Observational constraints on the magnetic field of RR Lyrae stars

Autor(en)

Katrien Kolenberg, Stefano Bagnulo

Abstrakt

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(en)

Institut für Astrophysik

Externe Organisation(en)

European Southern Observatory (Germany)

Journal

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Band

498

Seiten

543-550

Anzahl der Seiten

8

ISSN

0004-6361

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200811591

Publikationsdatum

2009

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

103003 Astronomie

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/36a5e480-c566-4315-b97b-9744732db41f