MCMC inversions of the internal rotation of Kepler subgiants

TL;DR

This study uses MCMC inversions on Kepler subgiants to explore their internal rotation profiles, testing various models and constraining the angular momentum transport processes, highlighting the complexity and diversity of stellar interior dynamics.

Contribution

Introduces a new MCMC inversion method applied to Kepler subgiants, constraining internal rotation profiles and the properties of angular momentum transport processes.

Findings

Large-scale fossil magnetic fields cannot explain subgiant rotation.

Transition locations in rotation profiles vary among stars.

Additional processes may influence angular momentum transport.

Abstract

The measurement of the internal rotation of post-main sequence stars using data from space-based photometry missions has demonstrated the need for an efficient angular momentum transport in stellar interiors. So far, no clear solution has emerged and explaining the observed trends remain a challenge for stellar modellers. We aim at constraining both the shape of the internal rotation profile of six Kepler subgiants studied in details in 2014 and the properties of the missing angular momentum transport process acting in stellar interiors from MCMC inversions of the internal rotation. We apply a new MCMC inversion technique to existing Kepler subgiant targets and test various shapes of the internal rotation profile of all six original subgiants observed in 2014. We also constrain the limitations on the number of free parameters that can be used in the MCMC inversion, showing the limitations in the amount of information in the seismic data. First, we show that large-scale fossil magnetic fields are not able to explain the internal rotation of subgiants, similarly to what was determined from detailed studies of Kepler red giants. We are also able to constrain the location of the transition in the internal rotation profile for the most evolved stars in the available set of subgiants. We find that some of them exhibit a transition located close to the border of the helium core while one clearly does not. We conclude that it might be possible that various processes might be at play to explain our observations, but that revealing the physical nature of the angular momentum process will require a consistent detailed modelling of all subgiants available, particularly the least evolved. In addition, increasing the number of stars for which such inferences are possible (e.g. with the future PLATO mission) is paramount given the key role they play in validating transport process candidates.