Temporal Variability of Stars and Stellar Systems

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance of studying the temporal variability of stars and stellar systems to better understand stellar magnetic fields and dynamos, emphasizing new observational techniques and the need for diverse stellar samples.

Contribution

It highlights the potential of upcoming observational methods like gyrochronology and asteroseismology to advance understanding of stellar magnetic variability beyond the Sun.

Findings

New techniques will improve understanding of stellar magnetic fields.

Studying diverse stars tests dynamo models.

Temporal variability insights will inform stellar evolution theories.

Abstract

Although the Sun is our closest star by many orders of magnitude and despite having sunspot records stretching back to ancient China, our knowledge of the Sun's magnetic field is far from complete. Indeed, even now, after decades of study, the most obvious manifestations of magnetic fields in the Sun (e.g. sunspots, flares and the corona) are scarcely understood at all. These failures in spite of intense effort suggest that to improve our grasp of magnetic fields in stars and of astrophysical dynamos in general, we must broaden our base of examples beyond the Sun; we must study stars with a variety of ages, masses, rotation rates, and other properties, so we can test models against as broad a range of circumstances as possible. Over the next decade, an array of indirect techniques will be supplemented by rapidly maturing new capabilities such as gyrochronology, asteroseismology and precision photometry from space, which will transform our understanding of the temporal variability of stars and stellar systems. In this White Paper we will outline some of the key science questions in this area along with the techniques that could be used to bring new insights to these questions.