R. J. Tayler

Magnetic Fields and Rotation in Late-Type Stars

I wish to discuss three separate but related problems concerning the properties of magnetic fields in late type stars. It is generally accepted that the surface magnetic fields of late type main sequence stars are being maintained by a dynamo process in the outer convection zone which probably has its seat near the bottom of the zone. It is, however, uncertain whether or not there is a significant field in the radiative interior and, if so, whether the field is a relic of a dynamo-produced field from a pre-main-sequence phase or a genuine “fossil” field which was present when the star was formed. Two of the topics which I discuss are concerned with the properties of “fossil” fields, while the third is principally concerned with the influence of dynamo fields on convection and hence on the observed properties of stars. The second and third topics concern work which has already been published, while the first concerns work which is at present in progress, where I shall therefore stress the idea and not the details.