Thrusday, July 4 - Session 3 - 10:00

Stellar Rotation and Internal Angular Momentum Transport

M.H. Pinsonneault
The Ohio State University, Dept. of Astronomy 4043 MacPherson Laboratory 140 W. 18th Ave. Columbus, Ohio USA 43210

 

The internal angular momentum distribution in stars and the identification of the mechanisms responsible for redistributing angular momentum constitutes the most significant challenge for understanding the role of rotation in stellar evolution. The current empirical constraints on the time scale for internal angular momentum transport are reviewed for both radiative and convective regions. There are indications that the angular momentum distribution in convective regions is very different in dwarfs and giants; the time scale for effective angular momentum transport in radiative regions is of order 100 Myr, which is an interesting value. I will show that asteroseismology can yield crucial constraints on the underlying physical processes, both from measurements of surface rotation rates and from potential detection of internal differential rotation. Possible tests for distinguishing between magnetic and nonmagnetic angular momentum transport are also discussed.

 
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