Does Betelgeuse have a magnetic field?
| dc.creator | Dorch, S. B. F. | |
| dc.creator | Freytag, B. | |
| dc.date | 2002-08-29 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T02:04:50Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T02:04:50Z | |
| dc.description | Recent numerical simulations by Freytag et al. of the outer convection envelope of the cool super-giant Betelgeuse, have shown that the fluctuations in the star's apparent luminosity may be caused by giant cell convection. These simulations bring forth the possibility of addressing another question; namely whether stars such as Betelgeuse may harbor magnetic activity. Taking the detailed numerical simulations of the star at face value, we have applied a kinematic dynamo analysis, to study whether the flow field of the super-giant may be able to amplify a weak seed magnetic field. We do indeed find a positive exponential growth rate of the magnetic energy. The possible Betelgeusian dynamo may be characterized as belonging to the class of so-called ``local small-scale dynamos'' (i.e. dynamos where rotation is not dominant), but this is a less meaningful designation in the case of Betelgeuse, since the field is both global and large-scale. | |
| dc.description | Proceedings of IAU Symp. 210. 10 pages, 8 figures (2 color) | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0208523 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0208523 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/4915 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | Does Betelgeuse have a magnetic field? | |
| dc.type | text |