Minimalist coupled evolution model for stellar x-ray activity, rotation, mass loss, and magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper develops a minimalist theoretical framework that unifies the evolution of stellar x-ray activity, rotation, magnetic fields, and mass loss in late-type stars, explaining observed saturation and scaling behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a holistic model combining wind dynamics, magnetic field generation, and coronal physics to describe stellar evolution of activity and rotation.

Findings

Model reproduces observed x-ray to bolometric flux ratios.

Explains saturation of activity in young stars.

Predicts the evolution of magnetic fields and mass loss with stellar age.

Abstract

Late-type main sequence stars exhibit an x-ray to bolometric flux ratio that depends on ${\tilde Ro}$, the ratio of rotation period to convective turnover time, as ${\tilde Ro}^{-\zeta}$ with $2\le \zeta \le 3$ for ${\tilde Ro} >0.13$, but saturates with $|\zeta| <0.2$ for ${\tilde Ro} < 0.13$. Saturated stars are younger than unsaturated stars and show a broader spread of rotation rates and x-ray activity. The unsaturated stars have magnetic fields and rotation speeds that scale roughly with the square root of their age, though possibly flattening for stars older than the sun. The connection between faster rotators, stronger fields, and higher activity has been established observationally, but a theory for the unified time-evolution of x-ray luminosity, rotation, magnetic field and mass loss that captures the above trends has been lacking. Here we derive a minimalist holistic framework for the time evolution of these quantities built from combining a Parker wind with new ingredients: (1) explicit sourcing of both the thermal energy launching the wind and the x-ray luminosity via dynamo produced magnetic fields; (2) explicit coupling of x-ray activity and mass loss saturation to dynamo saturation (via magnetic helicity build-up and convection eddy shredding); (3) use of coronal equilibrium to determine how magnetic energy is divided into wind and x-ray contributions. For solar-type stars younger than the sun, we infer conduction to be a subdominant power loss compared to x-rays and wind. For older stars, conduction is more important, possibly quenching the wind and reducing angular momentum loss. We focus on the time evolution for stars younger than the sun, highlighting what is possible for further generalizations. Overall, the approach shows promise toward a unified explanation of all of the aforementioned observational trends.