On the Theory of Rotating Magnetic Stars

Abstract

AbstractAll observations of magnetic stars necessarily yield information only about their surface features. We are ignorant of the nature of the fields in the interiors of such stars, and equally we cannot be sure of the non-existence of interior fields in stars which are superficially non-magnetic. In fact, if we assume the truth of the ‘fossil’ theory – that the magnetic flux of an Ap star is a relic of the flux initially present in the gas cloud from which the star condensed – then it is surprising that magnetic stars are not observed to be much more common, since magnetic fields appear to be ubiquitous in interstellar gas clouds. For those stars with strong surface convection zones, we might expect that a fossil field of low energy would be expelled by the turbulence and would possibly be trapped in the interior. However, the majority of early-type stars with radiative envelopes also do not exhibit any observable magnetic field.