Wind-driven magnetic braking of a solar-type star (source code)

= Wind-driven magnetic braking of a solar-type star
{title2=$\dot J\simeq-\dot M_w\Omega R_A^2$}

A magnetized <stellar wind> extracts <angular momentum> through matter transport and <Maxwell stress tensor>. The <Alfvén radius> supplies an effective lever arm larger than the stellar <radius>, with geometry factors absorbed into an averaged lever arm. <Dynamo action> couples the torque to <rotation> by supplying the <magnetic field>. For a simplified radial wind of fixed speed, $R_A^2$ scales as $B_*^2R_*^4/(\mu_0\dot M_wv_w)$, so unsaturated $B_*\propto\Omega$ gives a torque proportional to $-\Omega^3$. Magnetic topology and wind thermodynamics can alter this scaling.