Authors: Alison Farrish (NASA Goddard)

Many stars other than the Sun exhibit similar ongoing physical processes as those observed in our own Solar System. ‘Cool stars’ comprise the class of main sequence stars of F through M types, with convective surfaces similar to the Sun’s; these stars are known to produce phenomena also observed for the Sun, such as stellar winds, magnetic variability, and transient phenomena including flares. The presence of hot coronae and expanding stellar winds around these stars leads to the natural conclusion that these stars also exhibit Alfven surfaces, and indeed that these Alfven surfaces ought to vary in ways similar to the solar Alfven surface. In this talk I will review the present state of the field of solar and stellar connections, the study of stellar magnetic variability over short and long timescales, and the potential impact of stellar Alfven surfaces on the habitability of exoplanet systems. In particular, we will also highlight the possible intersection of stellar sub-Alfvenic regimes and extreme close-in exoplanet orbits.