Continuous high-precision photometry of stars provided by space missions such as CoRoT, Kepler, and K2 represents a unique way to study stellar rotation and magnetism. The coupling of these studies of the surface dynamics with asteroseismology is changing our view to surface and internal dynamics. In this proceedings I will provide the latest developments in the understanding of surface and internal rotation and magnetic fields. I will also discuss the possible discovery of strong internal magnetic fields of dynamo origin in the convective cores of stars above 1.2–1.4 solar masses. I will finish by providing constraints on gyrochronology laws for low-mass stars and put the Sun into context of its magnetism when compared to other solar-analog stars.
We evaluate the frequency difference between standard stellar models and models patched with 3D hydrodynamical models across the Teff–g plane. It allows us to constrain frequency corrections for surface effect. The coefficients in the correction functionals are thus provided as functions of effective temperature and surface gravity.
Thanks to the space-based photometry missions CoRoT and Kepler, we now benefit from a wealth of seismic data for stars other than the sun. In the future, K2, Tess and Plato will provide further observations. The quality of this data may allow kernel-based linear structural inversion techniques to be used for stars other than the sun. To understand the limitations of this approach, we analyse the validity of the linear assumption used in these inversion techniques. We inspect various structural pairs and see how they are affected by structural changes. We show that uncertainties in radius strongly affect structural pairs of nondimensional variables, and that various other effects might come into play. Amongst these, the importance of micro-physics give the most striking example of how uncertainties in stellar models impact the verification of the linear relations. We also point out that including seismic constraints in the forward modelling fit helps with satisfying the linear relations.
Atmospheric tides can have a strong impact on the rotational dynamics of planets. They are of most importance for terrestrial planets located in the habitable zone of their host star, where their competition with solid tides is likely to drive the body towards non-synchronized rotation states of equilibrium, as observed in the case of Venus. Contrary to other planetary layers, the atmosphere is sensitive to both gravitational and thermal forcings, through a complex dynamical coupling involving the effects of Coriolis acceleration and characteristics of the atmospheric structure. These key physics are usually not taken into account in modelings used to compute the evolution of planetary systems, where tides are described with parametrised prescriptions. In this work, we present a new ab initio modeling of atmospheric tides adapting the theory of the Earth’s atmospheric tides (Chapman & Lindzen 1970) to other terrestrial planets. We derive analytic expressions of the tidal torque, as a function of the tidal frequency and parameters characterizing the internal structure (e.g. the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, the radiative frequency, the pressure heigh scale). We show that stratification plays a key role, the tidal torque being strong in the case of convective atmospheres (i.e. with a neutral stratification) and weak in case of atmosphere convectively stable. In a second step, the model is used to determine the non-synchronized rotation states of equilibrium of Venus-like planets as functions of the physical parameters of the system. These results are detailed in Auclair-Desrotour et al. (2016a) and Auclair-Desrotour et al. (2016b).
Celestial bodies are complex systems with the ability to get deformed by tides. Modelling accurately this process is a difficult task even for the planets of our own solar system. This is why tidal theories applied to exoplanets are often reduced to a simple formula accounting for our lack of knowledge. In this work, we identify the three minimal assumptions leading to this level of simplification. We then compare different rheologies compatible with these hypotheses and discuss their qualitative behaviour. Finally, we apply the viscous model to close-in planets and describe their rotation evolution, emphasising the apparition of spin-orbit resonances as the viscous timescale increases.
We examine how 3D MHD simulations can deliver clues on the mechanisms at the origin of angular momentum loss saturation of rapidly rotating solar-like stars. Based on a study of six targets, whose magnetic field has been observed by Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI), we find that the saturation could be explained by a extremely strong coverage of the stellar surface of a large scale dipolar mode, in disagreement with recent works.
A small fraction of the population of intermediate-mass and massive stars host strong and stable magnetic fields organised on large scales. These fields are believed to be remnants of star formation. It is however not clear how such fossil fields have been shaped during their formation and subsequent evolution. We report recent and ongoing studies on the magnetic properties of pre-main sequence stars and main sequence binaries, allowing us to make progress in this field.
I discuss two related nonlinear mechanisms of tidal dissipation that require finite tidal deformations for their operation: the elliptical instability and the precessional instability. Both are likely to be important for the tidal evolution of short-period extrasolar planets. The elliptical instability is a fluid instability of elliptical streamlines, such as in tidally deformed non-synchronously rotating or non-circularly orbiting planets. I summarise the results of local and global simulations that indicate this mechanism to be important for tidal spin synchronisation, planetary spin-orbit alignment and orbital circularisation for the shortest period hot Jupiters. The precessional instability is a fluid instability that occurs in planets undergoing axial precession, such as those with spin-orbit misalignments (non-zero obliquities). I summarise the outcome of local MHD simulations designed to study the turbulent damping of axial precession, which suggest this mechanism to be important in driving tidal evolution of the spin-orbit angle for hot Jupiters. Avenues for future work are also discussed.
This paper provides a brief overview of the formation of stellar fossil magnetic fields and what potential instabilities may occur given certain configurations of the magnetic field. One such instability is the purely magnetic Tayler instability, which can occur for poloidal, toroidal, and mixed poloidal-toroidal axisymmetric magnetic field configurations. However, most of the magnetic field configurations observed at the surface of massive stars are non-axisymmetric. Thus, extending earlier studies in spherical geometry, we introduce a formulation for the global change in the potential energy contained in a convectively-stable region for both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric magnetic fields.
The radial transport of angular momentum in accretion disk is a fundamental process in the universe. It governs the dynamical evolution of accretion disks and has implications for various issues ranging from the formation of planets to the growth of supermassive black holes. While the importance of magnetic fields for this problem has long been demonstrated, the existence of a source of transport solely hydrodynamical in nature has proven more difficult to establish and to quantify. In recent years, a combination of results coming from experiments, theoretical work and numerical simulations has dramatically improved our understanding of hydrodynamically mediated angular momentum transport in accretion disk. Here, based on these recent developments, we review the hydrodynamical processes that might contribute to transporting angular momentum radially in accretion disks and highlight the many questions that are still to be answered.
In stellar interiors shear flows play an important role in many physical processes. So far helioseismology provides only large-scale measurements, and so the small-scale dynamics remains insufficiently understood. To draw a connection between observations and three-dimensional DNS of shear driven turbulence, we investigate horizontally averaged profiles of the numerically obtained mean state. We focus here on just one of the possible methods that can maintain a shear flow, namely the average relaxation method. We show that although some systems saturate by restoring linear marginal stability this is not a general trend. Finally, we discuss the reason that the results are more complex than expected.
I tell just part of the story of the quest to understand the dynamics of the solar tachocline, from the point of view of my relationship with my good friend Jean-Paul Zahn.
Rotating stars with convection zones are the great builders of magnetism in our universe. Seeking to understand how turbulent convection actually operates, and so too the dynamo action that it can achieve, has advanced through distinctive stages in which Jean-Paul Zahn was often a central player, or joined by his former students. Some of the opening steps in dealing with the basic nonlinearity in such dynamics involved modal equations (with specified horizontal structure) to study convective amplitudes and heat transports achieved as solutions equilibrated by feeding back on the mean stratification. These dealt in turn with laboratory convection, with penetrative convection in Boussinesq settings, then with compressible penetration via anelastic equations in simple geometries, and finally with stellar penetrative convection in A-type stars that coupled two convection zones. Advances in computation power allowed 2-D fully compressible simulations, and then 3-D modeling including rotation, to revisit some of these convection and penetration settings within planar layers. With externally imposed magnetic fields threading the 2-D layers, magnetoconvection could then be studied to see how the flows concentrated the fields into complex sheets, or how new classes of traveling waves could result. The era of considering turbulent convection in rotating spherical shells had also arrived, using 3-D MHD codes such as ASH to evaluate how the solar differential rotation is achieved and maintained. Similarly the manner in which global magnetic fields could be built by dynamo action within the solar convection zone took center stage, finding that coherent wreaths of strong magnetism could be built, and also cycling solutions with field reversals. The coupling of convection and magnetism continues as a vibrant research subject. It is also clear that stars like the Sun do not give up their dynamical mysteries readily when highly turbulent systems are at play.
Without instabilities, the gas in the protoplanetary disk approximately a forming protostar remains in orbit rather than falling onto the protostar and completing its formation into a star. Moreover without instabilities in the fluid flow of the gas, the dust grains within the disk’s gas cannot accumulate, agglomerate, and form planets. Keplerian disks are linearly stable by Rayleigh theorem because the angular momentum of the disk increases with increasing radius. This has led to the belief that there exists a large region in protoplanetary disks, known as the dead zone, which is stable to pure hydrodynamic disturbances. The dead zone is also believed to be stable against magneto-rotational instability (MRI) because the disks’ cool temperatures inhibit ionization and therefore prevent the MRI. A recent study Marcus et al. (2013) shows the existence of a new hydrodynamic instability called the Zombie Vortex Instability (ZVI), where successive generations of self-replicating vortices (zombie vortices) fill the disk with turbulence and destabilize it. The instability is triggered by finite-amplitude perturbations, including weak Kolmogorov noise, in stratified flows with Brunt-Väisälä frequency N, background rotation Ω and horizontal shear σ. So far there is no observational evidence of the Zombie Vortex Instability and there are very few laboratory experiments of stratified plane Couette flow with background rotation in the literature. We perform systematic simulations to determine where the Zombie Vortex Instability exists in terms of the control parameters (Reynolds number Re, σ/f and N/f). We present a parameter map showing two regimes where ZVI occurs, and interpret the physics that determines the boundaries of the two regimes. We also discuss the effects of viscosity and the existence of a threshold for Re. Our study on viscous effects, parameter map and its underlying! physics provide guidance for designing practical laboratory experiments in which ZVI could be observed.
Period–eccentricity distribution of eccentric eclipsing binaries (eEB) has inevitable importance in the study of the different kinds of tidal circularization (and synchronization) processes. Recent space missions provide a large amount of continuous and precise light curves, which enable us to determine several accurate stellar and dynamical parameters for thousands of freshly discovered eEBs. For statistical analysis we developed a fast, automated, although approximating method for determining eccentricity and argument of periastron from the displacement of the secondary minima and the difference of primary and secondary eclipse durations for large samples of eclipsing lightcurves. Applying this method to several hundreds of recently discovered eEBs in the fields of the primordial and secondary Kepler and also the CoRoT missions, we present a comprehensive statistical analysis of the period–eccentricity relation for different subgroups of these double star systems.
The activity of Jean-Paul on disks does represent only a small fraction of his total list of publications. It was however very important to its eyes. Beyond his important scientific results on the topic that I summarized, this activity launched a totally new area in the domain of astrophysics: the dedicated laboratory experiments.
We analyze the sustaining mechanism of nonlinear perturbations/turbulence in spectrally stable smooth shear flows. The essence of the sustenance is a subtle interplay of linear transient growth of Fourier harmonics and nonlinear processes. In spectrally stable shear flows, the transient growth of perturbations is strongly anisotropic in spectral (k-)space. This, in turn, leads to anisotropy of nonlinear processes ink-space and, as a result, the main (new) nonlinear process appears to be not a direct/inverse, but rather a transverse/angular redistribution of harmonics in Fourier space referred to as the nonlinear transverse cascade. It is demonstrated that nonlinear state is sustained owing to the interplay of the linear nonmodal growth and the transverse cascade. The possibility of such course of events has been described ink-space byG. Chagelishvili, J.-P. Zahn, A. Tevzadze and J. Lominadze, A&A, 402, 401 (2003)that reliably exemplifies the well-known bypass scenario of subcritical turbulence in spectrally stable shear flows. We present selected results of the simulations performed in different (HD and MHD; 2D and 3D; plane and Keplerian) shear flows to demonstrate the transverse cascade in action.
The origin and wide distribution of eccentricities in planetary systems remains to be explained, in particular in the context of planet-disc interactions. Here we present a set of linear equations that describe the behavior of small eccentricities in a protoplanetary system consisting of a gaseous disc and a planet. Eccentricity propagates through the disc by means of pressure, and is exchanged with the planet via secular interactions. Excitation and damping of eccentricity can occur through Lindblad and corotation resonances, as well as viscosity. Three-dimensional effects allow for an eccentric mode to be trapped in the inner parts of the disc. This eccentric mode can easily grow within the disc's lifetime. An eccentric mode dominated by the planet can also grow, although less rapidly. Application to a hot Jupiter surrounded by a gaseous disc suggests that the eccentricity of the planet can grow. Finally, the linear theory is compared to hydrodynamical simulations, and a very good agreement is found.
The interdependence of microscopic (atomic) and macroscopic (hydrodynamic) processes inside stars and their consequences for stellar structure and evolution were recognized by Jean-Paul Zahn several decades ago. He was a pioneer in that respect, discussing the importance of the macroscopic motions related to stellar rotation, in competition with the chemical stratification induced by gravitational settling and radiative accelerations. This has been much developed in recent years, in connection with the improvement of observational data, including asteroseismology. Morover, it has been recently discovered that the microscopic atomic diffusion processes can lead to macroscopic results which may infuence in a non negligible way the internal stellar structure, independently of the abundances observed at the surface.
Solar-like oscillations are ubiquitous to low-mass stars from the main-sequence to the red-giant branch as demonstrated by the space-borne missions CoRoT and Kepler. Understanding the physical mechanisms governing their amplitudes as well as their behavior along with the star evolution is a prerequisite for interpreting the wealth of seismic data and for inferring stellar internal structure. In this paper, I discuss our current knowledge of mode amplitudes with particular emphasis on non-radial modes in red giants (hereafter mixed modes). Then, I will show how these modes permit to unveil the rotation of the inner-most layers of low-mass stars and how they put stringent constraints on the redistribution of angular momentum.
