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Investigating the Magnetospheres of Rapidly Rotating B-type Stars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2017

C. L. Fletcher Open the ORCID record for C. L. Fletcher [Opens in a new window] ,
V. Petit ,
Y. Nazé Open the ORCID record for Y. Nazé [Opens in a new window] ,
G. A. Wade ,
R. H. Townsend ,
S. P. Owocki ,
D. H. Cohen ,
A. David-Uraz  and
M. Shultz
C. L. Fletcher
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, 32904, USA, cfletcher2013@my.fit.edu
V. Petit
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
Y. Nazé
Affiliation:
FNRS GAPHE - STAR - Institut d’Astrophysique et de Géophysique (B5C), Université de Liège, Allée du 6 Août 19c, 4000-Liége, Belgium
G. A. Wade
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Royal Military College of Canada, PO Box 17000 Station Forces, Kingston, ON, CanadaK7K 0C6
R. H. Townsend
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 5534 Sterling Hall, 475 N Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706, USA
S. P. Owocki
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
D. H. Cohen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA
A. David-Uraz
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
M. Shultz
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, Uppsala 75120, Sweden
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Abstract

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Recent spectropolarimetric surveys of bright, hot stars have found that ~10% of OB-type stars contain strong (mostly dipolar) surface magnetic fields (~kG). The prominent paradigm describing the interaction between the stellar winds and the surface magnetic field is the magnetically confined wind shock (MCWS) model. In this model, the stellar wind plasma is forced to move along the closed field loops of the magnetic field, colliding at the magnetic equator, and creating a shock. As the shocked material cools radiatively it will emit X-rays. Therefore, X-ray spectroscopy is a key tool in detecting and characterizing the hot wind material confined by the magnetic fields of these stars. Some B-type stars are found to have very short rotational periods. The effects of the rapid rotation on the X-ray production within the magnetosphere have yet to be explored in detail. The added centrifugal force due to rapid rotation is predicted to cause faster wind outflows along the field lines, leading to higher shock temperatures and harder X-rays. However, this is not observed in all rapidly rotating magnetic B-type stars. In order to address this from a theoretical point of view, we use the X-ray Analytical Dynamical Magnetosphere (XADM) model, originally developed for slow rotators, with an implementation of new rapid rotational physics. Using X-ray spectroscopy from ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope, we observed 5 rapidly rotating B-types stars to add to the previous list of observations. Comparing the observed X-ray luminosity and hardness ratio to that predicted by the XADM allows us to determine the role the added centrifugal force plays in the magnetospheric X-ray emission of these stars.

Keywords

massive starsmagnetic fieldsstarsrotationx-rays
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 12 , Symposium S329: The Lives and Death-Throes of Massive Stars , November 2016 , pp. 369 - 372
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2017 

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