Magnetic fields of low mass stars
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Prominences, cool condensations in stellar coronae, are well-studied objects on the sun but less so on stars. These features were first observed on the rapidly rotating star, AB Doradus by Collier-Cameron and Robinson, in the 1980s and were found to be in forced co-rotation at radii considerably larger than would be possible on the sun. The co-rotation of these features signalled their containment by strong magnetic fields at the tops of magnetic loops, making them excellent markers for the stellar magnetic field structure. Observations can only infer, by ZDI, the magnetic field strengths at the stellar surface and there is no known way to extrapolate this up to the stellar corona. A model that can connect prominence formation at a given site around the star with a certain magnetic field structure could be invaluable in providing information on the coronal magnetic field.
The relationship between the magnetic field of these stars and the prominence positions means that, with data from observations of these prominence positions and a suitable model, it would be possible to unravel some information about the associated magnetic field structure of these stars. Thus, understanding the formation sites of these features would allow us to better understand the stellar magnetic field, which is important for our understanding of stellar evolution.
The ejection of these features can have overwhelming effects on the evolution of orbiting planets and the potential of these planets to harbour life and understanding the ejection of such features from "young suns" could give us insight into the environment in which the Earth evolved.
This project aims to build upon previous work where a model was developed for calculating the formation sites of these slingshot prominences, in various magnetic field structures, within the equatorial plane for a cylindrical geometry. Expansion of this model out of the equatorial plane, alongside a model for mapping these modelled formation sites to observational results (and back again) would make the current model more realistic and valuable.
The relationship between the magnetic field of these stars and the prominence positions means that, with data from observations of these prominence positions and a suitable model, it would be possible to unravel some information about the associated magnetic field structure of these stars. Thus, understanding the formation sites of these features would allow us to better understand the stellar magnetic field, which is important for our understanding of stellar evolution.
The ejection of these features can have overwhelming effects on the evolution of orbiting planets and the potential of these planets to harbour life and understanding the ejection of such features from "young suns" could give us insight into the environment in which the Earth evolved.
This project aims to build upon previous work where a model was developed for calculating the formation sites of these slingshot prominences, in various magnetic field structures, within the equatorial plane for a cylindrical geometry. Expansion of this model out of the equatorial plane, alongside a model for mapping these modelled formation sites to observational results (and back again) would make the current model more realistic and valuable.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Moira Jardine (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Rosie Waugh (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/N504427/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2021 | |||
| 1948949 | Studentship | ST/N504427/1 | 27/09/2017 | 30/09/2022 | Rosie Waugh |
| ST/R505109/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1948949 | Studentship | ST/R505109/1 | 27/09/2017 | 30/09/2022 | Rosie Waugh |
| ST/S505729/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2022 | |||
| 1948949 | Studentship | ST/S505729/1 | 27/09/2017 | 30/09/2022 | Rosie Waugh |
| Description | Stellar prominences can be formed in the open magnetic field region (in the stellar wind) of rapidly rotating stars (see the paper "magnetic support of stellar slingshot prominences"). |
| Exploitation Route | The results of the academic study that has been studied here provides insight into the nature of these slingshot prominences. This information could be of interest to both theoreticians and observers. The nature of these features could provide insight into the magnetic field of the stars studied, which has consequences for spin-down rate and thus stellar evolution. Ejection of these features has consequences for planet habitability. As the stars studied are "young suns", this research could also have consequences for study of our young solar system. The results published so far are for pure multipolar expansions (dipole/quadrupole magnetic fields). With the method published in the paper, this could be applied to a magnetic field configuration extracted from ZDI data. |
| Sectors | Other |
| Description | Public Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture on exoplanet habitability and the importance of the host star. Hosted at Cupar Library and organised by the council who felt it was successful and are now planning more lecture series. 30-40 general public members. Lots of discussion on the topic after the talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.onfife.com/whats-on/detail/february-lecture-leaving-earth-our-next-home-planet |
| Description | Public talk to university astronomy group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 20-minute talk and 10-minute questions about the research published in the paper "magnetic support of slingshot prominences". This was to the university astronomy society, which has members across the arts and sciences, and across all years of undergraduate and postgraduate. Undergraduate students from the physics department reported that the event helped them understand the kinds of research that they could be involved in for their projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | astrophysics instagram account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | maintain an instagram account sharing astrophysics (especially related to my research interests) content with the general public, through the form of artwork. This has led to Skype calls with schools and interactions with students asking for advice on applying to physics courses at university. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020 |
| URL | https://www.instagram.com/astrophysicist_rose/ |
| Description | lecture to undergraduate physics students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | talk on my research area to the undergraduate students in the physics and astronomy societies. Requested by the societies, who organised a joint event. Particularly of interest to those students who were considering summer projects or their future research projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |