We report the discovery of a medium-strength (∼0.5 kG) magnetic field on the young, massive star τ Sco (B0.2 V), which becomes the third-hottest magnetic star known. Circularly polarized Zeeman signatures are clearly detected in observations collected mostly with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter, recently installed on the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope; temporal variability is also clearly established in the polarimetry, and can be unambiguously attributed to rotational modulation with a period close to 41 d. Archival ultraviolet (UV) spectra confirm that this modulation repeats over time-scales of decades, and refine the rotation period to 41.033 ± 0.002 d.Despite the slow rotation rate of τ Sco, we none the less succeed in reconstructing the large-scale structure of its magnetic topology. We find that the magnetic structure is unusually complex for a hot star, with significant power in spherical-harmonic modes of degree up to 5. The surface topology is dominated by a potential field, although a moderate toroidal component is probably present. We fail to detect intrinsic temporal variability of the magnetic structure over the 1.5-yr period of our spectropolarimetric observations (in agreement with the stable temporal variations of the UV spectra), and infer that any differential surface rotation must be very small.The topology of the extended magnetic field that we derive from the photospheric magnetic maps is also more complex than a global dipole, and features in particular a significantly warped torus of closed magnetic loops encircling the star (tilted at about 90 • to the rotation axis), with additional, smaller, networks of closed-field lines. This topology appears to be consistent with the exceptional X-ray properties of τ Sco and also provides a natural explanation of the variability observed in wind-formed UV lines. Although we cannot completely rule out the possibility that the field is produced through dynamo processes of an exotic kind, we conclude that its magnetic field is most probably a fossil remnant from the star formation stage.Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National
From observations collected with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter, we report the discovery of magnetic fields at the surface of the mildly accreting classical T Tauri star (cTTS) V2129 Oph. Zeeman signatures are detected, both in photospheric lines and in the emission lines formed at the base of the accretion funnels linking the disc to the protostar, and monitored over the whole rotation cycle of V2129 Oph. We observe that rotational modulation dominates the temporal variations of both unpolarized and circularly polarized line profiles. We reconstruct the large‐scale magnetic topology at the surface of V2129 Oph from both sets of Zeeman signatures simultaneously. We find it to be rather complex, with a dominant octupolar component and a weak dipole of strengths 1.2 and 0.35 kG, respectively, both slightly tilted with respect to the rotation axis. The large‐scale field is anchored in a pair of 2‐kG unipolar radial field spots located at high latitudes and coinciding with cool dark polar spots at photospheric level. This large‐scale field geometry is unusually complex compared to those of non‐accreting cool active subgiants with moderate rotation rates. As an illustration, we provide a first attempt at modelling the magnetospheric topology and accretion funnels of V2129 Oph using field extrapolation. We find that the magnetosphere of V2129 Oph must extend to about 7R★ to ensure that the footpoints of accretion funnels coincide with the high‐latitude accretion spots on the stellar surface. It suggests that the stellar magnetic field succeeds in coupling to the accretion disc as far out as the corotation radius, and could possibly explain the slow rotation of V2129 Oph. The magnetospheric geometry we derive qualitatively reproduces the modulation of Balmer lines and produces X‐ray coronal fluxes typical of those observed in cTTSs.
Magnetic fields play a crucial role at all stages of the formation of low-mass stars and planetary systems. In the final stages, in particular, they control the kinematics of in-falling gas from circumstellar discs, and the launching and collimation of spectacular outflows. The magnetic coupling with the disc is thought to influence the rotational evolution of the star, while magnetized stellar winds control the braking of more evolved stars and may influence the migration of planets. Magnetic reconnection events trigger energetic flares which irradiate circumstellar discs with high energy particles that influence the disc chemistry and set the initial conditions for planet formation. However, it is only in the past few years that the current generation of optical spectropolarimeters has allowed the magnetic fields of forming solar-like stars to be probed in unprecedented detail. In order to do justice to the recent extensive observational programs new theoretical models are being developed that incorporate magnetic fields with an observed degree of complexity. In this review we draw together disparate results from the classical electromagnetism, molecular physics/chemistry and the geophysics literature, and demonstrate how they can be adapted to construct models of the large scale magnetospheres of stars and planets. We conclude by examining how the incorporation of multipolar magnetic fields into new theoretical models will drive future progress in the field through the elucidation of several observational conundrums.(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version) 3.4. Difference between a spherical and Cartesian tensor approach 13 4. Magnetospheric accretion models with multipolar magnetic fields 14 4.1. Development of PFSS models and comparison with MHD field extrapolations 14 4.2. Potential field models of T Tauri magnetospheres with complex fields 16 4.3. 3D MHD models of T Tauri magnetospheres with non-dipolar fields 18 5. Summary and applications to outstanding problems 19 Acknowledgments 21 Appendix A. Relations between the equatorial and polar field strength for a multipole of arbitrary order l 21 Appendix A.1. Odd-order multipoles 21 Appendix A.2. Even-order multipoles 22 Appendix B. Electrostatic expansion using Cartesian tensors 22 Appendix B.1. The dipole term 23 Appendix B.2. The quadrupole term 23 References 24
We report results of a spectropolarimetric and photometric monitoring of the weak-line T Tauri stars (wTTSs) V819 Tau and V830 Tau within the MaTYSSE programme, involving the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. At ≃3 Myr, both stars dissipated their discs recently and are interesting objects for probing star and planet formation. Profile distortions and Zeeman signatures are detected in the unpolarized and circularly-polarized lines, whose rotational modulation we modelled using tomographic imaging, yielding brightness and magnetic maps for both stars.We find that the large-scale magnetic fields of V819 Tau and V830 Tau are mostly poloidal and can be approximated at large radii by 350-400 G dipoles tilted at ≃30 • to the rotation axis. They are significantly weaker than the field of GQ Lup, an accreting classical T Tauri star (cTTS) with similar mass and age which can be used to compare the magnetic properties of wTTSs and cTTSs. The reconstructed brightness maps of both stars include cool spots and warm plages. Surface differential rotation is small, typically ≃4.4× smaller than on the Sun, in agreement with previous results on wTTSs.Using our Doppler images to model the activity jitter and filter it out from the radial velocity (RV) curves, we obtain RV residuals with dispersions of 0.033 and 0.104 km s −1 for V819 Tau and V830 Tau respectively. RV residuals suggest that a hot Jupiter may be orbiting V830 Tau, though additional data are needed to confirm this preliminary result. We find no evidence for close-in giant planet around V819 Tau.
We present here the first results of a spectropolarimetric analysis of a small sample (about 20) of active stars ranging from spectral type M0 to M8, which are either fully-convective or possess a very small radiative core. This study aims at providing new constraints on dynamo processes in fully-convective stars. Results for stars with spectral types M0-M4 -- i.e. with masses above or just below the full convection threshold (about 0.35Msun) -- are presented. Tomographic imaging techniques allow us to reconstruct the surface magnetic topologies from the rotationally modulated time-series of circularly polarised profiles. We find strong differences between partly and fully convective stars concerning magnetic field topology and characteristic scales, and differential rotation. Our results suggest that magnetic field generation in fully convective stars relies on different dynamo processes than those acting in the Sun and other partly convective stars, in agreement with theoretical expectations.Comment: 6 pages, proceedings of Cool Stars 15, St Andrews, July 2008, to be published in the Conference Proceedings Series of the AI
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