quality of
observational data demand more detailed consideration
in every aspect of the theory. Many computer codes
have been developed to compute stellar structures and
evolution, each with their strengths and weaknesses
(Chiosi et al., 1978; Maeder and Meynet, 1988;
Bertelli et al., 1994). In general, the differences
between those computer codes are in the thoroughness
of the input physics, and the numerical method
implemented in the codes to find the solutions.
Several physical processes, such as convective
energy transfer and mass loss through stellar wind, are
thought to play essential roles in the stellar evolution,
albeit not yet well understood. In such cases, it is
common to model the process with a first order, ad
hoc, approximation involving some free parameters
whose best values are to be determined by comparing
to observational data. If we decide to use a particular
computer code to compute stellar evolution, we have to
carefully calibrate the free parameters using the well
known criteria. Only then we can have confidence in
the results obtained using the code.
77 JURNAL MATEMATIKA DAN SAINS, SEPTEMBER 2006, VOL. 11 NO. 3
The main goal in this work is to develop a
stellar evolutionary track database with a range of
combinations of stellar mass, metallicity, and
overshooting parameters using a computer code named
program STAR (Eggleton, 1971; Pols et al., 1995). The
output of the computation is put into a database which
will be very useful for further population synthesis
studies.
Useful materials (especially animations) for
teaching stellar evolution can be created from the
database. Experience has shown that stellar evolution is
easier to understand by watching animations on how
various quantities change with time inside a star, rather
than reading narrations describing static diagrams.
2. Method
2.1 Theory of stellar structure and evolution
Mathematical model of a static star can be
written, with r as the independent variable, as four
simultaneous differential equations. Hereafter, P , ,
T , and
r
M are functions of r . The first is the
consequence of the hydrostatic assumption. At any
point in a static star, there is a balance between
gravitational force directed inward and pressure
gradient (pressure is due to matter and radiation, and
decreases outward),
2
r
GM
dr
dP
r
= (1)
The second equation,

=
r
r
r d r M
0
2
4 or
2
4 r
dr
dM
r
= , (2)
is the mass continuity equation. P and are pressure
and mass density in the star, and G is the gravitational
constant. It should be noted that, at high temperature,
radiation pressure may become important. The third is
the thermal equilibrium equation,

2
4 r
dr
dL
r
= , (3)
where is the nuclear energy generated in one gram
of matter per second, and
r
L is the energy flux passing
through a sphere of radius r.
The fourth equation describes how energy is
transferred in the stellar matter,
) (radiative
4 4
3
2 3
r
L
T ac dr
dT
r

= , (4a)
or
e) (convectiv
conv
=
dr
dT
, (4b)
where is the opacity of the stellar matter, a is the
Stefan-Boltzmann constant, and c is the speed of light.
When the temperature gradient given by Equation (4a)
is larger than adiabatic temperature gradient
( ln / ln T P at constant entropy), then energy is
transferred convectively, and equation (4b) is used. In
that case, the right-hand side of Equation (4b),
conv
,
has to be computed using the mixing-length theory
(Kippenhahn and Weigert, 1990). Otherwise, energy is
transferred radiatively, and equation (4a) is used.
We need three more equations describing
properties of the stellar matter: equation of state,
absorption coefficient, and nuclear energy generation
which formally can be written as
), n compositio , , ( T P P = (5)
), n compositio , , ( T = (6)
). n compositio , , ( T = (7)
Equations (1) (7) have to be satisfied at
every point in the stellar interior. Now, the problem
transforms into four simultaneous total, first order,
non-linear differential equations with four unknowns:
P,
r
M ,
r
L , and T as functions of r. To obtain the
solutions, four boundary conditions are required. These
boundary conditions can be inferred from the stellar
structure itself. At the center, 0 = r : 0 =
r
M and
0 =
r
L . At the surface, R r = : 0 T and 0 P
(these are good enough because their values at the
center are orders of magnitude higher). In general,
solutions to this problem can only be obtained through
numerical integrations. For practical reasons, usually
r
M is used as the independent variable in equations
(1) (7) and the boundary conditions. The accuracies
of equations (5) (7) evolve in concert with better
understanding of the physical processes in the stellar
matter.
In principle, given the mass and composition,
one can find the stellar structure (the solutions), i.e., P,
r
M ,
r
L , and T as functions of r at an instant
0
. t The
solutions then can be used to compute the new
composition at some t later, and a new stellar
structure at time t t t + =
0
can be computed. In that
way the evolution of a star can be followed
numerically.
If one starts to follow the evolution of a star
with a uniform composition (from the center to the
surface), the solution shows that energy generation by
nuclear burning mainly takes place at the center of the
star where the temperature and density are the highest.
The first (fusion) reaction to occur is conversion from
Putra et al., Database and Animation Package of Stellar 78

hydrogen into helium. Gradually, hydrogen abundance
decreases while that of helium increases in the central
part of the star. Complication arises in stars of mass
larger than 3M

, where convection appears in the

central part so that mixing of stellar matter has to be
taken into account. The complication includes how to
model the boundary layer between radiative and
convective layer, which is known to affect the
evolution significantly (~30% in the age estimation of
the star). A parameter called overshooting appears in
this context to describe how far matter from convective
layer penetrates into radiative layer due to its
momentum (see text after equation 4b).
2.2 The evolution code
In this work we use an evolution code called
STAR, first developed by Eggleton (1971). This code
has the following characteristics: (i) includes relatively
complete physics, (ii) implements adaptive mesh points
which can produce solutions of enough accuracy with
small number of mesh points, (ii) small size program,
(iv) short running time per model (~5 minute on
Pentium 4, 1.1 GHz), and (v) produces extensive
output tables which are convenient for our purposes.
For reference see Eggleton (1971) and Pols et al.
(1995), for example. This code basically follows
evolution of single stars, but the outer boundary
conditions are modified to include mass loss effects
(and other conservation laws, if the star is a member of
a binary system). Below, we give a sample case of
using program STAR. A website describing program
STAR can be found at
http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~stars/.
The source code of program STAR comes
with a set of initial models of different mass and
uniform composition. These models are termed zero
age main sequence (ZAMS). Creating a record (an
evolution track) in our database means following the
evolution of a star with a set of parameters, including
mass, from its ZAMS. If ZAMS with a chosen mass is
not yet available, we have to create it by configuring
program STAR to do that.
Suppose we are going to create an evolution
track of a 4M

star, and already have the

corresponding ZAMS. There are two configuration
files that need to be set up. The first file is used to (i)
set the characteristic of the program, such as the
number of mesh points and how the program should
change its time step when needed, (ii) set some
parameters, such as overshooting, wind mass loss rate,
and composition, and (iii) set the output format. The
second file is used to (i) set which ZAMS file to be
evolved, (ii) set the stop conditions, and (iii) set the
orbital parameters if the star is a member of a binary
system. In this work we mainly create evolution tracks
of single stars, and set the orbital period to a very large
number so that the star will not interact with its
companion throughout its evolution.
When the program has completed the
evolution of a model, it provides a set of output files.
One of the files contains properties at the stars surface,
such as radius, luminosity, and effective temperature as
functions of its age. Another file contains tables of the
stars structure [such as ) (r , T(r), composition, and
others as functions of r] as a function of its age. The
time steps in the output files are not constant since the
program changes it to maintain the required numerical
accuracy.
2.3 The database structure
Our database contains sets of output files of
program STAR executed with the following
combinations of parameters: metallicity, 0.002 Z = ,
0.02, 0.03; mass, 0.1 log / 1.9 M M

with
log / 0.004 M M =

; overshooting (as defined in

Irawati, 2006),
os
0.08 = , 0.12, 0.16. Ranges of values
of Z and M taken from stars observed in star clusters,
while range of
os
are used to calibrate its best value
(by comparing to observational cluster HR diagrams).
Total parameter combinations is 4500. Running time in
the personal computer (Pentium 4, 1.1 GHz) is around
24 20 hours, and the raw database occupies ~150 GB
of space.
The raw database is converted into smaller
and more practical tables (e.g., tables with constant
time step) in order that they can be accessed in
reasonable time through the Internet. For this purpose
we develop small appropriate programs. The structure
of the database will be altered later when we find it
necessary, or accommodating to the users feedbacks.
We are in the process of uploading the
database into a dedicated server that can be
downloaded interactively through the Internet. The
temporary web page is at
http://www.as.itb.ac/~mahasena/stelevol/ index.htm.
3. Results and discussion
Figure 1 showed a series of stellar evolution
tracks in an HR diagram with log / M M

starting from
0.0 and increases with 0.05 step. The other parameters
are 0.02 Z = and
os
0.12 = . With our database,
comparing stellar evolution tracks with various set of
parameter combinations becoming easy and fast.
Figure 2 showed an isochrone constructed
from our database, superposed on a set of observational
data of an open cluster, NGC 2567. Isochrone is the
locations of stars with different masses, in an HR
79 JURNAL MATEMATIKA DAN SAINS, SEPTEMBER 2006, VOL. 11 NO. 3
diagram, at a particular epoch since their formation
(assumed to be formed simultaneously). In this figure
the other parameters are 0.0 log / 0.6 M M

with
step 0.01, 0.02 Z = and
os
0.12 = .


Figure 1. Evolution tracks of stars with mass
0.0 log / 0.6 M M

with steps 0.05. The track of

lower mass star is located lower in the diagram.



Figure 2. An isochrone with age
8
~2.5 10 years
(symbol , see text) created from our database
(Irawati, 2006). Here the isochrone is superposed with
a set of observational data (symbol ) of open cluster
NGC 2567.


Figure 3. Left panels show the internal structure of a star when its location in the HR diagram (upper right panel) is at
the right end of the track (see text).
Putra et al., Database and Animation Package of Stellar 80

Isochrones are very useful for estimating cluster ages.
An undergraduate thesis with this topic has been
completed (Irawati, 2006). Animated isochrones can be
created easily from our database. In fact, they serve as
good educational and research tools.
Another example of the utilization of our
database is to see the evolution of stellar internal
structure. We show the internal structure of a star at a
particular epoch in Figure 3. The upper right panel is
an HR diagram (logarithmic plot of luminosity L versus
effective temperature
eff
T ) containing the evolution
track of the star; the current location of the star is at the
right end of the track. The x-axis in the left panels is r,
the distance from the center of the star. Subsequently,
from above, the y-axes are element compositions
i
(X ) ,
nuclear energy generation
nuc
(E ) , a property associated
with convectivity, i.e., the difference between radiative
and adiabatic temperature gradient (gr-ga), and mass
density ( ) and temperature (T) . In the lower right
panel is a property associated with the tightness of the
stellar layers (
b
E /m as a function of m).
We have created animations of stellar internal
structure described above. In the animations, as the
track in the HR diagram grows (the star evolves), we
can see how the internal structure changes. It is also
possible to see other properties of interest easily by
recreating the animations using our scripts (with minor
modification).
4. Conclusion
In this work we have constructed a database of
single star evolution tracks using program STAR
(Eggleton, 1971). The database contains sets of output
files of program STAR executed with the following
combinations of parameters: metallicity, 0.002 Z = ,
0.02, 0.03; mass, 0.1 log / 1.9 M M

with
log / 0.004 M M =

; overshooting (as defined in

Irawati, 2006),
os
0.08 = , 0.12, 0.16. We prepare this
database for our future research using stellar population
synthesis method. We find it very useful to use
animations of the evolution of the internal structure of
stars, created from the database, to teach stellar
evolution.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Reddy A. Nugraha,
Annisya W. Halim, Puji Irawati, and Nur Hasanah for
the discussions on the topic of this research. Part of this
research was funded by ITB Research Grant number
0076/K01.03/PL2.1.5/ VI/2005.
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