Strong Toroidal Field Research Articles

Hourglass Magnetic Field of a Protostellar System

An hourglass-shaped magnetic field pattern arises naturally from the gravitational collapse of a star-forming gas cloud. Most studies have focused on the prestellar collapse phase, when the structure has a smooth and monotonic radial profile. However, most observations target dense clouds that already contain a central protostar, and possibly a circumstellar disk. We utilize an analytic treatment of the magnetic field along with insights gained from simulations to develop a more realistic magnetic field model for the protostellar phase. Key elements of the model are a strong radial magnetic field in the region of rapid collapse, an off-center peak in the magnetic field strength (a consequence of magnetic field dissipation in the circumstellar disk), and a strong toroidal field that is generated in the region of rapid collapse and outflow generation. A model with a highly pinched and twisted magnetic field pattern in the inner collapse zone facilitates the interpretation of magnetic field patterns observed in protostellar clouds.

Protostellar discs fed by dense collapsing gravomagneto sheetlets

ABSTRACT Stars form from the gravitational collapse of turbulent, magnetized molecular cloud cores. Our non-ideal MHD simulations reveal that the intrinsically anisotropic magnetic resistance to gravity during the core collapse naturally generates dense gravomagneto sheetlets within inner protostellar envelopes – disrupted versions of classical sheet-like pseudo-discs. They are embedded in a magnetically dominant background, where less dense materials flow along the local magnetic field lines and accumulate in the dense sheetlets. The sheetlets, which feed the disc predominantly through its upper and lower surfaces, are the primary channels for mass and angular momentum transfer from the envelope to the disc. The protostellar disc inherits a small fraction (up to 10 per cent) of the magnetic flux from the envelope, resulting in a disc-averaged net vertical field strength of 1–10 mG and a somewhat stronger toroidal field, potentially detectable through ALMA Zeeman observations. The inherited magnetic field from the envelope plays a dominant role in disc angular momentum evolution, enabling the formation of gravitationally stable discs in cases where the disc field is relatively well-coupled to the gas. Its influence remains significant even in marginally gravitationally unstable discs formed in the more magnetically diffusive cases, removing angular momentum at a rate comparable to or greater than that caused by spiral arms. The magnetically driven disc evolution is consistent with the apparent scarcity of prominent spirals capable of driving rapid accretion in deeply embedded protostellar discs. The dense gravomagneto sheetlets observed in our simulations may correspond to the ‘accretion streamers’ increasingly detected around protostars.

How different is the magnetic field at the core–crust interface from that at the neutron star surface? The range allowed in magnetoelastic equilibrium

ABSTRACT This study was focused on the investigation of a magnetic field penetrating from the core of a neutron star to its surface. The range of possible field configurations in the intermediate solid crust is less limited owing to the elastic force acting on the force balance. When the Lorentz force is excessively strong, the magnetoelastic equilibrium does not hold, and thus, the magnetic field becomes constrained. By numerically solving for the magnetoelastic equilibrium in a thin crust, the range of the magnetic field at the core–crust interface was determined, while assuming the exterior to be fixed as a dipole in vacuum. The results revealed that the toroidal component should be smaller than the poloidal component at the core–crust interface for the surface dipole, B0 > 2.1 × 1014 G. Consequently, a strong toroidal field, for example, B ∼ 1016 G, as suggested by free precession of magnetars should be confined to a deep interior core and should be reduced to B ∼ 1014 G at the bottom of the crust. The findings of this study provide insights into the interior field structure of magnetars. Further investigations on more complicated geometries with higher multipoles and exterior magnetosphere are necessary.

Radiative Magnetohydrodynamic Simulation of the Confined Eruption of a Magnetic Flux Rope: Unveiling the Driving and Constraining Forces

We analyze the forces that control the dynamic evolution of a flux rope eruption in a three-dimensional radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulation. The confined eruption of the flux rope gives rise to a C8.5 flare. The flux rope rises slowly with an almost constant velocity of a few kilometers per second in the early stage when the gravity and Lorentz force are nearly counterbalanced. After the flux rope rises to the height at which the decay index of the external poloidal field satisfies the torus instability criterion, the significantly enhanced Lorentz force breaks the force balance and drives the rapid acceleration of the flux rope. Fast magnetic reconnection is immediately induced within the current sheet under the erupting flux rope, which provides strong positive feedback to the eruption. The eruption is eventually confined due to the tension force from the strong external toroidal field. Our results suggest that the gravity of plasma plays an important role in sustaining the quasi-static evolution of the preeruptive flux rope. The Lorentz force, which is contributed from both the ideal magnetohydrodynamic instability and magnetic reconnection, dominates the dynamic evolution during the eruption process.

Polarisation of molecular lines in the circumstellar envelope of the post-asymptotic giant branch star OH 17.7–2.0

Context. The role of magnetic field in shaping planetary nebulae (PNe), either directly or indirectly after being enhanced by binary interaction, has long been a topic of debate. Large-scale magnetic fields around pre-PNe have been inferred from polarisation observations of masers. However, because masers probe very specific regions, it is still unclear if the maser results are representative of the intrinsic magnetic field in the circumstellar envelope (CSE). Aims. Molecular line polarisation of non-maser lines can provide important information about the magnetic field. A comparison between the magnetic field morphology determined from maser observations and that observed in the more diffuse CO gas can reveal if the two tracers probe the same magnetic field. Methods. We compared observations taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of molecular line polarisation around the post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) or pre-PN star OH 17.7−2.0 with previous observations of polarisation in the 1612 MHz OH maser region. Earlier mid-infrared observations indicate that OH 17.7−2.0 is a young bipolar pre-PN, with both a torus and bipolar outflow cavities embedded in a remnant AGB envelope. Results. We detect CO J = 2 − 1 molecular line polarisation at a level of ∼4% that displays an ordered linear polarisation structure. We find that, correcting for Faraday rotation of the OH maser linear polarisation vectors, the OH and CO linearly polarised emission trace the same large-scale magnetic field. A structure function analysis of the CO linear polarisation reveals a plane-of-the-sky magnetic field strength of B⊥ ∼ 1 mG in the CO region, consistent with previous OH Zeeman observations. Conclusions. The consistency of the ALMA CO molecular line polarisation observation with maser observations indicate that both can be used to determine the magnetic field strength and morphology in CSEs. The new observations indicate that the magnetic field has a strong toroidal field component projected on the torus structure and a poloidal field component along the outflow cavity. The existence of a strong, ordered, magnetic-field around OH 17.7−2.0 indicates that the magnetic field is likely involved in the formation of this bipolar pre-PN.

Shear-driven magnetic buoyancy in the solar tachocline: the mean electromotive force due to rotation

ABSTRACT The leading theoretical paradigm for the Sun’s magnetic cycle is an αω-dynamo process, in which a combination of differential rotation and turbulent, helical flows produces a large-scale magnetic field that reverses every 11 yr. Most αω solar dynamo models rely on differential rotation in the solar tachocline to generate a strong toroidal field. The most problematic part of such models is then the production of the large-scale poloidal field, via a process known as the α-effect. Whilst this is usually attributed to small-scale convective motions under the influence of rotation, the efficiency of this regenerative process has been called into question by some numerical simulations. Motivated by likely conditions within the tachocline, the aim of this paper is to investigate an alternative mechanism for the poloidal field regeneration, namely the magnetic buoyancy instability in a shear-generated, rotating magnetic layer. We use a local, fully compressible model in which an imposed vertical shear winds up an initially vertical magnetic field. The field ultimately becomes buoyantly unstable, and we measure the resulting mean electromotive force (EMF). For sufficiently rapid rotation, we find that a significant component of the mean EMF is aligned with the direction of the mean magnetic field, which is the characteristic feature of the classical αω-dynamo model. Our results therefore suggest that magnetic buoyancy could contribute directly to the generation of large-scale poloidal field in the Sun.

What really makes an accretion disc MAD

ABSTRACT Magnetically arrested accretion discs (MADs) around black holes (BHs) have the potential to stimulate the production of powerful jets and account for recent ultra-high-resolution observations of BH environments. Their main properties are usually attributed to the accumulation of dynamically significant net magnetic (vertical) flux throughout the arrested region, which is then regulated by interchange instabilities. Here, we propose instead that it is mainly a dynamically important toroidal field – the result of dynamo action triggered by the significant but still relatively weak vertical field – that defines and regulates the properties of MADs. We suggest that rapid convection-like instabilities, involving interchange of toroidal flux tubes and operating concurrently with the magnetorotational instability (MRI), can regulate the structure of the disc and the escape of net flux. We generalize the convective stability criteria and disc structure equations to include the effects of a strong toroidal field and show that convective flows could be driven towards two distinct marginally stable states, one of which we associate with MADs. We confirm the plausibility of our theoretical model by comparing its quantitative predictions to simulations of both MAD and SANE (standard and normal evolution; strongly magnetized but not ‘arrested’) discs, and suggest a set of criteria that could help to distinguish MADs from other accretion states. Contrary to previous claims in the literature, we argue that MRI is not suppressed in MADs and is probably responsible for the existence of the strong toroidal field.

Suppression of runaway current by magnetic energy transfer in J-TEXT

For disruptions without mitigation, a large amount of thermal energy and poloidal magnetic energy will be dissipated inside the vacuum vessel (VV). A slow current quench may be accompanied by a large halo current, while a fast current quench often causes large eddy current, which will result in electromagnetic force. At the same time, fast current quench will induce strong toroidal electric field, which will result in a large fraction of runaway current and the hitting of runaway beam on first wall. The disruption mitigation is essential for large scale tokamak. The existing methods to mitigate disruptions, such as massive gas injection and resonant magnetic perturbations, are aimed at increasing the runaway generation threshold or the lose rate of runaway electrons. It may not work for ITER with Ip = 15 MA operation. The root of runaway generation is the large toroidal electric field induced by fast current quench and the large avalanche factor with high plasma current. The reduction of toroidal electric field is favor for the runaway suppression. The magnetic energy transfer (MET) based on electromagnetic coupling for disruption mitigation has been proposed on J-TEXT. It has the advantage of transferring the magnetic energy to outside of vessel by the electromagnetic coupling. It accelerates the current quench (CQ) rate and reduces the toroidal electric field at the same time. The runaway current has been suppressed by the MET system on J-TEXT. The experimental results show that the MET can reduce the energy dissipated in the VV by 20 % through transferring of energy to outside of VV. The MET can increase the CQ rate about 50.7 % and decrease the loop voltage about 35.3 %. The MET provides a new idea to transfer the magnetic energy and to suppress runaway current for disruption mitigation in future devices.

Design of quasi-axisymmetric stellarators with varying-thickness permanent magnets based on Fourier and surface magnetic charges method

To obtain engineering-feasible designs of stellarators with permanent magnets and simplified coils, a new algorithm has been developed based on Fourier decomposition and surface magnetic charges method. The strong toroidal fields in a quasi-axisymmetric stellarator are still generated by coils. The permanent magnets are designed to compensate the normal magnetic field B n on the plasma surface ∂P created by the coils and plasma. The normal magnetic fields created by the permanent magnets B pmn are calculated as the difference between the magnetic fields created by the surface magnetic charges on the inner surface ∂D and the outer surface ∂D h of the magnets. The Fourier coefficients of the magnet thickness function are computed through matrix division operation based on the least square principle with dominant Fourier components selected through 2D Fourier transformation of B pmn. The residual uncompensated B n is minimized through iteration to progressively optimize the thickness function. This new algorithm has been successfully applied to design the permanent magnets of an l = 2 quasi-axisymmetric stellarator with background magnetic field created by 12 identical circular planar coils for demonstrations. High accuracy has been achieved, allowing for a flux-surface-averaged residual B n relative to the total field and a maximum residual B n of less than 2 Gs for ∼1 T total field. This new design has some advantages in engineering implementations: all permanent magnet pieces have the same remanence B r; only one single layer of magnets are mounted perpendicular to the winding surface; the magnets can be easily inserted into the cells of a gridded frame attached to the winding surface and fixed with springs from the back, which greatly simplifies the manufacture, assembly and maintenance of the magnets, and thus facilitates precision control and cost reduction.

The impact of superconductivity and the Hall effect in models of magnetised neutron stars

AbstractEquilibrium configurations of the internal magnetic field of a pulsar play a key role in modelling astrophysical phenomena from glitches to gravitational wave emission. In this paper, we present a numerical scheme for solving the Grad–Shafranov equation and calculating equilibrium configurations of pulsars, accounting for superconductivity in the core of the neutron star, and for the Hall effect in the crust of the star. Our numerical code uses a finite difference method in which the source term appearing in the Grad–Shafranov equation, which is used to model the magnetic equilibrium is non-linear. We obtain solutions by linearising the source and applying an under-relaxation scheme at each step of computation to improve the solver’s convergence. We have developed our code in both C++ and Python, and our numerical algorithm can further be adapted to solve any non-linear PDEs appearing in other areas of computational astrophysics. We produce mixed toroidal–poloidal field configurations, and extend the portion of parameter space that can be investigated with respect to previous studies. We find that in even in the more extreme cases, the magnetic energy in the toroidal component does not exceed approximately 5% of the total. We also find that if the core of the star is superconducting, the toroidal component is entirely confined to the crust of the star, which has important implications for pulsar glitch models which rely on the presence of a strong toroidal field region in the core of the star, where superfluid vortices pin to superconducting fluxtubes.

Wind–MRI interactions in local models of protoplanetary discs – I. Ohmic resistivity

ABSTRACT A magnetic disc wind is an important mechanism that may be responsible for driving accretion and structure formation in protoplanetary discs. Recent numerical simulations have shown that these winds can take either the traditional ‘hourglass’ symmetry about the mid-plane, or a ‘slanted’ symmetry dominated by a mid-plane toroidal field of a single sign. The formation of this slanted symmetry state has not previously been explained. We use radially local 1D vertical shearing box simulations to assess the importance of large-scale MRI channel modes in influencing the formation and morphologies of these wind solutions. We consider only Ohmic resistivity and explore the effect of different magnetizations, with the mid-plane β parameter ranging from 105 to 102. We find that our magnetic winds go through three stages of development: cyclic, transitive, and steady, with the steady wind taking a slanted symmetry profile similar to those observed in local and global simulations. We show that the cycles are driven by periodic excitation of the n = 2 or 3 MRI channel mode coupled with advective eviction, and that the transition to the steady wind is caused by a much more slowly growing n = 1 mode altering the wind structure. Saturation is achieved through a combination of advective damping from the strong wind, and suppression of the instability due to a strong toroidal field. A higher disc magnetization leads to a greater tendency towards, and more rapid settling into the slanted symmetry steady wind, which may have important implications for mass and flux transport processes in protoplanetary discs.

Magnetar birth: rotation rates and gravitational-wave emission

ABSTRACT Understanding the evolution of the angle χ between a magnetar’s rotation and magnetic axes sheds light on the star’s birth properties. This evolution is coupled with that of the stellar rotation Ω, and depends on the competing effects of internal viscous dissipation and external torques. We study this coupled evolution for a model magnetar with a strong internal toroidal field, extending previous work by modelling – for the first time in this context – the strong protomagnetar wind acting shortly after birth. We also account for the effect of buoyancy forces on viscous dissipation at late times. Typically, we find that χ → 90° shortly after birth, then decreases towards 0° over hundreds of years. From observational indications that magnetars typically have small χ, we infer that these stars are subject to a stronger average exterior torque than radio pulsars, and that they were born spinning faster than ∼100–300 Hz. Our results allow us to make quantitative predictions for the gravitational and electromagnetic signals from a newborn rotating magnetar. We also comment briefly on the possible connection with periodic fast radio burst sources.

Dust Polarization toward Embedded Protostars in Ophiuchus with ALMA. III. Survey Overview

Abstract We present 0.″25 resolution (35 au) ALMA 1.3 mm dust polarization observations for 37 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Ophiuchus molecular cloud. These data encompass all the embedded protostars in the cloud and several flat-spectrum and Class II objects to produce the largest, homogeneous study of dust polarization on disk scales to date. The goal of this study is to study dust polarization morphologies down to disk scales. We find that 14/37 (38%) of the observed YSOs are detected in polarization at our sensitivity. Nine of these sources have uniform polarization angles, and four sources have azimuthal polarization structure. We find that the sources with uniform polarization tend to have steeper inclinations (>60°) than those with azimuthal polarization (<60°). Overall, the majority (9/14) of the detected sources have polarization morphologies and disk properties consistent with dust self-scattering processes in optically thick disks. The remaining sources may be instead tracing magnetic fields. Their inferred field directions from rotating the polarization vectors by 90° are mainly poloidal or hourglass shaped. We find no evidence of a strong toroidal field component toward any of our disks. For the 23 YSOs that are undetected in polarization, roughly half of them have 3σ upper limits of <2%. These sources also tend to have inclinations <60°, and they are generally compact. Since lower-inclination sources tend to have azimuthal polarization, these YSOs may be undetected in polarization owing to unresolved polarization structure within our beam. We propose that disks with inclinations >60° are the best candidates for future polarization studies of dust self-scattering, as these systems will generally show uniform polarization vectors that do not require very high resolution to resolve. We release the continuum and polarization images for all the sources with this publication. Data from the entire survey can be obtained from Dataverse.

What Sets the Magnetic Field Strength and Cycle Period in Solar-type Stars?

Abstract Two fundamental properties of stellar magnetic fields have been determined by observations for solar-like stars with different Rossby numbers ( ), namely, the magnetic field strength and the magnetic cycle period. The field strength exhibits two regimes: (1) for fast rotation, it is independent of , and (2) for slow rotation, it decays with following a power law. For the magnetic cycle period, two regimes of activity, the active and inactive branches, have also been identified. For both of them, the longer the rotation period, the longer the activity cycle. Using global dynamo simulations of solar-like stars with Rossby numbers between ∼0.4 and ∼2, this paper explores the relevance of rotational shear layers in determining these observational properties. Our results, consistent with nonlinear dynamos, show that the total magnetic field strength is independent of the rotation period. Yet at surface levels, the origin of the magnetic field is determined by . While for , it is generated in the convection zone, for , strong toroidal fields are generated at the tachocline and rapidly emerge toward the surface. In agreement with the observations, the magnetic cycle period increases with the rotational period. However, a bifurcation is observed for , separating a regime where oscillatory dynamos operate mainly in the convection zone from the regime where the tachocline has a predominant role. In the latter, the cycles are believed to result from the periodic energy exchange between the dynamo and the magneto-shear instabilities developing in the tachocline and the radiative interior.

Local Simulations of MRI turbulence with Meshless Methods

Abstract The magneto-rotational instability (MRI) is one of the most important processes in sufficiently ionized astrophysical disks. Grid-based simulations, especially those using the local shearing box approximation, provide a powerful tool to study the nonlinear turbulence the MRI produces. On the other hand, meshless methods have been widely used in cosmology, galactic dynamics, and planet formation, but have not been fully deployed on the MRI problem. We present local unstratified and vertically stratified MRI simulations with two meshless MHD schemes: a recent implementation of smoothed-particle magnetohydrodynamics (SPH MHD), and a meshless finite-mass (MFM) MHD scheme with constrained gradient divergence cleaning, as implemented in the GIZMO code. Concerning variants of the SPH hydro force formulation, we consider both the “vanilla” SPH and the PSPH variant included in GIZMO. We find, as expected, that the numerical noise inherent in these schemes significantly affects turbulence. Furthermore, a high-order kernel, free of the pairing instability, is necessary. Both schemes adequately simulate MRI turbulence in unstratified shearing boxes with net vertical flux. The turbulence, however, dies out in zero-net-flux unstratified boxes, probably due to excessive numerical dissipation. In zero-net-flux vertically stratified simulations, MFM can reproduce the MRI dynamo and its characteristic butterfly diagram for several tens of orbits before ultimately decaying. In contrast, extremely strong toroidal fields, as opposed to sustained turbulence, develop in equivalent simulations using SPH MHD. The latter unphysical state is likely caused by a combination of excessive artificial viscosity, numerical resistivity, and the relatively large residual errors in the divergence of the magnetic field.

On the energy confinement time in spherical tokamaks: implications for the design of pilot plants and fusion reactors

Experiments on NSTX and MAST have shown the thermal energy confinement time in spherical tokmaks (STs), , to have a stronger toroidal field and weaker plasma current dependence than in conventional large aspect ratio tokamaks. These scalings were derived for single machines both of which are similarly sized, consequently the NSTX and MAST scaling laws do not include a size dependence, and so cannot be used to extrapolate the performance of future STs. Using physics-based dimensional arguments we extend the NSTX scaling to include a size scaling. We also resolve a colinearity problem specific to NSTX data by assuming core transport is gyro-Bohm like. The resulting scaling has approximately zero beta dependence, a typical collisionality dependence, and a relatively weak safety factor dependence: . With the exception of the safety factor, all exponents are consistent with recent experiments in large aspect ratio tokamaks. This apparent difference between STs and large aspect ratio tokamaks is consistent with MAST and NSTX results. We have considered the implications of the scaling for pilot plants and reactors and find it may be possible to develop more compact reactors based on the ST approach.

ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ЦИКЛІЧНОСТІ МАГНЕТИЗМУ СОНЦЯ В МЕЖАХ ТЕОРІЇ МАКРОСКОПІЧНОЇ МАГНІТОГІДРОДИНАМІКИ

Since the mid-70s of the last century, a new direction in theoretical studies of the evolution of the global magnetism of the Sun in the framework of macroscopic MHD has been launched at the Astronomical Observatory of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The paper presents the results of a study of the processes of generation and restructuring of a large-scale (global) magnetic field based on the αΩ-dynamo model, taking into account new turbulent effects discovered in the theory of macroscopic MHD and data of helioseismological experiments on the internal rotation of the Sun. It was established that a sharp radial gradient of turbulent velocity in the lower half of the solar convective zone (SCZ) leads to a change in the sign of the azimuthal component of the helicity parameter α, resulting in the formation of a relatively thin layer of negative α-effect near the bottom of the SCZ. It was found that the layer of negative α-effect, together with the sign of the radial gradient of the angular velocity, detected in helioseismological experiments, makes it possible to explain the direction of migration of dynamo-waves on the solar surface. The magnetic saturation of the α-effect (alpha-quenching) in the deep layers of the SCZ was calculated. An explanation of the protracted duration of the 23rd solar cycle of about 13 years is proposed. For this, we used the observed data on a significant increase of the annual module of the magnetic fields of sunspots in the 23rd cycle. The calculated north-south asymmetry of the structure of the global magnetic field provides an opportunity to explain the phenomenon of the seeming magnetic “monopole”, which is observed during reversal of polar magnetism. It was found that the values of turbulent electrical conductivity and turbulent magnetic permeability of the solar plasma are significantly less than the corresponding gas-kinetic parameters. Therefore, the turbulent dissipation of solar magnetic fields is enhanced by 4–9 orders of magnitude compared with classical ohmic dissipation. Macroscopic turbulent diamagnetism of solar plasma was investigated. It has been found that in the lower part of the SCZ, turbulent diamagnetism acts against magnetic buoyancy, thus fulfilling the role of “negative magnetic buoyancy”. As a result of the balance of the effects of magnetic buoyancy and turbulent diamagnetism, a layer of blocked magnetic field of magnitude ≈ 3000 G is formed in the depths of the SCZ. The turbulent advection of a magnetic field in an inhomogeneous plasma density of the SCZ was studied. It was found that in the lower half of the SCZ of the equatorial domain, turbulent advection is directed upwards. As a result of the combined action of magnetic buoyancy and turbulent advection, deep strong toroidal fields are carried to the surface of the Sun in the latitudinal “royal zone” of sunspots. The role of horizontal turbulent diamagnetism in ensuring the long-term stability of sunspots was noted. To explain the observed phenomenon of double maxima of the solar spot cycle, a scenario was developed containing the generation of a magnetic field in the tachocline at the bottom of the SCZ and subsequent removal of this magnetic field from the depth layers to the surface in the latitudinal “royal zone”. The role of the radial omega-effect in the radiant zone in explaining the observed asymmetry in the amplitude of two neighbouring 11-years sunspot cycles was noted.

Monopolar and quadrupolar gravitational radiation from magnetically deformed neutron stars in modified gravity

Some modified theories of gravity are known to predict monopolar, in addition to the usual quadrupolar and beyond, gravitational radiation in the form of `breathing' modes. For the same reason that octupole and higher-multipole terms often contribute negligibly to the overall wave strain, monopole terms tend to dominate. We investigate both monopolar and quadrupolar continuous gravitational radiation from neutron stars deformed through internal magnetic stresses. We adopt the Parameterised-Post-Newtonian formalism to write down equations describing the leading-order stellar properties in a theory-independent way, and derive some exact solutions for stars with mixed poloidal-toroidal magnetic fields. We then turn to the specific case of scalar-tensor theories to demonstrate how observational upper limits on the gravitational-wave luminosity of certain neutron stars may be used to place constraints on modified gravity parameters, most notably the Eddington parameter $\gamma$. For conservative, purely poloidal models with characteristic field strength given by the spindown minimum, upper limits for the Vela pulsar yield $1-\gamma \lesssim 4.2 \times 10^{-3}$. For models containing a strong toroidal field housing $\sim 99\%$ of the internal magnetic energy, we obtain the bound $1- \gamma \lesssim 8.0 \times 10^{-7}$. This latter bound is an order of magnitude tighter than those obtained from current Solar system experiments, though applies to the strong-field regime.

Magnetic geometry and activity of cool stars

AbstractStellar magnetic field manifestations such as stellar winds and EUV radiation are the key drivers of planetary atmospheric loss and escape. To understand how the central star influences habitability, it is very important to perform detailed investigation of the star’s magnetic field. We investigate the surface magnetic field geometry and chromospheric activity of 51 sun-like stars. The magnetic geometry is reconstructed using Zeeman Doppler imaging. Chromospheric activity is measured using the Ca II H& K lines. We confirm that the Sun’s large-scale geometry is dominantly poloidal, which is also true for slowly rotating stars. Contrary to the Sun, rapidly rotating stars can have a strong toroidal field and a weak poloidal field. This separation in field geometry appears at Ro=1. Our results show that detailed investigation of stellar magnetic field is important to understand its influence on planetary habitability.

The relation between stellar magnetic field geometry and chromospheric activity cycles – I. The highly variable field of ε Eridani at activity minimum

Abstract The young and magnetically active K dwarf ε Eridani exhibits a chromospheric activity cycle of about 3 yr. Previous reconstructions of its large-scale magnetic field show strong variations at yearly epochs. To understand how ε Eridani’s large-scale magnetic field geometry evolves over its activity cycle, we focus on high-cadence observations spanning 5 months at its activity minimum. Over this time-span, we reconstruct three maps of ε Eridani’s large-scale magnetic field using the tomographic technique of Zeeman–Doppler imaging. The results show that at the minimum of its cycle, ε Eridani’s large-scale field is more complex than the simple dipolar structure of the Sun and 61 Cyg A at minimum. Additionally, we observe a surprisingly rapid regeneration of a strong axisymmetric toroidal field as ε Eridani emerges from its S-index activity minimum. Our results show that all stars do not exhibit the same field geometry as the Sun, and this will be an important constraint for the dynamo models of active solar-type stars.