First detection of a weak magnetic field on the giant Arcturus: remnants of a solar dynamo?

Details First detection of a weak magnetic field on the giant Arcturus: remnants of a solar dynamo? First detection of a weak magnetic field on the giant Arcturus: remnants of a solar dynamo?

May 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011a%26a...529a.100s&link_type=abstract

Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 529, id.A100

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

2

Stars: Individual: Arcturus, Stars: Magnetic Field, Stars: Late-Type

Scientific paper

Context. Arcturus is the second closest K giant and among the brightest stars in the sky. It has not been found to have a magnetic field, even though Ca ii H&K lines as activity indicators imply that Arcturus is magnetically active. Aims: We measure the mean longitudinal magnetic field strengths and interpret them in terms of an intraseasonal activity modulation. Methods: We apply our new Zeeman component decomposition (ZCD) technique to three single sets of Stokes I and V spectra to measure the longitudinal component of the magnetic field responsible for tiny Zeeman signatures detected in spectral line profiles. Results: For two of the spectra, we report the detection of the Zeeman signature of a weak longitudinal magnetic field of 0.65 ± 0.26 G and 0.43 ± 0.16 G. The third measurement is less significant, but all the measurements closely reproduce a rotationally modulated activity cycle with four active longitudes. Conclusions: For the first time, a magnetic field on Arcturus is directly detected. This field can be attributed to a diminishing solar-type αΩ-dynamo acting in the deepening convection zone of Arcturus. We demonstrate that our new method ZCD lowers the detection limit of very weak magnetic fields from spectropolarimetric measurements.

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