Magnetic field studies of massive main sequence stars
Schoeller, M.; Hubrig, S.; Ilyin, I.; Kharchenko, N. V.; Briquet, M.; Langer, N.; Oskinova, L.M.; the MAGORI collaboration
We report on the status of our spectropolarimetric observations of
massive stars. During the last years, we have discovered magnetic fields
in many objects of the upper main sequence, including Be stars, beta
Cephei and Slowly Pulsating B stars, and a dozen O stars. Since the
effects of those magnetic fields have been found to be substantial by
recent models, we are looking into their impact on stellar rotation,
pulsation, stellar winds, and chemical abundances. Accurate studies of
the age, environment, and kinematic characteristics of the magnetic
stars are also promising to give us new insight into the origin of the
magnetic fields. Furthermore, longer time series of magnetic field
measurements allow us to observe the temporal variability of the
magnetic field and to deduce the stellar rotation period and the
magnetic field geometry. Studies of the magnetic field in massive stars
are indispensable to understand the conditions controlling the presence
of those fields and their implications on the stellar physical
parameters and evolution.
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