arXiv subjects

Leigh Brookshaw

Publications and source records attributed to Leigh Brookshaw.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

The winds of young Solar-type stars in Coma Berenices and Hercules-Lyra

We present wind models of ten young Solar-type stars in the Hercules-Lyra association and the Coma Berenices cluster aged around 0.26 Gyr and 0.58 Gyr respectively. Combined with five previously modelled stars in the Hyades cluster, aged 0.63 Gyr, we obtain a large atlas of fifteen observationally based wind models. We find varied geometries, multi-armed structures in the equatorial plane, and a greater spread in quantities such as the angular momentum loss. In our models we infer variation of a factor of ~6 in wind angular momentum loss $\dot J$ and a factor of ~2 in wind mass loss $\dot M$ based on magnetic field geometry differences when adjusting for the unsigned surface magnetic flux. We observe a large variation factor of ~4 in wind pressure for an Earth-like planet; we attribute this to variations in the 'magnetic inclination' of the magnetic dipole axis with respect to the stellar axis of rotation. Within our models, we observe a tight correlation between unsigned open magnetic flux and angular momentum loss. To account for possible underreporting of the observed magnetic field strength we investigate a second series of wind models where the magnetic field has been scaled by a factor of 5. This gives $\dot M \propto B^{0.4}$ and $\dot J \propto B^{1.0}$ as a result of pure magnetic scaling.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

The winds of young Solar-type stars in the Hyades

Stellar winds govern the spin-down of Solar-type stars as they age, and play an important role in determining planetary habitability, as powerful winds can lead to atmospheric erosion. We calculate three-dimensional stellar wind models for five young Solar-type stars in the Hyades cluster, using TOUPIES survey stellar magnetograms and state-of-the-art Alfvén wave driven wind modelling. The stars have the same 0.6-Gyr age and similar fundamental parameters, and we account for the uncertainty in and underestimation of absolute field strength inherent in Zeeman-Doppler imaging by adopting both unscaled and scaled (by a factor of five) field strengths. For the unscaled fields, the resulting stellar wind mass loss is 2-4 times greater and the angular momentum loss 2-10 times greater than for the Sun today, with the scaled results correspondingly greater. We compare our results with a range published of wind models and for the Alfvén wave driven modelling see evidence of mass loss saturation at about $10 \dot M_\odot$.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Stability of Jovian Trojans and their collisional families

The Jovian Trojans are two swarms of objects located around the L$_4$ and L$_5$ Lagrange points. The population is thought to have been captured by Jupiter during the Solar system's youth. Within the swarms, six collisional families have been identified in previous work, with four in the L$_4$ swarm, and two in the L$_5$. Our aim is to investigate the stability of the two Trojan swarms, with a particular focus on these collisional families. We find that the members of Trojan swarms escape the population at a linear rate, with the primordial L$_4$ (23.35% escape) and L$_5$ (24.89% escape) population sizes likely 1.31 and 1.35 times larger than today. Given that the escape rates were approximately equal between the two Trojan swarms, our results do not explain the observed asymmetry between the two groups, suggesting that the numerical differences are primordial in nature, supporting previous studies. Upon leaving the Trojan population, the escaped objects move onto orbits that resemble those of the Centaur and short-period comet populations. Within the Trojan collisional families, the 1996 RJ and 2001 UV$_{209}$ families are found to be dynamically stable over the lifetime of the Solar system, whilst the Hektor, Arkesilos and Ennomos families exhibit various degrees of instability. The larger Eurybates family shows 18.81\% of simulated members escaping the Trojan population. Unlike the L4 swarm, the escape rate from the Eurybates family is found to increase as a function of time, allowing an age estimation of approximately $1.045\pm 0.364 \times 10^9$ years.

astro-ph.EP↗