Jason H. Grunhut

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is an international journal which publishes papers on all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics

The recent discovery of a weak surface magnetic field on the normal intermediate-mass star Vega raises the question of the origin of this magnetism in a class of stars that was not known to host magnetic fields. We aim to confirm the field detection and provide additional observational constraints about the field characteristics, by modelling the magnetic geometry of the star and by investigating the seasonal variability of the reconstructed field. We analyse a total of 799 circularly-polarized spectra collected with the NARVAL and ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeters during 2008 and 2009. We employ a cross-correlation procedure to compute, from each spectrum, a mean polarized line profile with a signal-to-noise ratio of about 20,000. The technique of Zeeman-Doppler Imaging is then used to determine the rotation period of the star and reconstruct the large-scale magnetic geometry of Vega at two different epochs. We confirm the detection of circularly polarized signatures in the mean line profiles. The amplitude of the signatures is larger when spectral lines of higher magnetic sensitivity are selected for the analysis, as expected for a signal of magnetic origin. The short-term evolution of polarized signatures is consistent with a rotational period of 0.732 \pm 0.008 d. The reconstructed magnetic topology unveils a magnetic region of radial field orientation, closely concentrated around the rotation pole. This polar feature is accompanied by a small number of magnetic patches at lower latitudes. No significant variability in the field structure is observed over a time span of one year. The repeated observation of a weak photospheric magnetic field on Vega suggests that a previously unknown type of magnetic stars exists in the intermediate-mass domain. Vega may well be the first confirmed member of a much larger, as yet unexplored, class of weakly-magnetic stars.

We report the systematic detection of magnetic fields in massive (M > 5 M$_\odot$) late-type supergiants, using spectropolarimetric observations obtained with ESPaDOnS at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Our observations reveal detectable Stokes V Zeeman signatures in Least-Squares Deconvolved mean line profiles in one-third of the observed sample of more than 30 stars. The signatures are sometimes complex, revealing multiple reversals across the line. The corresponding longitudinal magnetic field is seldom detected, although our longitudinal field error bars are typically 0.3 G ($1\sigma$). These characteristics suggest topologically complex magnetic fields, presumably generated by dynamo action. The Stokes V signatures of some targets show clear time variability, indicating either rotational modulation or intrinsic evolution of the magnetic field. We also observe a weak correlation between the unsigned longitudinal magnetic field and the CaII K core emission equivalent width of the active G2Iab supergiant $\beta$~Dra and the G8Ib supergiant $\epsilon$~Gem.

We report the detection of a strong, organized magnetic field in the O9IV star HD 57682, using spectropolarimetric observations obtained with ESPaDOnS at the 3.6 m Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope within the context of the Magnetism in Massive Stars (MiMeS) Large Programme. From the fitting of our spectra using non local thermodynamic equilibrium model atmospheres, we determined that HD 57682 is a 17+19−9M⊙ star with a radius of 7.0+2.4−1.8R⊙ and a relatively low mass loss rate of 1.4+3.1−0.95× 10−9M⊙yr−1. The photospheric absorption lines are narrow, and we use the Fourier transform technique to infer v sini= 15 ± 3 kms−1. This v sini implies a maximum rotational period of 31.5d, a value qualitatively consistent with the observed variability of the optical absorption and emission lines, as well as the Stokes V profiles and longitudinal field. Using a Bayesian analysis of the velocity resolved Stokes V profiles to infer the magnetic field characteristics, we tentatively derive a dipole field strength of 1680+134−356G. The derived field strength and wind characteristics imply a wind that is strongly confined by the magnetic field.

Modern spectroscopy of early-type stars often aims at studying complex physical phenomena. Comparatively less attention is paid to identifying and studying the "normal" A- and B-type stars and testing how the basic atomic parameters and standard spectral analysis allow one to fit the observations. We wish to stablish whether the chemical composition of the solar photosphere can be regarded as a reference for early A- and late B-type stars. We have obtained optical high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra of three slowly rotating early-type stars (HD 145788, 21 Peg and pi Cet) that show no obvious sign of chemical peculiarity, and performed a very accurate LTE abundance analysis of up to 38 ions of 26 elements (for 21 Peg), using a vast amount of spectral lines visible in the spectral region covered by our spectra. We provide an exhaustive description of the abundance characteristics of the three analysed stars with a critical review of the line parameters used to derive the abundances. We compiled a table of atomic data for more than 1100 measured lines that may be used in the future as a reference. The abundances we obtained for He, C, Al, S, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Sr, Y, and Zr are compatible with the solar ones derived with recent 3D radiative-hydrodynamical simulations of the solar photosphere. The abundances of the remaining studied elements show some degree of discrepancy compared to the solar photosphere. Those of N, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, and Nd may well be ascribed to non-LTE effects; for P, Cl, Sc and Co, non-LTE effects are totally unknown; O, Ne, Ar, and Ba show discrepancies that cannot be ascribed to non-LTE effects. The discrepancies obtained for O (in two stars) and Ne agree with very recent non-LTE abundance analysis of early B-type stars in the solar neighbourhood.