scholarly journals The role of magnetic fields in pre-main sequence stars

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S302) ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaitee A. J. Hussain ◽  
Evelyne Alecian
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Circumstellar Disks ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
First Results ◽  
Pms Stars

AbstractStrong, kilo-Gauss, magnetic fields are required to explain a range of observational properties in young, accreting pre-main sequence (PMS) systems. We review the techniques used to detect magnetic fields in PMS stars. Key results from a long running campaign aimed at characterising the large scale magnetic fields in accreting T Tauri stars are presented. Maps of surface magnetic flux in these systems can be used to build 3-D models exploring the role of magnetic fields and the efficiency with which magnetic fields can channel accretion from circumstellar disks on to young stars. Long-term variability in T Tauri star magnetic fields strongly point to a dynamo origin of the magnetic fields. Studies are underway to quantify how changes in magnetic fields affect their accretion properties. We also present the first results from a new programme that investigates the evolution of magnetic fields in intermediate mass (1.5–3M⊙) pre-main sequence stars as they evolve from being convective T Tauri stars to fully radiative Herbig AeBe stars.

scholarly journals Magnetic fields of intermediate-mass T Tauri stars

2019 ◽  
Vol 622 ◽  
pp. A72 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Villebrun ◽  
E. Alecian ◽  
G. Hussain ◽  
J. Bouvier ◽  
C. P. Folsom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Large Population ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Magnetic Characteristics ◽  
Intermediate Mass ◽  
Surface Magnetic Field ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
Magnetic Stars ◽  
Pms Stars

Context. The origin of the fossil magnetic fields detected in 5 to 10% of intermediate-mass main sequence stars is still highly debated.Aims. We want to bring observational constraints to a large population of intermediate-mass pre-main sequence (PMS) stars in order to test the theory that convective-dynamo fields generated during the PMS phases of stellar evolution can occasionally relax into fossil fields on the main sequence.Methods. Using distance estimations, photometric measurements, and spectropolarimetric data from HARPSpol and ESPaDOnS of 38 intermediate-mass PMS stars, we determined fundamental stellar parameters (Teff,Landvsini) and measured surface magnetic field characteristics (including detection limits for non-detections, and longitudinal fields and basic topologies for positive detections). Using PMS evolutionary models, we determined the mass, radius, and internal structure of these stars. We compared different PMS models to check that our determinations were not model-dependant. We then compared the magnetic characteristics of our sample accounting for their stellar parameters and internal structures.Results. We detect magnetic fields in about half of our sample. About 90% of the magnetic stars have outer convective envelopes larger than ∼25% of the stellar radii, and heavier than ∼2% of the stellar mass. Going to higher mass, we find that the magnetic incidence in intermediate-mass stars drops very quickly, within a timescale on the order of few times 0.1 Myr. Finally, we propose that intermediate-mass T Tauri stars with large convective envelopes, close to the fully convective limit, have complex fields and that their dipole component strengths may decrease as the sizes of their convective envelopes decrease, similar to lower-mass T Tauri stars.

scholarly journals Magnetic Activity of Pre-main Sequence Stars

2004 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 211-222
Author(s):  
Eric D. Feigelson
Keyword(s):  
Main Sequence ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Orion Nebula ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
Nearby Star ◽  
X Ray ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
Pms Stars

I review here recent advances in our understanding of magnetic activity in pre-main sequence (PMS) protostars and T Tauri stars. Results are based on recent imaging, spectroscopic and temporal studies of nearby star forming regions from the Chandra X — ray Observatory and XMM — Newton, including a first look at an ultradeep Chandra exposure of the Orion Nebula Cluster.Pre-main sequence stars exhibit a high level of X-ray emission dominated by a bewildering variety of magnetic reconnection flares. Activity is linked to bulk stellar properties — Lbol, mass, surface area or volume — rather than rotation. This suggests that dynamo processes in deeply convective PMS stars may fundamentally differ from the tachocline dynamo operating in main sequence stars.X-rays and MeV particles from magnetic flares will affect the circumstellar environment in PMS systems, particularly the protoplanetary disk. X-ray emission may influence: disk ionization, turbulence and viscosity; Jovian planet formation and migration; the production of meteoritic isotopes and melting of meteoritic chondrules; the heating and chemistry of the disk. X-ray surveys are also effective in locating post-T Tauri stars for disk evolution studies.

scholarly journals High S/N Spectroscopy of Pre-Main Sequence Stars I

1988 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 87-93
Author(s):  
I. Appenzeller
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Circumstellar Disks ◽  
Circumstellar Matter ◽  
Spectroscopic Measurement ◽  
Spectral Lines ◽  
Stellar Winds ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
Pms Stars ◽  
Very High

The spectra of PMS stars usually are superpositions of contributions from a relatively normal photosphere, an often strongly enhanced chromosphere, and of circumstellar matter related to stellar winds, accreation flows, jets, and cool circumstellar disks. Only high S/N data allows a reliable separation of these different contributions. Because of the high optical depths of PMS chromospheres, the PMS photospheres often can be observed in the very weak spectral lines only, which are undectable on low S/N spectrograms. Finally, magnetic fields are assumed to play a particularly important role for the appearance and evolution of PMS objects. Their spectroscopic measurement requires very high S/N data.

The Infancy of Solar-Type Stars and its Relevance for the Origin of Life

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 267-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Montmerle
Keyword(s):  
Main Sequence ◽  
Solar Nebula ◽  
Circumstellar Disks ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Sequence Evolution ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
Solar Type ◽  
Optical Domain ◽  
The Origin Of Life

AbstractFor life to develop, planets are a necessary condition. Likewise, for planets to form, stars must be surrounded by circumstellar disks, at least some time during their pre-main sequence evolution. Much progress has been made recently in the study of young solar-like stars. In the optical domain, these stars are known as «T Tauri stars». A significant number show IR excess, and other phenomena indirectly suggesting the presence of circumstellar disks. The current wisdom is that there is an evolutionary sequence from protostars to T Tauri stars. This sequence is characterized by the initial presence of disks, with lifetimes ~ 1-10 Myr after the intial collapse of a dense envelope having given birth to a star. While they are present, about 30% of the disks have masses larger than the minimum solar nebula. Their disappearance may correspond to the growth of dust grains, followed by planetesimal and planet formation, but this is not yet demonstrated.

scholarly journals Variability of young stellar objects in the star-forming region Pelican Nebula

2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. A135 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bhardwaj ◽  
N. Panwar ◽  
G. J. Herczeg ◽  
W. P. Chen ◽  
H. P. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Main Sequence ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Young Stellar Objects ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
Stellar Objects ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
Optical Wavelengths

Context. Pre-main-sequence variability characteristics can be used to probe the physical processes leading to the formation and initial evolution of both stars and planets. Aims. The photometric variability of pre-main-sequence stars is studied at optical wavelengths to explore star–disk interactions, accretion, spots, and other physical mechanisms associated with young stellar objects. Methods. We observed a field of 16′ × 16′ in the star-forming region Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) at BVRI wavelengths for 90 nights spread over one year in 2012−2013. More than 250 epochs in the VRI bands are used to identify and classify variables up to V ∼ 21 mag. Their physical association with the cluster IC 5070 is established based on the parallaxes and proper motions from the Gaia second data release (DR2). Multiwavelength photometric data are used to estimate physical parameters based on the isochrone fitting and spectral energy distributions. Results. We present a catalog of optical time-series photometry with periods, mean magnitudes, and classifications for 95 variable stars including 67 pre-main-sequence variables towards star-forming region IC 5070. The pre-main-sequence variables are further classified as candidate classical T Tauri and weak-line T Tauri stars based on their light curve variations and the locations on the color-color and color-magnitude diagrams using optical and infrared data together with Gaia DR2 astrometry. Classical T Tauri stars display variability amplitudes up to three times the maximum fluctuation in disk-free weak-line T Tauri stars, which show strong periodic variations. Short-term variability is missed in our photometry within single nights. Several classical T Tauri stars display long-lasting (≥10 days) single or multiple fading and brightening events of up to two magnitudes at optical wavelengths. The typical mass and age of the pre-main-sequence variables from the isochrone fitting and spectral energy distributions are estimated to be ≤1 M⊙ and ∼2 Myr, respectively. We do not find any correlation between the optical amplitudes or periods with the physical parameters (mass and age) of pre-main-sequence stars. Conclusions. The low-mass pre-main-sequence stars in the Pelican Nebula region display distinct variability and color trends and nearly 30% of the variables exhibit strong periodic signatures attributed to cold spot modulations. In the case of accretion bursts and extinction events, the average amplitudes are larger than one magnitude at optical wavelengths. These optical magnitude fluctuations are stable on a timescale of one year.

scholarly journals Characterising the surface magnetic fields of T Tauri stars with high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy

2019 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. A99 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lavail ◽  
O. Kochukhov ◽  
G. A. J. Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Surface Magnetic Field ◽  
T Tauri

Aims. In this paper, we aim to characterise the surface magnetic fields of a sample of eight T Tauri stars from high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy. Some stars in our sample are known to be magnetic from previous spectroscopic or spectropolarimetric studies. Our goals are firstly to apply Zeeman broadening modelling to T Tauri stars with high-resolution data, secondly to expand the sample of stars with measured surface magnetic field strengths, thirdly to investigate possible rotational or long-term magnetic variability by comparing spectral time series of given targets, and fourthly to compare the magnetic field modulus ⟨B⟩ tracing small-scale magnetic fields to those of large-scale magnetic fields derived by Stokes V Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI) studies. Methods. We modelled the Zeeman broadening of magnetically sensitive spectral lines in the near-infrared K-band from high-resolution spectra by using magnetic spectrum synthesis based on realistic model atmospheres and by using different descriptions of the surface magnetic field. We developped a Bayesian framework that selects the complexity of the magnetic field prescription based on the information contained in the data. Results. We obtain individual magnetic field measurements for each star in our sample using four different models. We find that the Bayesian Model 4 performs best in the range of magnetic fields measured on the sample (from 1.5 kG to 4.4 kG). We do not detect a strong rotational variation of ⟨B⟩ with a mean peak-to-peak variation of 0.3 kG. Our confidence intervals are of the same order of magnitude, which suggests that the Zeeman broadening is produced by a small-scale magnetic field homogeneously distributed over stellar surfaces. A comparison of our results with mean large-scale magnetic field measurements from Stokes V ZDI show different fractions of mean field strength being recovered, from 25–42% for relatively simple poloidal axisymmetric field topologies to 2–11% for more complex fields.

IUE observations of pre-main-sequence stars. I - MG II and CA II resonance line fluxes for T Tauri stars

1981 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Giampapa ◽  
N. Calvet ◽  
C. L. Imhoff ◽  
L. V. Kuhi
Keyword(s):  
Resonance Line ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
T Tauri

Magnetic fields of T Tauri stars and inner accretion discs

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (A30) ◽  
pp. 121-121
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Donati
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Accretion Discs ◽  
High Resolution Spectroscopy ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
The Impact

AbstractMagnetic fields play a key role in the early life of stars and their planets, as they form from collapsing dense cores that progressively flatten into large-scale accretion discs and eventually settle as young suns orbited by planetary systems. Pre-main-sequence phases, in which central protostars feed from surrounding planet-forming accretion discs, are especially crucial for understanding how worlds like our Solar System are born.Magnetic fields of low-mass T Tauri stars (TTSs) are detected through high-resolution spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry (e.g., Johns Krull 2007), whereas their large-scale topologies can be inferred from time series of Zeeman signatures using tomographic techniques inspired from medical imaging (Donati & Landstreet 2009). Large-scale fields of TTSs are found to depend on the internal structure of the newborn star, allowing quantitative models of how TTSs magnetically interact with their inner accretion discs, and the impact of this interaction on the subsequent stellar evolution (e.g., Romanova et al. 2002, Zanni & Ferreira 2013).With its high sensitivity to magnetic fields, SPIRou, the new near-infrared spectropolarimeter installed in 2018 at CFHT (Donati et al. 2018), should yield new advances in the field, especially for young embedded class-I protostars, thereby bridging the gap with radio observations.

scholarly journals Magnetic main sequence stars as progenitors of blue supergiants

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (S307) ◽  
pp. 391-392
Author(s):  
I. Petermann ◽  
N. Castro ◽  
N. Langer
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Mass Range ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
Core Mass ◽  
Hydrogen Burning ◽  
Sequence Band ◽  
Convective Core ◽  
The Right

AbstractBlue supergiants (BSGs) to the right the main sequence band in the HR diagram can not be reproduced by standard stellar evolution calculations. We investigate whether a reduced convective core mass due to strong internal magnetic fields during the main sequence might be able to recover this population of stars. We perform calculations with a reduced mass of the hydrogen burning convective core of stars in the mass range 3–30 M⊙ in a parametric way, which indeed lead to BSGs. It is expected that these BSGs would still show large scale magnetic fields in the order of 10 G.

scholarly journals Non thermal emission from T Tauri stars

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S275) ◽  
pp. 404-405
Author(s):  
María V. del Valle ◽  
Gustavo E. Romero
Keyword(s):  
Main Sequence ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
T Tauri Stars ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
High Energy Radiation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
T Tauri ◽  
Low Mass

AbstractT Tauri stars are low mass, pre-main sequence stars. These objects are surrounded by an accretion disk and present strong magnetic activity. T Tauri stars are copious emitters of X-ray emission which belong to powerful magnetic reconnection events. Strong magnetospheric shocks are likely outcome of massive reconnection. Such shocks can accelerate particles up to relativistic energies through Fermi mechanism. We present a model for the high-energy radiation produced in the environment of T Tauri stars. We aim at determining whether this emission is detectable. If so, the T Tauri stars should be very nearby.

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