The Effect of Magnetic Variability on Stellar Angular Momentum Loss I: The Solar Wind Torque During Sunspot Cycles 23 & 24

TL;DR

This study compares three methods to estimate the solar wind torque during sunspot cycles 23 and 24, revealing variability and discrepancies in angular momentum loss estimates, with implications for understanding stellar rotational evolution.

Contribution

It introduces and compares three different methods for calculating solar wind torque, highlighting the variability and uncertainties in these estimates and their implications for stellar evolution models.

Findings

Solar wind torque decreased by 30-40% from cycle 23 to 24.

Different methods yield varying torque estimates, highlighting measurement challenges.

Solar torque estimates suggest potential long-term variability beyond magnetic cycles.

Abstract

The rotational evolution of cool stars is governed by magnetised stellar winds which slow the stellar rotation during their main sequence lifetimes. Magnetic variability is commonly observed in Sun-like stars, and the changing strength and topology of the global field is expected to affect the torque exerted by the stellar wind. We present three different methods for computing the angular momentum loss in the solar wind. Two are based on MHD simulations from Finley & Matt (2018), with one using the open flux measured in the solar wind, and the other using remotely-observed surface magnetograms. Both methods agree in the variation of the solar torque seen through the solar cycle and show a 30-40% decrease from cycle 23 to 24. The two methods calculate different average values, $2.9\times10^{30}$erg (open flux) and $0.35\times10^{30}$erg (surface field). This discrepancy results from the already well-known difficulty with reconciling the magnetograms with observed open flux, which is currently not understood, leading to an inability to discriminate between these two calculated torques. The third method is based on the observed spin-rates of Sun-like stars, which decrease with age, directly probing the average angular momentum loss. This method gives $6.2\times10^{30}$erg for the solar torque, larger than the other methods. This may be indicative of further variability in the solar torque on timescales much longer than the magnetic cycle. We discuss the implications for applying the formula to other Sun-like stars, where only surface field measurements are available, and where the magnetic variations are ill-constrained.