A Study of Subsurface Convection Zones of Fast Rotating Massive Stars

The subsurface convective zones (CZs) of massive stars significantly influence many of their key characteristics. Previous studies have paid little attention to the impact of rotation on the subsurface CZ, so we aim to investigate the evolution of this zone in rapidly rotating massive stars. We use the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics to simulate the subsurface CZs of massive stars during the main sequence phase. We establish stellar models with initial masses ranging from 5 M-circle dot to 120 M-circle dot, incorporating four metallicities (Z = 0.02, 0.006, 0.002, and 0.0001) and three rotational velocities (omega/omega(crit) = 0, omega/omega(crit) = 0.50, and omega/omega(crit) = 0.75). We find that rapid rotation leads to an expansion of the subsurface CZ, increases convective velocities, and promotes the development of this zone. Additionally, subsurface CZs can also emerge in stars with lower metallicities. Comparing our models with observations of massive stars in the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Small Magellanic Cloud, we find that rotating models better encompass the observed samples. Rotation significantly influences the evolution of the subsurface CZ in massive stars. By comparing with the observed microturbulence on the surfaces of OB stars, we propose that the subsurface CZs may be one of the sources of microturbulence.