Radio Emission from UV Cet: Auroral Emission from a Stellar Magnetosphere

Abstract

The archetypical flare star UV Cet was observed by MeerKAT on 2021 October 5–6. A large radio outburst with a duration of ∼2 hr was observed between 886 and 1682 MHz, with a time resolution of 8 s and a frequency resolution of 0.84 MHz, enabling sensitive dynamic spectra to be formed. The emission is characterized by three peaks containing a multitude of broadband arcs or partial arcs in the time-frequency domain. In general, the arcs are highly right-hand circularly polarized. At the end of the third peak, brief bursts occur that are significantly elliptically polarized. We present a simple model that appears to be broadly consistent with the characteristics of the radio emission from UV Cet. Briefly, the stellar magnetic field is modeled as a dipole aligned with the rotational axis of the star. The radio emission mechanism is assumed to be due to the cyclotron maser instability, where x-mode radiation near the electron gyrofrequency is amplified. While the elliptically polarized bursts may be intrinsic to the source, rather stringent limits are imposed on the plasma density in the source and along the propagation path. We suggest that the elliptically polarized radiation may instead be the result of reflection on an overdense plasma structure at some distance from the source. The radio emission from UV Cet shares both stellar and planetary attributes.