Observational constraints on the magnetic field of RR Lyrae stars
- Author(s)
- Katrien Kolenberg, Stefano Bagnulo
- Abstract
Context: A high percentage of the astrophysically important RR Lyrae stars show a periodic amplitude and/or phase modulation of their pulsation cycles. More than a century after its discovery, this ¿Blazhko effect¿ still lacks acceptable theoretical understanding. In one of the plausible models for explaining the phenomenon, the modulation is caused by the effects of a magnetic field. So far, the available observational data have not allowed us to either support nor rule out the presence of a magnetic field in RR Lyrae stars. Aims: We intend to determine whether RR Lyrae stars are generally characterized by the presence of a magnetic field organized on a large scale. Methods: With the help of the FORS1 instrument at the ESO VLT we performed a spectropolarimetric survey of 17 relatively bright southern RR Lyrae stars, both Blazhko stars and non-modulated stars, and determined their mean longitudinal magnetic field with a typical error bar
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- European Southern Observatory (Germany)
- Journal
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Volume
- 498
- Pages
- 543-550
- No. of pages
- 8
- ISSN
- 0004-6361
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200811591
- Publication date
- 2009
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/36a5e480-c566-4315-b97b-9744732db41f