Stellar Winds on the Main-Sequence II: the Evolution of Rotation and Winds

Abstract

Aims: We study the evolution of stellar rotation and wind properties for low-mass main-sequence stars. Our aim is to use rotational evolution models to constrain the mass loss rates in stellar winds and to predict how their properties evolve with time on the main-sequence. Methods: We construct a rotational evolution model that is driven by observed rotational distributions of young stellar clusters. Fitting the free parameters in our model allows us to predict how wind mass loss rate depends on stellar mass, radius, and rotation. We couple the results to the wind model developed in Paper I of this series to predict how wind properties evolve on the main-sequence. Results: We estimate that wind mass loss rate scales with stellar parameters as ${\dot{M}}_{\star }\propto R_{\star }^2{\Omega }_{\star }^{1.33}{M}_{\star }^{-3.36}$. We estimate that at young ages, the solar wind likely had a mass loss rate that is an order of magnitude higher than that of the current solar wind. This leads to the wind having a higher density at younger ages; however, the magnitude of this change depends strongly on how we scale wind temperature. Due to the spread in rotation rates, young stars show a large range of wind properties at a given age. This spread in wind properties disappears as the stars age. Conclusions: There is a large uncertainty in our knowledge of the evolution of stellar winds on the main-sequence, due both to our lack of knowledge of stellar winds and the large spread in rotation rates at young ages. Given the sensitivity of planetary atmospheres to stellar wind and radiation conditions, these uncertainties can be significant for our understanding of the evolution of planetary environments.

26 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables, to be published in A&A

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• Simulating the environment around planet-hosting stars - II. Stellar winds and inner astrospheres
• Escape and fractionation of volatiles and noble gases from Mars-sized planetary embryos and growing protoplanets
• Radio emission and mass loss rate limits of four young solar-type stars
• Impacts of stellar evolution and dynamics on the habitable zone: The role of rotation and magnetic activity
• The dehydration of water worlds via atmospheric losses
• Close-in sub-Neptunes reveal the past rotation history of their host stars: atmospheric evolution of planets in the HD3167 and K2-32 planetary systems
• Magnetic braking of Sun-like and low-mass stars: Dependence on coronal temperature
• The open flux evolution of a solar-mass star on the main sequence
• A semi-empirical model for magnetic braking of solar-type stars
• Can we detect aurora in exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs?
• Blocking metal accretion onto population III stars by stellar wind
• On the Fast Magnetic Rotator Regime of Stellar Winds
• Emerging trends in metallicity and lithium properties of debris disc stars
• Mars in the aftermath of a colossal impact