scholarly journals Magnetic pinch-type instability in stellar radiative zones

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 167-176
Author(s):  
Günther Rüdiger ◽  
Leonid L. Kitchatinov ◽  
Marcus Gellert

AbstractThe solar tachocline is shown as hydrodynamically stable against nonaxisymmetric disturbances if it is true that no cos4θ term exists in its rotation law. We also show that the toroidal field of 200 Gauss amplitude which produces the tachocline in the magnetic theory of Rüdiger & Kitchatinov (1997) is stable against nonaxisymmetric MHD disturbances – but it becomes unstable for rotation periods slightly slower than 25 days. The instability of such weak fields lives from the high thermal diffusivity of stellar radiation zones compared with the magnetic diffusivity. The growth times, however, result as very long (of order of 105 rotation times). With estimations of the chemical mixing we find the maximal possible field amplitude to be ~500 Gauss in order to explain the observed lithium abundance of the Sun. Dynamos with such low field amplitudes should not be relevant for the solar activity cycle.With nonlinear simulations of MHD Taylor-Couette flows it is shown that for the rotation-dominated magnetic instability the resulting eddy viscosity is only of the order of the molecular viscosity. The Schmidt number as the ratio of viscosity and chemical diffusion grows to values of ~20. For the majority of the stellar physics applications, the magnetic-dominated Tayler instability will be quenched by the stellar rotation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 492 (4) ◽  
pp. 5141-5151
Author(s):  
S M Zaleski ◽  
A Valio ◽  
B D Carter ◽  
S C Marsden

ABSTRACT Little is known of the activity and differential rotation of low luminosity, early M dwarfs from direct observation. We present the first stellar activity analysis of star-spots and faculae for the hot Jupiter hosting M1V dwarf Kepler-45 from $\it Kepler$ transit light curves. We find star-spot and facula temperatures contrasting a few hundred degrees with the quiet photosphere, hence similar to other early M dwarfs having a convective envelope surrounding a radiative core. Star-spots are prominent close to the centre of the stellar disc, with faculae prominent towards the limbs, similar to what is observed for the Sun. Star-spot and facula mean sizes are about 40 and 45 × 103 km, respectively, and thus faculae occupy a 10 per cent larger surface area than the star-spots. A short-term activity cycle of about 295 d is observed that is reminiscent of those seen for other cool dwarfs. Adopting a solar-type differential rotation profile (faster equatorial rotation than polar rotation), our star-spot and facula temporal mapping indicates a rotation period of 15.520 ± 0.025 d at the transit latitude of −33.2°. From the mean stellar rotation of 15.762 d, we estimate a rotational shear of 0.031 ± 0.004 rad d−1, or a relative differential rotation of 7.8 ± 0.9 per cent. Kepler-45’s surface rotational shear is thus consistent with observations and theoretical modelling of other early M dwarfs that indicate a shear of less than 0.045 rad d−1 and no less than 0.03 rad d−1 for stars with similar stellar rotation periods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 586-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Danilov ◽  
A. V. Konstantinova

Solar Physics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Courtillot ◽  
F. Lopes ◽  
J. L. Le Mouël

AbstractThis article deals with the prediction of the upcoming solar activity cycle, Solar Cycle 25. We propose that astronomical ephemeris, specifically taken from the catalogs of aphelia of the four Jovian planets, could be drivers of variations in solar activity, represented by the series of sunspot numbers (SSN) from 1749 to 2020. We use singular spectrum analysis (SSA) to associate components with similar periods in the ephemeris and SSN. We determine the transfer function between the two data sets. We improve the match in successive steps: first with Jupiter only, then with the four Jovian planets and finally including commensurable periods of pairs and pairs of pairs of the Jovian planets (following Mörth and Schlamminger in Planetary Motion, Sunspots and Climate, Solar-Terrestrial Influences on Weather and Climate, 193, 1979). The transfer function can be applied to the ephemeris to predict future cycles. We test this with success using the “hindcast prediction” of Solar Cycles 21 to 24, using only data preceding these cycles, and by analyzing separately two 130 and 140 year-long halves of the original series. We conclude with a prediction of Solar Cycle 25 that can be compared to a dozen predictions by other authors: the maximum would occur in 2026.2 (± 1 yr) and reach an amplitude of 97.6 (± 7.8), similar to that of Solar Cycle 24, therefore sketching a new “Modern minimum”, following the Dalton and Gleissberg minima.


2020 ◽  
Vol 501 (1) ◽  
pp. 483-490
Author(s):  
Jim Fuller

ABSTRACT In close binary stars, the tidal excitation of pulsations typically dissipates energy, causing the system to evolve towards a circular orbit with aligned and synchronized stellar spins. However, for stars with self-excited pulsations, we demonstrate that tidal interaction with unstable pulsation modes can transfer energy in the opposite direction, forcing the spins of the stars away from synchronicity, and potentially pumping the eccentricity and spin–orbit misalignment angle. This ‘inverse’ tidal process only occurs when the tidally forced mode amplitude is comparable to the mode’s saturation amplitude, and it is thus most likely to occur in main-sequence gravity mode pulsators with orbital periods of a few days. We examine the long-term evolution of inverse tidal action, finding the stellar rotation rate can potentially be driven to a very large or very small value, while maintaining a large spin–orbit misalignment angle. Several recent asteroseismic analyses of pulsating stars in close binaries have revealed extremely slow core rotation periods, which we attribute to the action of inverse tides.


2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. A66 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Freund ◽  
J. Robrade ◽  
P. C. Schneider ◽  
J. H. M. M. Schmitt

Aims. We revisit the X-ray properties of the main sequence Hyades members and the relation between X-ray emission and stellar rotation. Methods. As an input catalog for Hyades members, we combined three recent Hyades membership lists derived from Gaia DR2 data that include the Hyades core and its tidal tails. We searched for X-ray detections of the main sequence Hyades members in the ROSAT all-sky survey, and pointings from ROSAT, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and XMM-Newton. Furthermore, we adopted rotation periods derived from Kepler’s K2 mission and other resources. Results. We find an X-ray detection for 281 of 1066 bona fide main sequence Hyades members and provide statistical upper limits for the undetected sources. The majority of the X-ray detected stars are located in the Hyades core because of its generally smaller distance to the Sun. F- and G-type stars have the highest detection fraction (72%), while K- and M-type dwarfs have lower detection rates (22%). The X-ray luminosities of the detected members range from ∼2 × 1027 erg s−1 for late M-type dwarfs to ∼2 × 1030 erg s−1 for active binaries. The X-ray luminosity distribution functions formally differ for the members in the core and tidal tails, which is likely caused by a larger fraction of field stars in our Hyades tails sample. Compared to previous studies, our sample is slightly fainter in X-rays due to differences in the Hyades membership list used; furthermore, we extend the X-ray luminosity distribution to fainter luminosities. The X-ray activity of F- and G-type stars is well defined at FX/Fbol ≈ 10−5. The fractional X-ray luminosity and its spread increases to later spectral types reaching the saturation limit (FX/Fbol ≈ 10−3) for members later than spectral type M3. Confirming previous results, the X-ray flux varies by less than a factor of three between epochs for the 104 Hyades members with multiple epoch data, significantly less than expected from solar-like activity cycles. Rotation periods are found for 204 Hyades members, with about half of them being detected in X-rays. The activity-rotation relation derived for the coeval Hyades members has properties very similar to those obtained by other authors investigating stars of different ages.


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