The Role of Magnetic Fields in the Lives of Stars

Magnetic fields are pervasive in the Universe, and often have very noticeable and important effects on astrophysical phenomena. In particular, essentially all stars are magnetic at some level, and magnetic fields begin to play a role even before the star is born. Young stars are much more active than our Sun today, although solar magnetism still has various effects on both the Sun and the Earth. I spend some time on the Sun in more detail. Recently it has been realized that magnetic fields may play an important role in the habitability of exoplanets, particularly around red dwarfs. Finally, magnetic fields can also play an important role in the death of stars.

Speaker: Gibor Basri, UC Berkeley