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At least 487 records · Page 27

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DOE OSTI2015

THE DEPENDENCE OF STELLAR MASS AND ANGULAR MOMENTUM LOSSES ON LATITUDE AND THE INTERACTION OF ACTIVE REGION AND DIPOLAR MAGNETIC FIELDS

Rotation evolution of late-type stars is dominated by magnetic braking and the underlying factors that control this angular momentum loss are important for the study of stellar spin-down. In this work, we study angular momentum loss as a function of two different aspects of magnetic activity using a calibrated Alfvén wave-driven magnetohydrodynamic wind model: the strengths of magnetic spots and their distribution in latitude. By driving the model using solar and modified solar surface magnetograms, we show that the topology of the field arising from the net interaction of both small-scale and large-scale field is important for spin-down rates and that angular momentum loss is not a simple function of large scale magnetic field strength. We find that changing the latitude of magnetic spots can modify mass and angular momentum loss rates by a factor of two. The general effect that causes these differences is the closing down of large-scale open field at mid- and high-latitudes by the addition of the small-scale field. These effects might give rise to modulation of mass and angular momentum loss through stellar cycles, and present a problem for ab initio attempts to predict stellar spin-down based on wind models. For all the magnetogram cases considered here, from dipoles to various spotted distributions, we find that angular momentum loss is dominated by the mass loss at mid-latitudes. The spin-down torque applied by magnetized winds therefore acts at specific latitudes and is not evenly distributed over the stellar surface, though this aspect is unlikely to be important for understanding spin-down and surface flows on stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1984

Electromagnetic damping of neutron star oscillations

A simple model of magnetic field perturbations driven by neutron star oscillations is used to estimate the electromagnetic power radiated by g-modes and torsional oscillations. The calculation assumes that the neutron star has a frozen-in magnetic field which is perturbed by the oscillatory motions of the surface. The disturbances propagate into the vacuum as outgoing electromagnetic waves. The relative effectiveness of Joule heating of the neutron star crust by pulsation-induced electric currents is estimated. It is concluded that electromagnetic damping is the dominant energy dissipation mechanism for quadrupole g-mode oscillations of neutron stars. For dipole spheroidal modes, both electromagnetic radiation and Joule heating are important, and there is no gravitational radiation emitted by these modes.

Mcdermott, P. N.↗

NASA NTRS1979

An absorption feature in the spectrum of the pulsed hard X-ray flux from 4U0115 + 63

A spectral feature, apparently an absorption line, has been observed at an energy of 20.1 + or - 0.5 keV in the pulsed flux of the 3.61-s X-ray pulsar 4U 0115+63 by using the UCSD/MIT instrument on HEAO 1. The line strength, expressed as equivalent width, is 3.1 + or - 0.5 keV. Although essentially unresolved, the feature has a depth more than 60% of the continuum flux. If the feature arises by cyclotron resonance absorption near the magnetic poles of the neutron star, it implies a magnetic field of between approximately 1.8 and 2.5 x 10 to the 12th G, depending on the gravitational redshift (no more than about 5-40%).

Wheaton, W. A.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Characterizing Nearby Stars: Age and Activity

The funds in this grant were used to support costs for observing and data analysis over the past two years. During this time I have been obtaining low-resolution (R-2,000) spectra for about 5,000 solar-type stars (late-F and G dwarfs) that are within 60 parsecs of the Sun. The sample was defined with results from the Hipparcos mission, and the spectra were obtained at Kitt Peak National Observatory, using the Coude Feed telescope, and at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, using their 1.5 m telescopes for stars below -40 declination. Nearly all the observed spectra have been reduced and analyzed. What is determined is R-prime, an index of the chromospheric emission in the cores of the Ca II H and K lines relative to the nearby continuum, and normalized for the color of the star. Chromospheric emission arises from magnetic activity on the star, and that is turn is driven by rotation. Solar-type stars spin down as they age, and so they get weaker in their chromospheric emission as well. Thus this R-prime index can be used to estimate the ages of stars. A few stars remain to be observed at Kitt Peak, and follow-up high-resolution spectra are being obtained of the most active stars seen, but the majority of the starting sample have been completed. The spectra obtained are also being analyzed to yield an index of overall metallicity for each star, and this will be used to study Galactic evolution questions. These metallicities will form the first large dataset of high and consistent quality. Initial results from this work have been used to define targets for a SIRTF Legacy program, for stars to study for planetary transits, and for SETI efforts. Because of the large number of stars involved, most of the data will be made available on the web, although some specific papers about the results are in preparation. The web database is being constructed.

Soderblom, David↗

NASA NTRS1976

Magnetic acceleration of winds from solar-type stars

The spin-down of solar type stars (F5 V to G3 V) is generally ascribed to the outflow of magnetized plasma in the form of a wind. Magnetically coupled stellar winds are thought to provide the dominant mechanism for angular momentum loss over the entire main-sequence lifetime of stars possessing hydrogen convective zones. The associated loss in rotational kinetic energy can strongly affect the energetics of winds emanating from such stars, for sufficiently high rotation rates and magnetic field strengths. In the present paper, an attempt is made to describe qualitatively how MHD plasma outflow from a rotating star adjusts itself to a broad range of stellar conditions, including fast, intermediate, and slow magnetic rotator configurations. Using the Weber and Davis (1967) model of MHD winds, it is shown that the magnetic deceleration of an MHD wind is of importance when the loss of rotational kinetic energy due to magnetic braking exceeds the energy flux due to thermal processes alone.

Belcher, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1982

The structure and energy balance of cool star atmospheres

The atmospheric structure and energy balance phenomena associated with magnetic fields in the Sun are reviewed and it is shown that similar phenomena occur in cool stars. The evidence for the weakening or disappearance of transition regions and coronae is discussed together with the appearance of extended cool chromospheres with large mass loss, near V-R = 0.80 in the H-R diagram. Like the solar atmosphere, these atmospheres are not homogeneous and there is considerable evidence for plage regions with bright TR emission lines that overlie dark (presumably magnetic) star spots. The IUE observations are providing important information on the energy balance in these atmospheres that should guide theoretical calculations of the nonradiative heating rate. Recent high dispersion spectra are providing unique information concerning which components of close binary systems are the dominant contributors to the observed emission. A recent unanticipated discovery is that the transition lines are redshifted (an antiwind) in DRa (G2 Ib) and perhaps other stars. Finally, the G and K giants and supergiants are classified into three groups depending on whether their atmospheres are dominated by closed magnetic flux tubes, open field geometries, or a predominately open geometry with a few closed flux tubes embedded.

Linsky, J. L.↗

DOE OSTI2017

ZEEMAN DOPPLER MAPS: ALWAYS UNIQUE, NEVER SPURIOUS?

Numerical models of atomic diffusion in magnetic atmospheres of ApBp stars predict abundance structures that differ from the empirical maps derived with (Zeeman) Doppler mapping (ZDM). An in-depth analysis of this apparent disagreement investigates the detectability by means of ZDM of a variety of abundance structures, including (warped) rings predicted by theory, but also complex spot-like structures. Even when spectra of high signal-to-noise ratio are available, it can prove difficult or altogether impossible to correctly recover shapes, positions, and abundances of a mere handful of spots, notwithstanding the use of all four Stokes parameters and an exactly known field geometry; the recovery of (warped) rings can be equally challenging. Inversions of complex abundance maps that are based on just one or two spectral lines usually permit multiple solutions. It turns out that it can by no means be guaranteed that any of the regularization functions in general use for ZDM (maximum entropy or Tikhonov) will lead to a true abundance map instead of some spurious one. Attention is drawn to the need for a study that would elucidate the relation between the stratified, field-dependent abundance structures predicted by diffusion theory on the one hand, and empirical maps obtained by means of “canonical” ZDM, i.e., with mean atmospheres and unstratified abundances, on the other hand. Finally, we point out difficulties arising from the three-dimensional nature of the atomic diffusion process in magnetic ApBp star atmospheres.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1980

Axial rotation, tangled magnetic fields, and theoretical models of very massive stars

A simple method of computing theoretical models of very massive stars endowed with fast axial rotation and tangled magnetic fields is described and used in the present paper. Both of the two perturbing (nongravitational) forces induce changes in the luminosity and radius that are studied as functions of zero-age chemical composition, opacity, and evolutionary state of the interior. The central condensation of the star is found to have a significant influence on shifts of the upper main-sequence band in the H-R diagram if the perturbing force is concentrated in the stellar envelope (but not if the perturbing force is distributed so as to be approximately proportional to gravity everywhere); the layers of the envelope that contribute most heavily to the central condensation lie approximately at a radius fraction of r/R = 0.5. It is shown that fast uniform rotation and intense envelope magnetic fields lead to probably the largest possible shifts of the main-sequence band in the H-R diagram that rotation and magnetic fields can induce. These displacements are, however, too small to account for the total width of the observed main-sequence band at luminosities brighter than log (L/solar luminosity) = 4.5.

Stothers, R.↗

DOE OSTI2017

Activity and Rotation of Kepler-17

Magnetic activity on stars manifests itself in the form of dark spots on the stellar surface, which cause modulations of a few percent in the light curve of the star as it rotates. When a planet eclipses its host star, it might cross in front of one of these spots, creating a “bump” in the transit light curve. By modeling these spot signatures, it is possible to determine the physical properties of the spots such as size, temperature, and location. In turn, monitoring of the spots’ longitude provides estimates of the stellar rotation and differential rotation. This technique was applied to the star Kepler-17, a solar–type star orbited by a hot Jupiter. The model yields the following spot characteristics: average radius of 49 ± 10 Mm, temperatures of 5100 ± 300 K, and surface area coverage of 6 ± 4%. The rotation period at the transit latitude, −5{sup ∘}, occulted by the planet was found to be 11.92 ± 0.05 day, slightly smaller than the out-of-transit average period of 12.4 ± 0.1 day. Adopting a solar-like differential rotation, we estimated the differential rotation of Kepler-17 to be ΔΩ=0.041±0.005 rd day{sup −1}, which is close to the solar value of 0.050 rd day{sup −1}, and a relative differential rotation of ΔΩ/Ω=8.0±0.9%. Because Kepler-17 is much more active than our Sun, it appears that, for this star, larger rotation rate is more effective in the generation of magnetic fields than shear.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2017

THE EFFECT OF TRANSIENT ACCRETION ON THE SPIN-UP OF MILLISECOND PULSARS

A millisecond pulsar is a neutron star that has been substantially spun up by accretion from a binary companion. A previously unrecognized factor governing the spin evolution of such pulsars is the crucial effect of nonsteady or transient accretion. We numerically compute the evolution of accreting neutron stars through a series of outburst and quiescent phases, considering the drastic variation of the accretion rate and the standard disk–magnetosphere interaction. We find that, for the same long-term average accretion rate, X-ray transients can spin up pulsars to rates several times higher than can persistent accretors, even when the spin-down due to electromagnetic radiation during quiescence is included. We also compute an analytical expression for the equilibrium spin frequency in transients, by taking spin equilibrium to mean that no net angular momentum is transferred to the neutron star in each outburst cycle. We find that the equilibrium spin rate for transients, which depends on the peak accretion rate during outbursts, can be much higher than that for persistent sources. This explains our numerical finding. This finding implies that any meaningful study of neutron star spin and magnetic field distributions requires the inclusion of the transient accretion effect, since most accreting neutron star sources are transients. Our finding also implies the existence of a submillisecond pulsar population, which is not observed. This may point to the need for a competing spin-down mechanism for the fastest-rotating accreting pulsars, such as gravitational radiation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

ON THE EVOLUTION OF MAGNETIC WHITE DWARFS

We present the first radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarf stars. We demonstrate that convective energy transfer is seriously impeded by magnetic fields when the plasma-β parameter, the thermal-to-magnetic-pressure ratio, becomes smaller than unity. The critical field strength that inhibits convection in the photosphere of white dwarfs is in the range B = 1–50 kG, which is much smaller than the typical 1–1000 MG field strengths observed in magnetic white dwarfs, implying that these objects have radiative atmospheres. We have employed evolutionary models to study the cooling process of high-field magnetic white dwarfs, where convection is entirely suppressed during the full evolution (B ≳ 10 MG). We find that the inhibition of convection has no effect on cooling rates until the effective temperature (T{sub eff}) reaches a value of around 5500 K. In this regime, the standard convective sequences start to deviate from the ones without convection due to the convective coupling between the outer layers and the degenerate reservoir of thermal energy. Since no magnetic white dwarfs are currently known at the low temperatures where this coupling significantly changes the evolution, the effects of magnetism on cooling rates are not expected to be observed. This result contrasts with a recent suggestion that magnetic white dwarfs with T{sub eff} ≲ 10,000 K cool significantly slower than non-magnetic degenerates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2007

Detailed Physical Modeling Reveals the Magnetar Nature of a Transient Anomalous X-ray Pulsar

Anomalous X-ray Pulsars (AXPs) belong to a class of neutron stars believed to harbor the strongest magnetic fields in the universe, as indicated by their energetic bursts and their rapid spindowns. However, a direct measurement of their surface field strengths has not been made to date. It is also not known whether AXP outbursts result from changes in the neutron star magnetic field or crust properties. Here we report the first, spectroscopic measurement of the surface magnetic field strength of an AXP, XTE J1810-197, and solidify its magnetar nature. The field strength obtained from detailed spectral analysis and modeling is remarkably close to the value inferred from the rate of spindown of this source and remains nearly constant during numerous observations spanning over two orders of magnitude in source flux. The surface temperature, on the other hand, declines steadily and dramatically following the 2003 outburst of this source. Our findings demonstrate that heating occurs in the upper neutron star crust during an outburst and sheds light on the transient behaviour of AXPs.

Guever, T.↗

NASA NTRS2007

The Magnetar Nature and the Outburst Mechanism of a Transient Anomalous X-ray Pulsar

Guver, Tolga↗

NASA NTRS1987

The dynamical oscillation and propulsion of magnetic fields in the convective zone of a star. I - General considerations

Observations of the sun show that the magnetic flux of the large activity complexes emerges in localized sites in brief bursts at intervals of many days or a few weeks. The quantity of flux arriving at the surface suggests that the mean aximuthal field of the sun in the lower convective zone is not less than 3000 G and may perhaps be considerably more. Such a field inhibits the convective transport of heat. Hence there is a cool shadow on the upper side of the field, and that cool shadow presses downward so hard as to suppress the magnetic buoyancy, forcing the field to remain in the lower convective zone. The accumulation of heat below the field forces intruding fingers of gas up through the field, forming thermal plumes extending up to the visible surface. It is suggested that the process is intermittent, providing a thermal relaxation oscillation with a period of the order of one week. The activity complexes observed at the surface are the consequence of these eruptions of fluid and entrained field from the lower convective zone.

Parker, E. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Magnetic fields in the radiative interior of stars. I Thermal shadows and forced convection. II - Forced convection and the Li-7 abundance

A theoretical model is developed for thermal shadows of magnetic inhomogeneities and their effects in the radiative cores of stars such as the sun. It is shown that the shadows cause a slight decrease of gas pressure, thereby lowering the opacity and raising the effective heat transport. The shadows produced by the inhomogeneities induce thermal gradients and therefore forced convection. If the field strength is at least 400,000 gauss partial Li-7 depletion will occur due to destruction in convection-dominated thermonuclear reactions. The scale of the field would need to be 30,000 km.

Parker, E. N.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Does mass accretion lead to field decay in neutron stars?

Adopting the hypothesis of accretion-induced magnetic field decay in neutron stars, the consequent evolution of a neutron star's spin and magnetic field are calculated. The results are consistent with observations of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Thermomagnetic effects could provide a possible physical mechanism for such accretion-induced field decay.

Shibazaki, N.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Magnetic fields in the formation of the first stars – II. Results

ABSTRACT Beginning with cosmological initial conditions at z = 100, we simulate the effects of magnetic fields on the formation of Population III stars and compare our results with the predictions of Paper I. We use gadget-2 to follow the evolution of the system while the field is weak. We introduce a new method for treating kinematic fields by tracking the evolution of the deformation tensor. The growth rate in this stage of the simulation is lower than expected for diffuse astrophysical plasmas, which have a very low resistivity (high magnetic Prandtl number); we attribute this to the large numerical resistivity in simulations, corresponding to a magnetic Prandtl number of order unity. When the magnetic field begins to be dynamically significant in the core of the minihalo at z = 27, we map it on to a uniform grid and follow the evolution in an adaptive mesh refinement, MHD simulation in orion2. The non-linear evolution of the field in the orion2 simulation violates flux-freezing and is consistent with the theory proposed by Xu & Lazarian. The fields approach equipartition with kinetic energy at densities ∼1010–1012 cm−3. When the same calculation is carried out in orion2 with no magnetic fields, several protostars form, ranging in mass from ∼1 to 30 M⊙; with magnetic fields, only a single ∼30 M⊙ protostar forms by the end of the simulation. Magnetic fields thus suppress the formation of low-mass Pop III stars, yielding a top-heavy Pop III initial mass function and contributing to the absence of observed Pop III stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2017

The Hottest Hot Jupiters May Host Atmospheric Dynamos

Hot Jupiters have proven themselves to be a rich class of exoplanets that test our theories of planetary evolution and atmospheric dynamics under extreme conditions. Here, we present three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations and analytic results that demonstrate that a dynamo can be maintained in the thin, stably stratified atmosphere of a hot Jupiter, independent of the presumed deep-seated dynamo. This dynamo is maintained by conductivity variations arising from strong asymmetric heating from the planets’ host star. The presence of a dynamo significantly increases the surface magnetic field strength and alters the overall planetary magnetic field geometry, possibly affecting star–planet magnetic interactions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗