3D modelling of stellar auroral radio emission Leto, P; Trigilio, C; Buemi, C. S ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
06/2016, Letnik:
459, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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The electron cyclotron maser is the coherent emission process that gives rise to the radio lighthouse effect observed in the hot magnetic chemically peculiar star CU Virginis. It has also been ...proposed to explain the highly circularly polarized radio pulses observed in some ultracool dwarfs with spectral type earlier than M7. Coherent events of this kind resemble auroral radio emission from the magnetized planets of the Solar system. In this article, we present a three-dimensional model able to simulate the timing and profile of the pulses emitted by those stars characterized by a dipolar magnetic field by following the hypothesis of the laminar source model, used to explain the beaming of terrestrial auroral kilometric radiation. This model proves to be a powerful tool with which to understand the auroral radio emission phenomenon, allowing us to derive some general conclusions about the effects of the model's free parameters on the features of coherent pulses and to learn more about the detectability of such pulsed radio emission.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we present the analysis of incoherent non-thermal radio emission from a sample of hot magnetic stars, ranging from early-B to early-A spectral type. Spanning a wide range of ...stellar parameters and wind properties, these stars display a commonality in their radio emission which presents new challenges to the wind scenario as originally conceived. It was thought that relativistic electrons, responsible for the radio emission, originate in current sheets formed, where the wind opens the magnetic field lines. However, the true mass-loss rates from the cooler stars are too small to explain the observed non-thermal broad-band radio spectra. Instead, we suggest the existence of a radiation belt located inside the inner magnetosphere, similar to that of Jupiter. Such a structure explains the overall indifference of the broad-band radio emissions on wind mass-loss rates. Further, correlating the radio luminosities from a larger sample of magnetic stars with their stellar parameters, the combined roles of rotation and magnetic properties have been empirically determined. Finally, our sample of early-type magnetic stars suggests a scaling relationship between the non-thermal radio luminosity and the electric voltage induced by the magnetosphere’s co-rotation, which appears to hold for a broader range of stellar types with dipole-dominated magnetospheres (like the cases of the planet Jupiter and the ultracool dwarf stars and brown dwarfs). We conclude that well-ordered and stable rotating magnetospheres share a common physical mechanism for supporting the generation of non-thermal electrons.
Automated source extraction and parametrization represents a crucial challenge for the next-generation radio interferometer surveys, such as those performed with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and ...its precursors. In this paper, we present a new algorithm, called caesar (Compact And Extended Source Automated Recognition), to detect and parametrize extended sources in radio interferometric maps. It is based on a pre-filtering stage, allowing image denoising, compact source suppression and enhancement of diffuse emission, followed by an adaptive superpixel clustering stage for final source segmentation. A parametrization stage provides source flux information and a wide range of morphology estimators for post-processing analysis. We developed caesar in a modular software library, also including different methods for local background estimation and image filtering, along with alternative algorithms for both compact and diffuse source extraction. The method was applied to real radio continuum data collected at the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) within the SCORPIO project, a pathfinder of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey at the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). The source reconstruction capabilities were studied over different test fields in the presence of compact sources, imaging artefacts and diffuse emission from the Galactic plane and compared with existing algorithms. When compared to a human-driven analysis, the designed algorithm was found capable of detecting known target sources and regions of diffuse emission, outperforming alternative approaches over the considered fields.
We report the radio observations of a subsample of the 428 Galactic compact bubbles discovered at 24 μm with the MIPSGAL survey. Pervasive through the entire Galactic plane, these objects are thought ...to be different kinds of evolved stars. The very large majority of the bubbles (∼70 per cent) are however not yet classified. We conducted radio observations with the Expanded Very Large Array at 6 and 20 cm in order to obtain the spectral index of 55 bubbles. We found that at least 70 per cent of the 31 bubbles for which we were effectively able to compute the spectral index (or its lower limit) are likely to be thermal emitters. We were also able to resolve some bubbles, obtaining that the size of the radio nebula is usually similar to the IR size, although our low resolution (with respect to IR images) did not allow further morphological studies. Comparisons between radio flux densities and IR archive data from Spitzer and IRAS suggest that at least three unclassified bubbles can be treated as planetary nebula candidates.
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the multiwavelength properties of the magnetic early B-type star HR 7355. We present its radio light curves at several frequencies, taken with the Jansky Very ...Large Array, and X-ray spectra, taken with the XMM–Newton X-ray telescope. Modelling of the radio light curves for the Stokes I and V provides a quantitative analysis of the HR 7355 magnetosphere. A comparison between HR 7355 and a similar analysis for the Ap star CU Vir allows us to study how the different physical parameters of the two stars affect the structure of the respective magnetospheres where the non-thermal electrons originate. Our model includes a cold thermal plasma component that accumulates at high magnetic latitudes that influences the radio regime, but does not give rise to X-ray emission. Instead, the thermal X-ray emission arises from shocks generated by wind stream collisions close to the magnetic equatorial plane. The analysis of the X-ray spectrum of HR 7355 also suggests the presence of a non-thermal radiation. Comparison between the spectral index of the power-law X-ray energy distribution with the non-thermal electron energy distribution indicates that the non-thermal X-ray component could be the auroral signature of the non-thermal electrons that impact the stellar surface, the same non-thermal electrons that are responsible for the observed radio emission. On the basis of our analysis, we suggest a novel model that simultaneously explains the X-ray and the radio features of HR 7355 and is likely relevant for magnetospheres of other magnetic early-type stars.
Radio emission has been detected in a broad variety of stellar objects from all stages of stellar evolution. However, most of our knowledge originates from targeted observations of small samples, ...which are strongly biased to sources which are peculiar at other wavelengths. In order to tackle this problem we have conducted a deep 1.4 GHz survey by using the Australian Telescope Compact Array, with a net bandwidth of 1.7 GHz (1.4–3.1 GHz) , following the same observing setup as that used for the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey project, this time choosing a region more appropriate for stellar work. In this paper, the Stellar Continuum Originating from Radio Physics In Ourgalaxy (SCORPIO) project is presented as well as results from the pilot experiment. The achieved rms is 30 μJy and the angular resolution ∼10 arcsec. 614 point-like sources have been extracted just from the pilot field. Only 34 of them are classified in SIMBAD or the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. About 80 per cent of the extracted sources are reported in one of the inspected catalogues and 50 per cent of them appears to belong to a reddened stellar/Galactic population. However, the evaluation of extragalactic contaminants is very difficult without further investigations. Interesting results have been obtained for extended radio sources that fall in the SCORPIO field. Many roundish-like structures (indicated as bubbles in the following) have been found, some of which are classified at other wavelengths. However, for all of these sources, our project has provided us with images of unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution.
Context. C2O and C3O belong to the carbon chain oxides family. Both molecules have been detected in the gas phase towards several star-forming regions, and to explain the observed abundances, ...ion-molecule gas-phase reactions have been invoked. On the other hand, laboratory experiments have shown that carbon chain oxides are formed after energetic processing of CO-rich solid mixtures. Therefore, it has been proposed that they are formed in the solid phase in dense molecular clouds after cosmic ion irradiation of CO-rich icy grain mantles and released in the gas phase after their desorption. Aims. In this work, we contribute to the understanding of the role of both gas-phase reactions and energetic processing in the formation of simple carbon chain oxides that have been searched for in various low-mass star-forming regions. Methods. We present observations obtained with the Noto-32m and IRAM-30 m telescopes towards star-forming regions. We compare these with the results of a gas-phase model that simulates C2O and C3O formation and destruction, and laboratory experiments in which both molecules are produced after energetic processing (with 200 keV protons) of icy grain mantle analogues. Results. New detections of both molecules towards L1544, L1498, and Elias 18 are reported. The adopted gas phase model is not able to reproduce the observed C2O/C3O ratios, while laboratory experiments show that the ion bombardment of CO-rich mixtures produces C2O/C3O ratios that agree with the observed values. Conclusions. Based on the results obtained here, we conclude that the synthesis of both species is due to the energetic processing of CO-rich icy grain mantles. Their subsequent desorption because of non-thermal processes allows the detection in the gas-phase of young star-forming regions. In more evolved objects, the non-detection of both C2O and C3O is due to their fast destruction in the warm gas.
Abstract
We present new radio/millimeter measurements of the hot magnetic star HR 5907 obtained with the VLA and ALMA interferometers. We find that HR 5907 is the most radio luminous early type star ...in the cm–mm band among those presently known. Its multi-wavelength radio light curves are strongly variable with an amplitude that increases with radio frequency. The radio emission can be explained by the populations of the non-thermal electrons accelerated in the current sheets on the outer border of the magnetosphere of this fast-rotating magnetic star. We classify HR 5907 as another member of the growing class of strongly magnetic fast-rotating hot stars where the gyro-synchrotron emission mechanism efficiently operates in their magnetospheres. The new radio observations of HR 5907 are combined with archival X-ray data to study the physical condition of its magnetosphere. The X-ray spectra of HR 5907 show tentative evidence for the presence of non-thermal spectral component. We suggest that non-thermal X-rays originate a stellar X-ray aurora due to streams of non-thermal electrons impacting on the stellar surface. Taking advantage of the relation between the spectral indices of the X-ray power-law spectrum and the non-thermal electron energy distributions, we perform 3-D modelling of the radio emission for HR 5907. The wavelength-dependent radio light curves probe magnetospheric layers at different heights above the stellar surface. A detailed comparison between simulated and observed radio light curves leads us to conclude that the stellar magnetic field of HR 5907 is likely non-dipolar, providing further indirect evidence of the complex magnetic field topology of HR 5907.
Abstract
In this paper, we simulate the cyclic circularly polarized pulses of the ultracool dwarf TVLM 513−46546, observed with the Very Large Array at 4.88 and 8.44 GHz on 2006 May, by using a ...three-dimensional model of the auroral radio emission from the stellar magnetosphere. During this epoch, the radio light curves are characterized by two pulses left-hand polarized at 4.88 GHz, and one doubly peaked (of opposite polarizations) pulse at 8.44 GHz. To take into account the possible deviation from the dipolar symmetry of the stellar magnetic-field topology, the model described in this paper is also able to simulate the auroral radio emission from a magnetosphere shaped like an offset dipole. To reproduce the timing and pattern of the observed pulses, we explored the space of parameters controlling the auroral beaming pattern and the geometry of the magnetosphere. Through the analysis of the TVLM 513−46546 auroral radio emission, we derive some indications on the magnetospheric field topology that is able to simultaneously reproduce the timing and patterns of the auroral pulses measured at 4.88 and 8.44 GHz. Each set of model solutions simulates two auroral pulses (singly or doubly peaked) per period. To explain the presence of only one 8.44 GHz pulse per period, we analyse the case of auroral radio emission limited only to a magnetospheric sector activated by an external body, like the case of the interaction of Jupiter with its moons.
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