The problem of the existence, evolution, and stability of spatial structures in convection is of considerable importance to astrophysics as well as to geophysical hydrodynamics. The Boussinesq approximation will be used because the considered motions in stars are sufficiently slow. The system of hydrodynamic equations describing convection in a rotating inhomogeneous medium has the form:
Here Dt is the total time derivative, U the velocity, P, T, and C the deviations of the pressure, temperature, and helium abundance (by mass) from the basic equilibrium values, ρm, νm, χm, and Dm the values averaged over the considered layer of the density, viscosity, thermal and helium diffusivities, βT and βc the averaged coefficients of the thermal and helium expansions, g and Ω the gravitational acceleration and angular velocity, ∇Tb, and ∇Cb the values of the basic equilibrium temperature and helium gradients, and ñTad the adiabatic temperature gradient.
Convection and its Stability in the Equatorial Regions of the Convection Zone
