Updated Electron‐Conduction Opacities: The Impact on Low‐Mass Stellar Models

We review the theory of electron-conduction opacity, a fundamental ingredientin the computation of low-mass stellar models; shortcomings and limitations ofthe existing calculations used in stellar evolution are discussed. We thenpresent new determinations of the electron-conduction opacity in stellarconditions for an arbitrary chemical composition, that improve over previousworks and, most importantly, cover the whole parameter space relevant tostellar evolution models (i.e., both the regime of partial and high electrondegeneracy). A detailed comparison with the currently used tabulations is alsoperformed. The impact of our new opacities on the evolution of low-mass starsis assessed by computing stellar models along both the H- and He-burningevolutionary phases, as well as Main Sequence models of very low-mass stars andwhite dwarf cooling tracks.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, ApJ in pres