Long-Term evolution of Discs around Magnetic Stars

TL;DR

This paper models the long-term evolution of viscous discs around magnetic stars, revealing distinct states that influence stellar spin-down and linking these states to observed stellar classes.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive model including magnetic torques and transition states, explaining different stellar spin-down behaviors and their connection to stellar classes.

Findings

Identification of 'dead' and 'trapped' disc states.

Different long-term spin-down outcomes for stars.

Correlation of states with Ap stars and magnetic white dwarfs.

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of a thin viscous disc surrounding magnetic star, including the spindown of the star by the magnetic torques it exerts on the disc. The transition from an accreting to a non-accreting state, and the change of the magnetic torque across the corotation radius are included in a generic way, the widths of the transition taken in the range suggested by numerical simulations. In addition to the standard accreting state, two more are found. An accreting state can develop into a 'dead' disc state, with inner edge well outside corotation. More often, a 'trapped' state develops, in which the inner disc edge stays close to corotation even at very low accretion rates. The long-term evolution of these two states is different. In the dead state the star spins down incompletely, retaining much of its initial spin. In the trapped state the star asymptotically can spin down to arbitarily low rates, its angular momentum transferred to the disc. We identify these outcomes with respectively the rapidly rotating and the very slowly rotating classes of Ap stars and magnetic white dwarfs.