In this contribution, we present BRITE observations of the early-B supergiants $epsilon$ Ori and $kappa$ Ori. We perform a preliminary analysis of the data acquired over the first two Orion observing runs. We evaluate whether they are compatible with co-rotating bright spots and discuss the challenges of such an approach.
Despite of the importance of magnetic fields for the full understanding of the properties of accreting Herbig Ae/Be stars, these fields have scarcely been studied over the rotation cycle until now. One reason for the paucity of such observations is the lack of knowledge of their rotation periods. The sharp-lined young Herbig Ae star HD101412 with a strong surface magnetic field became in the last years one of the most studied targets among the Herbig Ae/Be stars. A few months ago we obtained multi-epoch polarimetric spectra of this star with FORS2 to search for a rotation period and to constrain the geometry of the magnetic field. We measured longitudinal magnetic fields on 13 different epochs distributed over 62 days. These new measurements together with our previous measurements of the magnetic field in this star were combined with available photometric observations to determine the rotation period. The search of the rotation period resulted in P=42.076+-0.01d. According to near-infrared imaging studies the star is observed nearly edge-on. The star exhibits a single-wave variation of the longitudinal magnetic field during the stellar rotation cycle. These observations are usually considered as evidence for a dominant dipolar contribution to the magnetic field topology.
We have observed the active star $xi$ Boo A (HD 131156A) with high precision broadband linear polarimetry contemporaneously with circular spectropolarimetry. We find both signals are modulated by the 6.43 day rotation period of $xi$ Boo A. The signals from the two techniques are 0.25 out of phase, consistent with the broadband linear polarization resulting from differential saturation of spectral lines in the global transverse magnetic field. The mean magnitude of the linear polarization signal is ~4 ppm/G but its structure is complex and the amplitude of the variations suppressed relative to the longitudinal magnetic field. The result has important implications for current attempts to detect polarized light from hot Jupiters orbiting active stars in the combined light of the star and planet. In such work stellar activity will manifest as noise, both on the time scale of stellar rotation, and on longer time scales - where changes in activity level will manifest as a baseline shift between observing runs.
The Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be an incredibly powerful instrument for studying red supergiants (RSGs). The high luminosities and red peak wavelengths of these stars make them ideal targets for JWST/NIRCam. With effective photometric diagnostics in place, imaging RSG populations in multiple filters will make it possible to determine these stars physical properties and, in cases where JWST pre-explosion imaging is available, to identify RSG supernova progenitors. This paper uses observed and model spectra of Galactic RSGs to simulate JWST/NIRCam near-IR photometry and colors, quantify and test potential diagnostics of effective temperature and bolometric magnitude, and present photometric techniques for separating background RSG and foreground dwarf populations. While results are presented for the full suite of near-IR filters, this work shows that (F070W-F200W) is the JWST/NIRCam color index most sensitive to effective temperature, F090W is the best band for determining bolometric magnitude, and the (F070W-F090W) vs. (F090W-F200W) color-color diagram can be used to separate foreground dwarf and background RSG samples. The combination of these three filters is recommended as the best suite of photometric observations to use when studying RSGs with JWST.
Despite a century of remarkable progress in understanding stellar interiors, we know surprisingly little about the inner workings of stars spinning near their critical limit. New interferometric imaging of these so-called ``rapid rotators combined with breakthroughs in asteroseismology promise to lift this veil and probe the strongly latitude-dependent photospheric characteristics and even reveal the internal angular momentum distribution of these luminous objects. Here, we report the first high precision photometry on the low-amplitude delta cuti variable star Rasalhague (alpha Oph, A5IV, 2.18 Msun, omega/omega_c~0.88) based on 30 continuous days of monitoring using the MOST satellite. We have identified 57+/-1 distinct pulsation modes above a stochastic granulation spectrum with a cutoff of ~26 cycles per day. Remarkably, we have also discovered that the fast rotation period of 14.5~hours modulates low-frequency modes (1-10 day periods) that we identify as a rich family of g-modes (|m| up to 7). The spacing of the g-modes is surprisingly linear considering Coriolis forces are expected to strongly distort the mode spectrum, suggesting we are seeing prograde ``equatorial Kelvin waves (modes l=m). We emphasize the unique aspects of Rasalhague motivating future detailed asteroseismic modeling -- a source with a precisely measured parallax distance, photospheric oblateness, latitude temperature structure, and whose low-mass companion provides an astrometric orbit for precise mass determinations.
B[e] supergiants are evolved massive stars with a complex circumstellar environment. A number of important emission features probe the structure and the kinematics of the circumstellar material. In our survey of Magellanic Cloud B[e] supergiants we focus on the [OI] and [CaII] emission lines, which we identified in four more objects.