Magnetic Braking and Damping of Differential Rotation in Massive Stars

Understand

Fragmentation of highly differentially rotating massive stars that undergo collapse has been suggested as a possible channel for binary black hole formation.

• Such a scenario could explain the formation of the new population of massive black holes detected by the LIGO/VIRGO gravitational wave laser interferometers.
• We probe that scenario by performing general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of differentially rotating massive stars supported by thermal radiation pressure plus a gas pressure perturbation.
• The stars are initially threaded by a dynamically weak, poloidal magnetic field confined to the stellar interior.