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Multi-scale magnetic field analysis of single and binary late-type stars
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Observational Astrophysics.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8365-8606
2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Description
Abstract [en]

Stellar magnetism is the driving force behind a large number of surface phenomena on stars. This means that the presence of stellar magnetic fields can influence the stars themselves, as well as their surroundings. For this reason, magnetic fields are an integral part of stellar physics that is often neglected when studying different properties of stars. This can pose a problem, particularly for stars hosting strong surface magnetic fields.      

To better understand the magnetic influence on stars and their surroundings, we must characterise the magnetic fields on the stellar surface. The methods used in this thesis rely on high-resolution spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry to measure magnetic field effects on the shape and polarisation of spectral lines from the Zeeman effect. The polarisation of spectral lines can be used to measure the global magnetic field geometry by employing the directional sensitivity of the polarisation signal to the field. The total magnetic field strength can be measured with spectra using the Zeeman broadening and intensification of spectral lines. We have used these methods to characterise magnetic fields for a variety of late-type single and binary stars. 

In our studies on binary stars, we investigated the possible influence of magnetic fields on stellar structure and evolution. We found an agreement between the magnetic field strengths measured from observations and introduced by theoretical stellar models to reproduce the stellar structure. This shows that magnetic fields could influence stellar structure and evolution.        

When investigating single stars, we found that the measured magnetic field strength depends on the choice of spectral lines. This seems to be caused by formation depth and surface structure effects as spectral lines originate from different layers within magnetically active regions on the stellar surface. If characterised in more detail, we could better understand the magnetically active regions on the stellar surface.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2025. , p. 93
Series
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology, ISSN 1651-6214 ; 2525
Keywords [en]
Stellar magnetism, Spectroscopy, Late-type stars, Binary stars
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Research subject
Astronomy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-553055ISBN: 978-91-513-2444-9 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-553055DiVA, id: diva2:1947304
Public defence
2025-05-16, Häggsalen, Ångströmlaboratoriet, Regementsvägen 10, Uppsala, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2025-04-23 Created: 2025-03-25 Last updated: 2025-04-23
List of papers
1. Magnetic field of the eclipsing binary UV Piscium
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Magnetic field of the eclipsing binary UV Piscium
2021 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 650, article id A197Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Aims: The goal of this work is to study magnetic fields of the cool, eclipsing binary star UV Piscium (UV Psc). This system contains two active late-type stars, UV Psc A (G5V) and B (K3V). To obtain a complete picture, the properties of both global and local magnetic field structures are studied for both components.

Methods: High-resolution intensity and circular polarisation spectra, collected in 2016 with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at the CFHT, were used to analyse the magnetic field of UV Psc. To increase the signal-to-noise ratio, the multi-line technique of least-squares deconvolution (LSD) was used to obtain average Stokes IV profiles. Then, a Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI) code was employed to obtain the large-scale magnetic field topology and brightness distribution for both components of UV Psc. In addition, the small-scale magnetic fields, not visible to ZDI, were studied using the Zeeman intensification of FeI lines.

Results: The orbital and fundamental parameters of the system were revised based on the new radial velocity measurements. Maps of the surface magnetic field for both components of UV Psc were obtained, the large-scale magnetic fields feature strong toroidal and non-axisymetric components. UV Psc A and B have average global field strengths of 137 G and 88 G, respectively. The small-scale fields are notably stronger, with average strengths of 2.5 and 2.2 kG, respectively. Only similar to 5% of the total magnetic field strength is recovered with ZDI. Our results are in agreement with previous studies of partly-convective stars. Overall, UV Psc A has a stronger magnetic field compared to UV Psc B. Due to the eclipsing binary geometry, certain magnetic field features are not detectable using circular polarisation only. An investigation into theoretical linear polarisation profiles shows that they could be used to reveal antisymmetric components of the magnetic field. This result also has implications for the study of exoplanetary transit hosts. The successful use of Zeeman intensification shows the method's ability to extract information on magnetic fields for stars rotating significantly more rapidly than in previous studies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EDP SciencesEDP SCIENCES S A, 2021
Keywords
polarization, binaries: eclipsing, stars: magnetic field, stars: activity, stars: late-type, stars: individual: UV Psc
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-452941 (URN)10.1051/0004-6361/202140832 (DOI)000671799900001 ()
Funder
Swedish Research CouncilSwedish National Space BoardThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Available from: 2021-09-13 Created: 2021-09-13 Last updated: 2025-03-25Bibliographically approved
2. Multi-scale magnetic field investigation of the M-dwarf eclipsing binary CU Cancri
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Multi-scale magnetic field investigation of the M-dwarf eclipsing binary CU Cancri
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2024 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 684, article id A175Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Aims: We aim to characterise the magnetic field of the eclipsing binary CU Cancri, which consists of two M-dwarf components. The determination of the magnetic field parameters of this target enables comparisons with both observations of similar stars and theoretical predictions of the magnetic field strength in CU Cnc. The target therefore provides an excellent opportunity to test our understanding of the generation of magnetic fields in low-mass stars and its impact on stellar structure.

Methods: We used spectropolarimetric observations obtained with ESPaDOnS at the CFHT to investigate the magnetic properties of CU Cnc. To improve the signal, we used least-squares deconvolution (LSD) to create average line profiles. From these LSD profiles, we extracted information about the radial velocities of the components, significantly expanding the number of radial velocity measurements available and allowing for a determination of the orbital parameters. Stokes V LSD profiles were used with Zeeman Doppler imaging to obtain the large-scale magnetic field structures of the two components. We also used detailed polarised radiative transfer modelling to investigate the small-scale fields, by Zeeman-splitting magnetically sensitive Ti I lines in non-polarised spectra.

Results: We obtain both the small- and large-scale magnetic field properties of the two components. The large-scale fields are dominantly poloidal, and both components have an average strength of approximately 100 G. This analysis of the large-scale fields likely suffers from some amount of hemisphere degeneracy due to the high inclination of the target, which would cause the large-scale field strength of the components to be underestimated. Both components also show unusual magnetic field configurations compared to stars with similar parameters: the primary is weakly axisymmetric (∼10%), and the secondary has a strong toroidal contribution (∼20%). The small-scale fields are significantly stronger, 3.1 and 3.6 kG for the primary and secondary, respectively. This measurement is in excellent agreement with surface field strength predictions for CU Cnc from magneto-convective stellar evolution models. These results indicate that magnetic fields could play a significant role in the radius inflation due to convective inhibition.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EDP Sciences, 2024
Keywords
techniques: spectroscopic, binaries: eclipsing, stars: individual: CU Cnc, stars: magnetic field
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-527890 (URN)10.1051/0004-6361/202348750 (DOI)001205675200005 ()
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2019-03548Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, 2018.0192Swedish Research Council, 2023-03667
Available from: 2024-05-14 Created: 2024-05-14 Last updated: 2025-03-25Bibliographically approved
3. Small-scale magnetic fields of the spectroscopic binary T Tauri stars V1878 Ori and V4046 Sgr
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Small-scale magnetic fields of the spectroscopic binary T Tauri stars V1878 Ori and V4046 Sgr
2022 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 659, article id A151Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Y Aims. The goal of this study is to investigate the small-scale magnetic fields of the two spectroscopic binary T Tauri stars V1878 Ori and V4046 Sgr. This is done to complete the observational characterisation of the surface magnetic fields of these stars because only their large-scale magnetic fields have been studied with Zeeman Doppler imaging (ZDI) so far. Methods. To investigate the small-scale magnetic fields, the differential Zeeman intensification of near-infrared Ti I lines was investigated using high-resolution archival spectra obtained with the ESPaDOnS spectrograph at the CFHT. In order to study the binary components separately, the spectra were disentangled by considering observations taken at different orbital phases. The Zeeman-intensification analysis was performed based on detailed polarised radiative transfer calculations aided by the Markov chain Monte Carlo inference, treating magnetic field filling factors and other stellar parameters that could affect the spectra as free parameters. Results. The obtained average magnetic field strengths of the components of V1878 Ori are 1.33 +/- 0.08 and 1.57 +/- 0.09 kG, respectively. Previous ZDI studies of V1878 Ori recovered about 14 and 20% of this total magnetic field strength. For V4046 Sgr, the magnetic field strengths are 1.96 +/- 0.18 and 1.83 +/- 0.18 kG, respectively. In this case, about 12 and 9% of the total magnetic field strength was detected by ZDI. Conclusions. The small-scale magnetic field strengths obtained from Zeeman intensification are similar for the two components of each binary. This is in contrast to the large-scale magnetic fields obtained from ZDI investigations, performed using the same observations, which found that magnetic field strengths and topologies vary significantly in the components of the two binaries. While the large-scale field might look significantly different, the overall magnetic energy, primarily carried by the small-scale magnetic fields, appears to be quite similar. This indicates that the efficiency of the magnetic dynamo is comparable for the components of the two binaries.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EDP SciencesEDP Sciences, 2022
Keywords
binaries: spectroscopic, stars: activity, stars: magnetic field, stars: variables: T Tauri, Herbig Ae/Be techniques: spectroscopic
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-473955 (URN)10.1051/0004-6361/202142425 (DOI)000783030100003 ()
Funder
Swedish Research CouncilSwedish National Space Board
Available from: 2022-05-06 Created: 2022-05-06 Last updated: 2025-03-25Bibliographically approved
4. Determination of small-scale magnetic fields on Sun-like stars in the near-infrared using CRIRES+
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Determination of small-scale magnetic fields on Sun-like stars in the near-infrared using CRIRES+
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2023 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 675, article id A91Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Aims: We aim to characterise the small-scale magnetic fields of a sample of 16 Sun-like stars and investigate the capabilities of the newly upgraded near-infrared (NIR) instrument CRIRES+ at the Very Large Telescope in the context of small-scale magnetic field studies. Our targets also had their magnetic fields studied with optical spectra, which allowed us to compare magnetic field properties at different spatial scales on the stellar surface and to contrast small-scale magnetic field measurements at different wavelengths.

Methods: We analysed the Zeeman broadening signature for six magnetically sensitive and insensitive Fe I lines in the H-band to measure small-scale magnetic fields on the stellar surfaces of our sample. We used polarised radiative transfer modelling and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium departure coefficients in combination with Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to determine magnetic field characteristics and non-magnetic stellar parameters. We used two different approaches to describe the small-scale magnetic fields. The first is a two-component model with a single magnetic region and a free magnetic field strength. The second model contains multiple magnetic components with fixed magnetic field strengths.

Results: We found average magnetic field strengths ranging from & SIM;0.4 kG down to < 0.1 kG. The results align closely with other results from high-resolution NIR spectrographs, such as SPIRou. It appears that the typical magnetic field strength in the magnetic region is slightly stronger than 1.3 kG, and for most stars in our sample, this strength is between 1 and 2 kG. We also found that the small-scale fields correlate with the large-scale fields and that the small-scale fields are at least ten times stronger than the large-scale fields inferred with Zeeman Doppler imaging. The two- and multi-component models produce systematically different results, as the strong fields from the multi-component model increase the obtained mean magnetic field strength. When comparing our results with the optical measurements of small-scale fields, we found a systematic offset two to three times stronger than fields in the optical results. This discrepancy cannot be explained by uncertainties in stellar parameters. Care should therefore be taken when comparing results obtained at different wavelengths until a clear cause can be established.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EDP SciencesEDP Sciences, 2023
Keywords
stars, magnetic field, solar-type, techniques, spectroscopic
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology Condensed Matter Physics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-509279 (URN)10.1051/0004-6361/202346314 (DOI)001023434900010 ()
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2019-03548Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Available from: 2023-08-23 Created: 2023-08-23 Last updated: 2025-03-25Bibliographically approved
5. Comparative study of small-scale magnetic fields on ξ Boo A using optical and near-infrared spectroscopy
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Comparative study of small-scale magnetic fields on ξ Boo A using optical and near-infrared spectroscopy
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2025 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 696, article id A4Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Magnetic field investigations of Sun-like stars, using Zeeman splitting of non-polarised spectra, in the optical and H-band have found significantly different magnetic field strengths for the same stars, the cause of which is currently unknown. We aim to further investigate this issue by systematically analysing the magnetic field of ξ Boo A, a magnetically active G7 dwarf, using spectral lines at different wavelengths. We used polarised radiative transfer accounting for the departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium to generate synthetic spectra. To find the magnetic field strengths in the optical, H-band, and K-band, we employed MCMC sampling analysis of high-resolution spectra observed with the spectrographs CRIRES+, ESPaDOnS, NARVAL, and UVES. We also determine the formation depth of different lines by calculating the contribution functions for each line employed in the analysis. We find that the magnetic field strength discrepancy between lines in the optical and H-band persists even when treating the different wavelength regions consistently. In addition, the magnetic measurements derived from the K-band appear to more closely align with the optical. The H-band appears to yield magnetic field strengths ~0.4 kG with a statistically significant variation while the optical and K-band is stable at ~0.6 kG for observations spanning about two decades. The contribution functions reveal that the optical lines form at a significantly higher altitude in the photosphere compared to those in the H- and K-band. While we find that the discrepancy remains, the variation of formation depths could indicate that the disagreement between magnetic field measurements obtained at different wavelengths is linked to the variation of the magnetic field along the line of sight and between different structures, such as star spots and faculae, in the stellar photosphere.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
EDP Sciences, 2025
Keywords
stars: magnetic field, techniques: spectroscopic, stars: individual: $\xi$ Boo A
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-552260 (URN)10.1051/0004-6361/202453016 (DOI)001455406500020 ()2-s2.0-105001647530 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2025-03-12 Created: 2025-03-12 Last updated: 2025-04-29Bibliographically approved

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