Thermohaline mixing -- an agent for chemical transport in stars
Richard Stancliffe, Monash University
Abstract: Thermohaline mixing is a process that occurs when a layer of fluid has a higher mean molecular weight than the layer below it. As heat diffuses out of the upper layer, it becomes more dense than the material in the underlying layer and begins to sink. As the material sinks it can mix with the surrounding material. In recent years, this process has become of great interested to stellar modellers because of its potential for modifying the surface compositions of stars at various points in their lives. I will discuss some of the situations in which thermohaline mixing is important and where our knowledge of the process lets us down.
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