Turbulence in Wind-Blown Bubbles around Massive Stars

Abstract

Winds from massive stars (> 8 solar masses) result in the formation of wind-blown "bubbles" around these stars. In this paper we study, via two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic simulations, the onset and growth of turbulence during the formation and evolution of these wind-blown "bubbles". Our simulations reveal the formation of vortex rolls during the Main-Sequence stage of the evolution, and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in the subsequent stages due to accelerating and/or decelerating wind-blown shells. The bubble shows a very turbulent interior just prior to the death of the star, with a significant percentage of the internal energy expended in non-radial motions. This would affect the subsequent evolution of the resultant supernova shock wave. We discuss the implications of these results, show how the ratio of kinetic energy in radial versus non-radial motions varies throughout the evolution, and discuss how these results would carry over to three dimensions.