Matteo Cantiello edited Abstract.tex  almost 11 years ago

Commit id: 5b5c558a37745500a0a76437258097d618ef1101

deletions | additions      

       

{\bf Abstract} Stars are born rotating. Observations of main sequence stars reveal that the majority of objects with mass above $\sim 1.5\mso$ are spinning fairly rapidly. From the zero age main sequence to the final compact remnant, calculations including mechanisms for the transport of angular momentum can make predictions about the evolution of the internal angular momentum distribution. To test the predictions of such calculations, rotational periods can be observed, providing a direct constraint of the surface rotation rate. Moreover the efficiency of internal transport mechanisms can sometimes be inferred by using indirect proxies, for example the change in the surface abundances of certain isotopes. This is because the same instabilities and/or circulations believed to be responsible for the angular momentum transport can also displace chemicals in the radial direction. Recently it has also become possible to directly probe the rotation profile of stars other than the Sun. This is thanks to asteroseismology of red giants, where the splitting of mixed modes can be used to asses the degree of differential rotation between core and envelope. Here we calculate state-of-the-art stellar evolution models of rotating low-mass stars from their zero age main sequence to the cooling white dwarf stage. These models include transport of angular momentum due to rotational mixing and magnetic fields in radiative zones (generated by the Spruit-Tayler dynamo). We show how the predictions of these calculations compare to the available observational constraints, with a particular emphasis on the asteroseismic information coming from KEPLER observations of red giant stars. \citet{http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJ...760L...8D}