First polarimetric observations and modeling of the FeH F^4 Delta-X^4 Delta system

Lines of diatomic molecules are more temperature and pressure sensitive than atomic lines, which makes them ideal tools for studying cool stellar atmospheres an internal structure of sunspots and starspots. The FeH F^4 Delta-X^4 Delta system represents such an example that exhibits in addition a large magnetic field sensitivity. The current theoretical descriptions of these transitions including the molecular constants involved are only based on intensity measurements because polarimetric observations have not been available so far, which limits their diagnostic value. We present for the first time spectropolarimetric observations of the FeH F^4 Delta-X^4 Delta system measured in sunspots to investigate their diagnostic capabilities for probing solar and stellar magnetic fields. We investigate whether the current theoretical model of FeH can reproduce the observed Stokes profiles including their magnetic properties. The polarimetric observations are compared with synthetic Stokes profiles modeled with radiative transfer calculations. This allows us to infer the temperature and the magnetic field strength of the observed sunspots. We find that the current theory successfully reproduces the magnetic properties of a large number of lines in the FeH F^4 Delta-X^4 Delta system. In a few cases the observations indicate a larger Zeeman splitting than predicted by the theory. There, our observations have provided additional constraints, which allowed us to determine empirical molecular constants. The FeH F^4 Delta-X^4 Delta system is found to be a very sensitive magnetic diagnostic tool. Polarimetric data of these lines provide us with more direct information to study the coolest parts of astrophysical objects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Paschen-Back effect in the CrH molecule and its application for magnetic field measurements on stars, brown dwarfs, and hot exoplanets

We investigated the Paschen-Back effect in the (0,0) band of the A6{\Sigma}+-X6{\Sigma}+ system of the CrH molecule, and we examined its potential for estimating magnetic fields on stars and substellar objects, such as brown dwarfs and hot exoplanets. We carried out quantum mechanical calculations to obtain the energy level structure of the electronic-vibrational-rotational states considered both in the absence and in the presence of a magnetic field. Level mixing due to magnetic field perturbation (the Paschen-Back effect) was consistently taken into account. Then, we calculated frequencies and strengths of transitions between magnetic sublevels. Employing these results and solving numerically a set of the radiative transfer equations for polarized radiation, we calculated Stokes parameters for both the individual lines and the (0,0) band depending on the strength and orientation of the magnetic field. We demonstrate that magnetic splitting of the individual CrH lines shows a significant asymmetry due to the Paschen-Back effect already at 1 G field. This leads to a considerable signal in both circular and linear polarization, up to 30 percent at the magnetic field strength of more than 3 kG in early L dwarfs. The polarization does not cancel out completely even at very low spectral resolution and is seen as broad-band polarization of a few percent. Since the line asymmetry depends only on the magnetic field strength and not on the filling factor, CrH lines provide a very sensitive tool for direct measurement of the stellar magnetic fields on faint cool objects, such as brown dwarfs and hot Jupiters, observed with low spectral resolution.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, to be published in A&

The first close-up of the "flip-flop" phenomenon in a single star

We present temperature maps of the active late-type giant FK Com which exhibit the first imagining record of the ``flip-flop'' phenomenon in a single star. The phenomenon, in which the main part of the spot activity shifts 180 degrees in longitude, discovered a decade ago in FK Com, was reported later also in a number of RS CVn binaries and a single young dwarf. With the surface images obtained right before and after the ``flip-flop'', we clearly show that the ``flip-flop'' phenomenon in FK Com is caused by changing the relative strengths of the spot groups at the two active longitudes, with no actual spot movements across the stellar surface, i.e. exactly as it happens in other active stars.Comment: 4 pages, accepted by A&A Letter

Center-to-limb polarization in continuum spectra of F, G, K stars

Context. Scattering and absorption processes in stellar atmosphere affect the center-to-limb variations of the intensity (CLVI) and the linear polarization (CLVP) of stellar radiation. Aims. There are several theoretical and observational studies of CLVI using different stellar models, however, most studies of CLVP have concentrated on the solar atmosphere and have not considered the CLVP in cooler non-gray stellar atmospheres at all. In this paper, we present a theoretical study of the CLV of the intensity and the linear polarization in continuum spectra of different spectral type stars. Methods. We solve the radiative transfer equations for polarized light iteratively assuming no magnetic field and considering a plane-parallel model atmospheres and various opacities. Results. We calculate the CLVI and the CLVP for Phoenix stellar model atmospheres for the range of effective temperatures (4500K - 6900K), gravities (log g = 3.0 - 5.0), and wavelengths (4000 - 7000 {\AA}), which are tabulated and available at the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center (CDS). In addition, we present several tests of our code and compare our results with measurements and calculations of CLVI and the CLVP for the Sun. The resulting CLVI are fitted with polynomials and their coefficients are presented in this paper. Conclusions. For the stellar model atmospheres with lower gravity and effective temperature the CLVP is larger.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Orbital parameters of extrasolar planets derived from polarimetry

Polarimetry of extrasolar planets becomes a new tool for their investigation, which requires the development of diagnostic techniques and parameter case studies. Our goal is to develop a theoretical model which can be applied to interpret polarimetric observations of extrasolar planets. Here we present a theoretical parameter study that shows the influence of the various involved parameters on the polarization curves. Furthermore, we investigate the robustness of the fitting procedure. We employ the physics of Rayleigh scattering to obtain polarization curves of an unresolved extrasolar planet. Calculations are made for two cases: (i) assuming an angular distribution for the intensity of the scattered light as from a Lambert sphere and for polarization as from a Rayleigh-type scatterer, and (ii) assuming that both the intensity and polarization of the scattered light are distributed according to the Rayleigh law. We show that the difference between these two cases is negligible for the shapes of the polarization curves. In addition, we take the size of the host star into account, which is relevant for hot Jupiters orbiting giant stars

Non-Axisymmetric Magnetic Fields and Flip-Flops on the Sun and Cool Stars

The modulation of solar activity closely follows the solar rotation period suggesting the existence of long-lived active regions at preferred longitudes. For instance, two preferred active longitudes in both southern and northern hemispheres are found to be persistent at the century time scale. These regions migrate with differential rotation and periodically alternate their activity levels showing a flip-flop cycle. The pattern and behaviour of active longitudes on the Sun is similar to that on cool, rapidly rotating stars with outer convective envelopes. This suggests that the magnetic dynamo, including non-axisymmetric magnetic fields and flip-flop cycles, is also similar in these stars. This allows us to overview the phenomenon of stellar magnetic activity and to study it in detail on the Su