Why do stars spin so slowly? A look at the early life of stars.
The areas discussed include:
The Problem | Giant Molecular Clouds have a million times more specific angular momentum than the stars they form |
A Cloud Collapses | The Jeans Line; Isothermal phase; Fragmentation; Adiabatic phase; Disc formation; T Tauri stars |
Hierarchical Fragmentation | Successive move to orbital angular momentum; Embedded clusters; Multiple star systems; Alpha Centauri |
Magnetic Field Effects in the Cloud | Movement outwards of angular momentum; Energy released by gravitational contraction |
Magnetic Field Effects on Accretion from the Disc | Polar accretion; Magnetic slingshots; Propellor regime; FU Orionis |
Outflows - Alfvén Waves | T Tauri stars |
Outflows - Jet Effects | Herbig-Haro objects; Rotation of the jet |
The Hayashi Track | From T Tauri to Main Sequence; Henyey stage |
Stellar Wind | Loss of angular momentum over billions of years; Proxima Centauri |