scholarly journals Discovery of weak magnetic fields in four DZ white dwarfs in the local 20 pc volume

2019 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. A65 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bagnulo ◽  
J. D. Landstreet

We report the discovery of weak magnetic fields in three white dwarfs within the local 20 pc volume (WD 0816−310, WD 1009−184, and WD 1532+129), and we confirm the magnetic nature of a fourth star (WD 2138−332) in which we had previously detected a field at a 3σ level. The spectra of all these white dwarfs are characterised by the presence of metal lines and lack of H and He lines, that is, they belong to the spectral class DZ. The polarisation signal of the Ca II H+K lines of WD 1009−184 is particularly spectacular, with an amplitude of 20% that is due to the presence of a magnetic field with an average line-of-sight component of 40 kG. We have thus established that at least 40% of the known DZ white dwarfs with an He-rich atmosphere contained in the 20 pc volume have a magnetic field, while further observations are needed to establish whether the remaining DZ white dwarfs in the same volume are magnetic or not. Metal lines in the spectra of DZ white dwarfs are thought to have originated by accretion from rocky debris, and it might be argued that a link exists between metal accretion and higher occurrence of magnetism. However, we are not able to distinguish whether the magnetic field and the presence of a polluted atmosphere have a common origin, or if it is the presence of metal lines that allows us to detect a higher frequency of magnetic fields in cool white dwarfs, which would otherwise have featureless spectra. We argue that the new highly sensitive longitudinal field measurements that we have made in recent years are consistent with the idea that the magnetic field appears more frequently in older than in younger white dwarfs.

Geophysics ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 668-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas P. O’Brien ◽  
H. F. Morrison

From Maxwell’s equations and Ohm’s law for a horizontally anisotropic medium, it may be shown that two independent plane wave modes propagate perpendicular to the plane of the anisotropy. Boundary conditions at the interfaces in an n‐layered model permit the calculation, through successive matrix multiplications, of the fields at the surface in terms of the fields propagated into the basal infinite half space. Specifying the magnetic field at the surface allows the calculation of the resultant electric fields, and the calculation of the entries of a tensor impedance relationship. These calculations have been programmed for the digital computer and an interpretation of impedances obtained from field measurements may thus be made in terms of the anisotropic layering. In addition, apparent resistivities in orthogonal directions have been calculated for specific models and compared to experimental data. It is apparent that the large scatter of observed resistivities can be caused by small changes in the polarization of the magnetic field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijiao Ji ◽  
Yueting Pan ◽  
Haiwen Liu

Abstract Electron in gapless bilayer graphene can form quasi-bound states when a circular symmetric potential is created in bilayer graphene. These quasi-bound states can be adjusted by tuning the radius and strength of the potential barrier. We investigate the evolution of quasi-bound states spectra in the circular n–p junction of bilayer graphene under the magnetic field numerically. The energy levels of opposite angular momentum split and the splitting increases with the magnetic field. Moreover, weak magnetic fields can slightly shift the energy levels of quasi-bound states. While strong magnetic fields induce additional resonances in the local density states, which originates from Landau levels. We demonstrate that these numerical results are consistent with the semiclassical analysis based on Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation. Our results can be verified experimentally via scanning tunneling microscopy measurements.


2008 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Qin ◽  
Dongmei Yan

Development of magnetism based nondestructive testing technology and the Microelectronic mechanical system require accurate computation of perturbed magnetic fields generated by mechanical stress. In this paper, based on the linearized magnetoelastic theory, the governing equations and continuity conditions to determine the perturbed magnetic fields were formulated for the case of weak external magnetic fields such as the earth’s magnetic field. Under those weak magnetic fields, the effect of the magnetic fields on mechanical deformation was neglected. As a result, the interaction between the deformation and the magnetic field was simplified. The effect of deformation on the perturbed magnetic field was taken into account by introducing the displacement gradient into the boundary conditions that the perturbed field should satisfy. As examples, analytic solutions of the perturbed magnetic field of infinite plates with and without a round hole, which are subjected to tensile stresses and weak external magnetic fields, were obtained by the approach presented. The results show that the perturbed magnetic fields induced by stress are three orders less in magnitude of intensity than that of magnetic fields without stress, and some prominent local features such as that has more peaks and decays more rapidly in the radial direction than the case of stress free that are predicted by the solutions.


1998 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
P. Démoulin

AbstractFilaments are present in highly non-potential magnetic configurations. On one hand, the complexity of modeling such 3-D configurations makes a useful comparison between observations and models difficult. On the other hand such highly sheared regions are more interesting and challenging for understanding eruptive phenomena like flares and coronal mass ejections. Fortunately, the presence of cold plasma allows us to measure the magnetic field inside prominences. Together with photospheric field measurements and other morphological observations, these provide a large set of puzzling constraints for plausible models of the magnetic configurations. Models are reviewed in the framework of present observational constraints with the aim to clarify a piece of the mystery which surrounds the magnetic configuration of filaments.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Tonomura

ABSTRACTHighly sensitive electron phase microscopy based on the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect principle has been used to observe microscopic distributions of magnetic fields in ferromagnets and superconductors. The observation examples include the unconventional behaviors of interlayer Josephson vortices in anisotropic layered high-Tc superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) thin films, which are produced when the applied magnetic field is greatly tilted to the layer plane, and the magnetic-field distributions of tiny magnetic heads for perpendicular recording and of colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) materials.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (01) ◽  
pp. 1630005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique García–Berro ◽  
Mukremin Kilic ◽  
Souza Oliveira Kepler

Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]G to [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]G, and constitute an interesting class of objects. The origin of the magnetic field is still the subject of a hot debate. Whether these fields are fossil, hence the remnants of original weak magnetic fields amplified during the course of the evolution of the progenitor of white dwarfs, or on the contrary, are the result of binary interactions or, finally, other physical mechanisms that could produce such large magnetic fields during the evolution of the white dwarf itself, remains to be elucidated. In this work, we review the current status and paradigms of magnetic fields in white dwarfs, from both the theoretical and observational points of view.


2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. A134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Bagnulo ◽  
John D. Landstreet

The sample of white dwarfs included in the local 20 pc volume documents, fairly accurately, the total production of white dwarfs over roughly 10 Gyr of stellar evolution in this part of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this sample, we have been systematically searching for magnetic white dwarfs. Here we report the discovery of six new magnetic white dwarfs, with a field strength from a few MG to about 200 MG. Two of these stars show H lines that are split and polarised by the magnetic field. One star shows extremely weak spectral lines in intensity, to which highly polarised narrow features correspond. The three other stars have featureless flux spectra, but show continuum polarisation. These new discoveries support the view that at least 20% of all white dwarfs in the local 20 pc volume have magnetic fields, and they fully confirm the suspicion that magnetism is a common rather than a rare characteristic of white dwarfs. We discuss the level and the handedness of the continuum polarisation in the presence of a magnetic field in cool white dwarfs. We suggest that a magnetic field with a 15 MG longitudinal component produces 1% of continuum circular polarisation. We have also shown that the problem of cross-talk from linear to circular polarisation of the FORS2 instrument, used in our survey, represents an obstacle to accurate measurements of the circular polarisation of faint white dwarfs when the background is illuminated, and polarised, by the moon.


Author(s):  
David J Wilson ◽  
Odette Toloza ◽  
John D Landstreet ◽  
Boris T Gänsicke ◽  
Jeremy J Drake ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the discovery of a magnetic field on the white dwarf component in the detached post common envelope binary (PCEB) CC Cet. Magnetic white dwarfs in detached PCEBs are extremely rare, in contrast to the high incidence of magnetism in single white dwarfs and cataclysmic variables. We find Zeeman-split absorption lines in both ultraviolet Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectra and archival optical spectra of CC Cet. Model fits to the lines return a mean magnetic field strength of 〈|B|〉 ≈ 600–700 kG. Differences in the best-fit magnetic field strength between two separate HST observations and the high v sin  i of the lines indicate that the white dwarf is rotating with a period ∼0.5 hours, and that the magnetic field is not axisymmetric about the spin axis. The magnetic field strength and rotation period are consistent with those observed among the intermediate polar class of cataclysmic variable, and we compute stellar evolution models that predict CC Cet will evolve into an intermediate polar in 7–17 Gyr. Among the small number of known PCEBs containing a confirmed magnetic white dwarf, CC Cet is the hottest (and thus youngest), with the weakest field strength, and cannot have formed via the recently proposed crystallisation/spin-up scenario. In addition to the magnetic field measurements, we update the atmospheric parameters of the CC Cet white dwarf via model spectra fits to the HST data and provide a refined orbital period and ephemeris from TESS photometry.


Author(s):  
L.J Silvers

Magnetic fields are known to reside in many astrophysical objects and are now believed to be crucially important for the creation of phenomena on a wide variety of scales. However, the role of the magnetic field in the bodies that we observe has not always been clear. In certain situations, the importance of a magnetic field has been overlooked on the grounds that the large-scale magnetic field was believed to be too weak to play an important role in the dynamics. In this article I discuss some of the recent developments concerning magnetic fields in stars, planets and accretion discs. I choose to emphasize some of the situations where it has been suggested that weak magnetic fields may play a more significant role than previously thought. At the end of the article, I list some of the questions to be answered in the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 220-221 ◽  
pp. 355-360
Author(s):  
Michał Nowicki ◽  
Roman Szewczyk

This paper presents application of magnetovision scanning system for detection of dangerous objects in weak magnetic fields. Measurement system was developed to study the magnetic field vector distributions. The measurements of the Earth’s field disturbances caused by dangerous ferromagnetic objects were carried out. The ability for passive detection of hidden dangerous objects and determine their location was demonstrated.


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