English

A dynamo model of magnetic activity in solar-like stars with different rotational velocities

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics 2014-07-30 v3 High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Abstract

We attempt to provide a quantitative theoretical explanation for the observations that Ca II H/K emission and X-ray emission from solar-like stars increase with decreasing Rossby number (i.e., with faster rotation). Assuming that these emissions are caused by magnetic cycles similar to the sunspot cycle, we construct flux transport dynamo models of 1M1M_{\odot} stars rotating with different rotation periods. We first compute the differential rotation and the meridional circulation inside these stars from a mean-field hydrodynamics model. Then these are substituted in our dynamo code to produce periodic solutions. We find that the dimensionless amplitude fmf_m of the toroidal flux through the star increases with decreasing rotation period. The observational data can be matched if we assume the emissions to go as the power 3-4 of fmf_m. Assuming that the Babcock-Leighton mechanism saturates with increasing rotation, we can provide an explanation for the observed saturation of emission at low Rossby numbers. The main failure of our model is that it predicts an increase of magnetic cycle period with increasing rotation rate, which is the opposite of what is found observationally. Much of our calculations are based on the assumption that the magnetic buoyancy makes the magnetic flux tubes to rise radially from the bottom of the convection zone. On taking account of the fact that the Coriolis force diverts the magnetic flux tubes to rise parallel to the rotation axis in rapidly rotating stars, the results do not change qualitatively.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1402.1874,
  title  = {A dynamo model of magnetic activity in solar-like stars with different rotational velocities},
  author = {Bidya Binay Karak and Leonid L. Kitchatinov and Arnab Rai Choudhuri},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1402.1874},
  year   = {2014}
}

Comments

Accepted for publication in ApJ