Magnetic fields and stellar evolution

磁场和恒星演化

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-06383
• 负责人: Wade, Gregg
• 金额: $ 4.37万
• 依托单位: Royal Military College of Canada
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=633411
• 关键词: Magnetic; fields; stellar; evolution

All stars are natural magnets, thanks to the dynamic, electrically conductive gases that compose them. And because the magnetic fields of stars can be very strong, they represent a basic element in astrophysicists' theory of stellar structure and evolution. In recently years it has been clearly demonstrated that magnetic fields have essential impacts on stellar lives, modifying their interior flows of gas, changing their internal rotational profiles and distributions of nucleosynthetic chemicals, channeling and modifying their outflowing winds, and slowing their surface rotation through so-called "magnetic braking". Ultimately, these effects result in important changes in the evolution of stars, leading in particular to modifications of the relationships between stellar temperatures, luminosities, sizes and ages. They also influence the important outputs of stars in terms of the mass and luminous energy injected into the surrounding interstellar medium during their lives. More remarkably, they can also influence the dramatic supernova explosions that mark the deaths of the most massive stars. These effects directly impact the properties of exotic remnant white dwarf and neutron stars, and change how populations of stars contribute to the structure and chemistry of their local Galactic environments.

所有的恒星都是天然的磁铁，这要归功于构成它们的动态导电气体。由于恒星的磁场可能非常强，它们代表了天体物理学家关于恒星结构和演化理论的基本元素。近年来，已经清楚地表明，磁场对恒星的生命有着重要的影响，改变其内部气体流动，改变其内部旋转轮廓和核合成化学物质的分布，引导和改变其外流风，并通过所谓的“磁制动”减缓其表面旋转。最终，这些影响导致恒星演化的重要变化，特别是导致恒星温度，光度，大小和年龄之间关系的修改。它们还影响恒星在其生命期间注入周围星际介质的质量和光能方面的重要输出。更值得注意的是，它们还可以影响标志着最大质量恒星死亡的戏剧性超新星爆炸。这些效应直接影响了奇异的残余白色矮星和中子星的性质，并改变了恒星的种群对当地银河系环境的结构和化学的贡献。