Abstract
It is proposed that the rotational angular momentum of the lower Main Sequence stars determines the intensity of their magnetic spot activity. As a consequence of this feedback coupling, the stellar rotation and the activity decay exponentially by magnetic braking of the induced stellar flare- and wind-activity. Therefore, the Sun should have rotated much faster and must have shown a very enhanced activity in its early history. This strong solar activity in the past could have had influenced the evolution of terrestrial life, and may explain the stagnation of maritime life for about 2×109 yr, the diversification of species during the Cambrian formation, and the land conquest by life in the upper Silurian system.
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Commemorating 120th anniversary of the first edition of Ch. Darwin's ‘The Origin of Species’.
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Geyer, E.H. Solar rotation and activity in the past and their possible influence upon the evolution of life. The Moon and the Planets 24, 399–405 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00896905
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00896905