Magnetic wave energy fluxes for late-type stars

I. Longitudinal tube waves

¹ Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik der Universität Heidelberg, Tiergartenstr. 15, 69121 Heidelberg, Germany
² Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA

Corresponding author: P. Ulmschneider, ulmschneider@ita.uni-heidelberg.de

Received: 17 July 2000
Accepted: 10 May 2001

Abstract

The wave energy fluxes carried by longitudinal tube waves along thin vertical magnetic flux tubes embedded in atmospheres of late-type stars are computed. The main physical process responsible for the generation of these waves is the nonlinear time-dependent response of the flux tubes to continuous and impulsive external turbulent pressure fluctuations, which are represented here by an extended Kolmogorov spatial and modified Gaussian temporal energy spectrum. Both the wave energy fluxes and spectra are calculated for population I stars with effective temperatures ranging from T_eff = 3500 K to 7000 K, and with gravities in the range . The obtained results show that the computed wave energy may significantly contribute to the enhanced heating observed in magnetic regions of late-type stars.