Magnetic Field Measurements (magnetic + field_measurement)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Measurements of mean longitudinal magnetic fields in the Of?p stars HD 108 and HD 191612,

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 8 2010
S. Hubrig
Abstract Using polarimetric spectra obtained with the SOFIN spectrograph installed at the Nordic Optical Telescope, we detect a longitudinal magnetic field ,Bz, = ,168±35 G in the Of?p star HD 108. This result is in agreement with the longitudinal magnetic field measurement of the order of ,150 G recently reported by the MiMeS team. The measurement of the longitudinal magnetic field in the Of?p star HD 191612 results in ,Bz, = +450±153 G. The only previously published magnetic field measurement for this star showed a negative longitudinal magnetic field ,Bz, = ,220±38 G, indicating a change of polarity over ,100 days. Further, we report the detection of distinct Zeeman features in the narrow Ca II and Na I doublet lines for both Of?p stars, hinting at the possible presence of material around these stars. The origin of these features is not yet clear and more work is needed to investigate how magnetic fields interact with stellar wind dynamics (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Discovery of magnetic fields in the , Cephei star ,1 CMa and in several slowly pulsating B stars,

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2006
S. Hubrig
ABSTRACT We present the results of a magnetic survey of a sample of eight , Cephei stars and 26 slowly pulsating B (SPBs) stars with the FOcal Reducer low dispersion Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. A weak mean longitudinal magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss is detected in the , Cephei star ,1 CMa and in 13 SPB stars. The star ,1 CMa becomes the third magnetic star among the , Cephei stars. Before our study, the star , Cas was the only known magnetic SPB star. All magnetic SPB stars for which we gathered several magnetic field measurements show a field that varies in time. We do not find a relation between the evolution of the magnetic field with stellar age in our small sample. Our observations imply that , Cephei and SPB stars can no longer be considered as classes of non-magnetic pulsators, but the effect of the fields on the oscillation properties remains to be studied. [source]


The exceptional Herbig Ae star HD 101412: The first detection of resolved magnetically split lines and the presence of chemical spots in a Herbig star,

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 4 2010
S. Hubrig
Abstract In our previous search for magnetic fields in Herbig Ae stars, we pointed out that HD 101412 possesses the strongest magnetic field among the Herbig Ae stars and hence is of special interest for follow-up studies of magnetism among young pre-main-sequence stars. We obtained high-resolution, high signal-to-noise UVES and a few lower quality HARPS spectra revealing the presence of resolved magnetically split lines. HD 101412 is the first Herbig Ae star for which the rotational Doppler effect was found to be small in comparison to the magnetic splitting and several spectral lines observed in unpolarized light at high dispersion are resolved into magnetically split components. The measured mean magnetic field modulus varies from 2.5 to 3.5kG, while the mean quadratic field was found to vary in the range of 3.5 to 4.8 kG. To determine the period of variations, we used radial velocity, equivalent width, line width, and line asymmetry measurements of variable spectral lines of several elements, as well as magnetic field measurements. The period determination was done using the Lomb-Scargle method. The most pronounced variability was detected for spectral lines of He I and the iron peak elements, whereas the spectral lines of CNO elements are only slightly variable. From spectral variations and magnetic field measurements we derived a potential rotation period Prot = 13.86 d, which has to be proven in future studies with a larger number of observations. It is the first time that the presence of element spots is detected on the surface of a Herbig Ae/Be star. Our previous study of Herbig Ae stars revealed a trend towards stronger magnetic fields for younger Herbig Ae stars, confirmed by statistical tests. This is in contrast to a few other (non-statistical) studies claiming that magnetic Herbig Ae stars are progenitors of the magnetic Ap stars. New developments in MHD theory show that the measured magnetic field strengths are compatible with a current-driven instability of toroidal fields generated by differential rotation in the stellar interior. This explanation for magnetic intermediate-mass stars could be an alternative to a frozen-in fossil field (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


New magnetic field measurements of , Cephei stars and slowly pulsating B stars,

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 4 2009
S. Hubrig
Abstract We present the results of the continuation of our magnetic survey with FORS 1 at the VLT of a sample of B-type stars consisting of confirmed or candidate , Cephei stars and Slowly Pulsating B (hereafter SPB) stars, along with a small number of normal B-type stars. A weak mean longitudinal magnetic field of the order of a few hundred Gauss was detected in three , Cephei stars and two stars suspected to be , Cephei stars, in five SPB stars and eight stars suspected to be SPB stars. Additionally, a longitudinal magnetic field at a level larger than 3, has been diagnosed in two normal B-type stars, the nitrogen-rich early B-type star HD 52089 and in the B5 IV star HD 153716. Roughly one third of , Cephei stars have detected magnetic fields: Out of 13 , Cephei stars studied to date with FORS 1, four stars possess weak magnetic fields, and out of the sample of six suspected , Cephei stars two show a weak magnetic field. The fraction of magnetic SPBs and candidate SPBs is found to be higher: Roughly half of the 34 SPB stars have been found to be magnetic and among the 16 candidate SPBs eight stars possess magnetic fields. In an attempt to understand why only a fraction of pulsating stars exhibit magnetic fields, we studied the position of magnetic and non-magnetic pulsating stars in the H-R diagram. We find that their domains in the H-R diagram largely overlap, and no clear picture emerges as to the possible evolution of the magnetic field across the main sequence. It is possible that stronger fields tend to be found in stars with lower pulsating frequencies and smaller pulsating amplitudes. A somewhat similar trend is found if we consider a correlation between the field strength and the v sin i -values, i.e. stronger magnetic fields tend to be found in more slowly rotating stars (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Temporal trends and misclassification in residential 60 Hz magnetic field measurements

BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue 3 2002
Robert S. Banks
Abstract This research addressed the question of how well measurement data collected during a single visit, made at an arbitrary hour of day, day of week, and season, estimate longer term residential 60 Hz magnetic field levels. We made repeat spot and 24 h measurements in 51 children's home, located in the Detroit, MI, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN metropolitan areas, on a regular bimonthly schedule over a 1 year period, as well as a single 2 week measurement, for total of eight visits, producing 21 days of data for each residence. We defined the long term estimate (LTE) as the geometric mean of all available 24 h geometric means from the first six bimonthly visits. The LTE served as the reference level for assessing seasonal, day of week, and diurnal effects, as well as the potential for misclassification. We found a small, but statistically significant (P,<,.05), seasonal effect, with levels approximately 3% lower than the LTE in the spring and about 4% greater during the summer. No effect was found for day of week. However, we did find a systematic and appreciable diurnal effect, suggesting that, for example, an evening spot measurement may overestimate the LTE by 20% or more. We also assessed how well the 24 h measurement from the last visit, which was not used in calculation of the LTE, estimated the LTE. We found a high degree of correlation (r,=,.92) and fair to good agreement using four exposure categories (,,=,.53). Thus, the 24 h measurement appears to be a satisfactory LTE estimator. However, this finding must be interpreted with caution since considerable unexplained variability was present among the repeat 24 h measurements in about one-third of the homes. While the 2 week measurement does somewhat decrease exposure misclassification, its added intrusiveness and cost are likely to outweigh the improved precision. Bioelectromagnetics 23:196,205, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Static magnetic field measurements in residences in relation to resonance hypotheses of interactions between power-frequency magnetic fields and humans

BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue 5 2001
W. T. Kaune
Abstract Bowman et al. used epidemiologic data to test a model in which subjects were classified as being "in-resonance" or "not-in-resonance" for 60-Hz magnetic-field exposures depending on single static magnetic-field measurements at the centers of their bedrooms. A second paper by Swanson concluded that a single static magnetic-field measurement is insufficient to meaningfully characterize a residential environment. The main objective of this study was to investigate exposure-related questions raised by these two papers in two U.S. data sets, one containing single spot measurements of static magnetic fields at two locations in homes located in eight states, and the other repeated spot measurements (seven times during the course of one year) of the static magnetic fields at the centers of bedrooms and family rooms and on the surfaces of beds in 51 single-family homes in two metropolitan areas. Using Bowman's criterion, bedrooms were first classified as being in-resonance or not-in-resonance based on the average of repeated measurements of the static magnetic field measured on the bed where the presumed important exposure actually occurred. Bedrooms were then classified a second time using single spot measurements taken at the centers of bedrooms, centers of family rooms, or on the surfaces of beds, as would be done in the typical epidemiologic study. The kappa statistics characterizing the degree of concordance between the first (on-bed averages) and second (spot measurements) methods of assessing resonance status were 0.44, 0.33, and 0.67, respectively. This level of misclassification could significantly affect the results of studies involving the determination of resonance status. Bioelectromagnetics 22:294,305, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]