Spin-down dynamics of magnetized solar-type stars

Abstract: It has long been known that solar-type stars undergo significant spin-down, via magnetic braking, during their Main-Sequence lifetimes. However, magnetic braking only operates on the surface layers; it is not yet completely understood how angular momentum is transported within the star, and how rapidly the spin-down information is communicated to the deep interior. In this work, we use insight from recent progress in understanding internal solar dynamics to model the interior of other solar-type stars. We assume, following Gough and McIntyre (1998), that the bulk of the radiation zone of these stars is held in uniform rotation by the presence of an embedded large-scale primordial field, confined below a stably-stratified, magnetic-free tachocline by large-scale meridional flows downwelling from the convection zone. We derive simple equations to describe the response of this model interior to spin-down of the surface layers, that are identical to the two-zone model of MacGregor and Brenner (1991), with a coupling timescale proportional to the local Eddington-Sweet timescale across the tachocline. This timescale depends both on the rotation rate of the star and on the thickness of the tachocline, and can vary from a few hundred thousand years to a few Gyr, depending on stellar properties. Qualitative predictions of the model appear to be consistent with observations, although depend sensitively on the assumed functional dependence of the tachocline thickness on the stellar rotation rate.