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Register a new userModelling the Magnetic Fields and Magnetospheres of Early B-Type Stars
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Matthew E. Shultz
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The powerful radiative winds of hot stars with strong magnetic fields are magnetically confined into large, corotating magnetospheres, which exert important influences on stellar evolution via rotational spindown and mass-loss quenching. They are detectable via diagnostics across the electromagnetic spectrum. Since the fossil magnetic fields of early-type stars are stable over long timescales, and the ion source is internal and isotropic, hot star magnetospheres are also remarkably stable. This stability, the relative ease with which they can be studied at multiple wavelengths, and the growing population of such objects, makes them powerful laboratories for plasma astrophysics. The magnetospheres of the magnetic early B-type stars stand out for being detectable in every one of the available diagnostics. In this contribution I review the basic methods by which surface magnetic fields are constrained; the theoretical tools that have been developed in order to reveal the key physical processes governing hot star magnetospheres; and some important recent results and open-ended questions regarding the properties of surface magnetic fields and the behaviour of magnetospheric plasma.
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Rapidly rotating early-type stars with strong magnetic fields frequently show H$alpha$ emission originating in Centrifugal Magnetospheres (CMs), circumstellar structures in which centrifugal support due to magnetically enforced corotation of the magnetically confined plasma enables it to accumulate to high densities. It is not currently known whether the CM plasma escapes via Centrifugal Breakout (CB), or by an unidentified leakage mechanism. We have conducted the first comprehensive examination of the H$alpha$ emission properties of all stars currently known to display CM-pattern emission. We find that the onset of emission is dependent primarily on the area of the CM, which can be predicted simply by the value $B_{rm K}$ of the magnetic field at the Kepler corotation radius $R_{rm K}$. Emission strength is strongly sensitive to both CM area and $B_{rm K}$. Emission onset and strength are {em not} dependent on effective temperature, luminosity, or mass-loss rate. These results all favour a CB scenario, however the lack of intrinsic variability in any CM diagnostics indicates that CB must be an essentially continuous process, i.e. it effectively acts as a leakage mechanism. We also show that the emission profile shapes are approximately scale-invariant, i.e. they are broadly similar across a wide range of emission strengths and stellar parameters. While the radius of maximum emission correlates closely as expected to $R_{rm K}$, it is always larger, contradicting models that predict that emission should peak at $R_{rm K}$.
In early-type stars a fossil magnetic field may be generated during the star formation process or be the result of a stellar merger event. Surface magnetic fields are thought to be erased by (sub)surface convection layers, which typically leave behind weak disordered fields. However, if the fossil field is strong enough it can prevent the onset of (sub)surface convection and so be preserved onto the main sequence. We calculate the critical field strength at which this occurs, and find that it corresponds well with the lower limit amplitude of observed fields in strongly magnetised Ap/Bp stars ($approx$ 300 G). The critical field strength is predicted to increase slightly during the main sequence evolution, which could also explain the observed decline in the fraction of magnetic stars. This supports the conclusion that the bimodal distribution of observed magnetic fields in early-type stars reflects two different field origin stories: strongly magnetic fields are fossils fields inherited from star formation or a merger event, and weak fields are the product of on-going dynamo action.
Magnetic B-type stars exhibit photometric variability due to diverse causes, and consequently on a variety of timescales. In this paper we describe interpretation of BRITE photometry and related ground-based observations of 4 magnetic B-type systems: $epsilon$ Lupi, $tau$ Sco, a Cen and $epsilon$ CMa.
Magnetic confinement of stellar winds leads to the formation of magnetospheres, which can be sculpted into Centrifugal Magnetospheres (CMs) by rotational support of the corotating plasma. The conditions required for the CMs of magnetic early B-type stars to yield detectable emission in H$alpha$ -- the principal diagnostic of these structures -- are poorly constrained. A key reason is that no detailed study of the magnetic and rotational evolution of this population has yet been performed. Using newly determined rotational periods, modern magnetic measurements, and atmospheric parameters determined via spectroscopic modelling, we have derived fundamental parameters, dipolar oblique rotator models, and magnetospheric parameters for 56 early B-type stars. Comparison to magnetic A- and O-type stars shows that the range of surface magnetic field strength is essentially constant with stellar mass, but that the unsigned surface magnetic flux increases with mass. Both the surface magnetic dipole strength and the total magnetic flux decrease with stellar age, with the rate of flux decay apparently increasing with stellar mass. We find tentative evidence that multipolar magnetic fields may decay more rapidly than dipoles. Rotational periods increase with stellar age, as expected for a magnetic braking scenario. Without exception, all stars with H$alpha$ emission originating in a CM are 1) rapid rotators, 2) strongly magnetic, and 3) young, with the latter property consistent with the observation that magnetic fields and rotation both decrease over time.
Atmospheric parameters determined via spectral modelling are unavailable for many of the known magnetic early B-type stars. We utilized high-resolution spectra together with NLTE models to measure effective temperatures $T_{rm eff}$ and surface gravities $log{g}$ of stars for which these measurements are not yet available. We find good agreement between our $T_{rm eff}$ measurements and previous results obtained both photometrically and spectroscopically. For $log{g}$, our results are compatible with previous spectroscopic measurements; however, surface gravities of stars previously determined photometrically have been substantially revised. We furthermore find that $log{g}$ measurements obtained with HARPSpol are typically about 0.1 dex lower than those from comparable instruments. Luminosities were determined using Gaia Data Release 2 parallaxes. We find Gaia parallaxes to be unreliable for bright stars ($V<6$ mag) and for binaries; in these cases we reverted to Hipparcos parallaxes. In general we find luminosities systematically lower than those previously reported. Comparison of $log{g}$ and $log{L}$ to available rotational and magnetic measurements shows no correlation between either parameter with magnetic data, but a clear slow-down in rotation with both decreasing $log{g}$ and increasing $log{L}$, a result compatible with the expectation that magnetic braking should lead to rapid magnetic spindown that accelerates with increasing mass-loss.
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