Three-dimensional numerical experimentation on the core helium flash of low-mass red giants

We model the core helium flash in a low-mass red giant using Djehuty, a fully three-dimensional (3D) code. The 3D structures were generated from converged models obtained during the one-dimensional (1D) evolutionary calculation of a 1 M⊙ star. Independently of which starting point we adopted, we found that after some transient relaxation the 3D model settled down with a briskly convecting He-burning shell that was not very different from what the ID model predicted. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.