Magnetic activity and hot Jupiters of young Suns : the weak-line T Tauri stars V819 Tau and V830 Tau

SGG acknowledges support from the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) via an Ernest Rutherford Fellowship [ST/J003255/1]. SHPA acknowledges financial support from CNPq, CAPES and Fapemig. AAV acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) via the allocation of an Ambizione Followship. Date of Acceptance: 06/08/2015We report results of a spectropolarimetric and photometric monitoring of the weak-line T Tauri stars (wTTSs) V819 Tau and V830 Tau within the MaTYSSE (Magnetic Topologies of Young Stars and the Survival of close-ingiant Exoplanets) programme, involving the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. At ≃3 Myr, both stars dissipated their discs recently and are interesting objects for probing star and planet formation. Profile distortions and Zeeman signatures are detected in the unpolarized and circularly polarized lines, whose rotational modulation we modelled using tomographic imaging, yielding brightness and magnetic maps for both stars. We find that the large-scale magnetic fields of V819 Tau and V830 Tau are mostly poloidal and can be approximated at large radii by 350-400 G dipoles tilted at≃30° to the rotation axis. They are significantly weaker than the field of GQ Lup, an accreting classical T Tauri star (cTTS) with similar mass and age which can be used to compare the magnetic properties of wTTSs and cTTSs. The reconstructed brightness maps of both stars include cool spots and warm plages. Surface differential rotation is small, typically ≃4.4 times smaller than on the Sun, in agreement with previous results on wTTSs. Using our Doppler images to model the activity jitter and filter it out from the radial velocity(RV) curves, we obtain RV residuals with dispersions of 0.033 and 0.104km s-1 for V819 Tau and V830 Tau, respectively. RV residuals suggest that a hot Jupiter may be orbiting V830 Tau, though additional data are needed to confirm this preliminary result. We find no evidence for close-in giant planet around V819 Tau.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A spectro-polarimetric study of the planet-hosting G dwarf, HD 147513

The results from a spectro-polarimetric study of the planet-hosting Sun-like star, HD 147513 (G5V), are presented here. Robust detections of Zeeman signatures at all observed epochs indicate a surface magnetic field, with longitudinal magnetic field strengths varying between 1.0–3.2 G. Radial velocity variations from night to night modulate on a similar timescale to the longitudinal magnetic field measurements. These variations are therefore likely due to the rotational modulation of stellar active regions rather than the much longer timescale of the planetary orbit (Porb = 528 d). Both the longitudinal magnetic field measurements and radial velocity variations are consistent with a rotation period of 10 ± 2 days, which are also consistent with the measured chromospheric activity level of the star (′log R′HK = -4.64). Together, these quantities indicate a low inclination angle, i ~ 18°. We present preliminary magnetic field maps of the star based on the above period and find a simple poloidal large-scale field. Chemical analyses of the star have revealed that it is likely to have undergone a barium-enrichment phase in its evolution because of a higher mass companion. Despite this, our study reveals that the star has a fairly typical activity level for its rotation period and spectral type. Future studies will enable us to explore the long-term evolution of the field, as well as to measure the stellar rotation period, with greater accuracy.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Magnetic topology and prominence patterns on AB Doradus

We report new Zeeman-Doppler imaging observations of the rapidly rotating young KO dwarf AB Doradus, obtained with the Angle-Australian Telescope in 1996 December. From such observations, simultaneous brightness and magnetic images of the stellar photosphere of AB Dor were reconstructed at three different epochs.The magnetic topology of AB Dor is found to be very complex, with at least 12 different radial field regions of opposite polarities located all around the star. Significant azimuthal field fluxes are also detected in the form of one negative polarity region close to the equator, a series of positive polarity patches at intermediate latitudes and an almost complete ring of negative polarity encircling the rotational pole at high latitudes. In particular, the azimuthal polarities we reconstruct are in very good agreement with those obtained by Donati &amp; Cameron, confirming that this field component is directly related to the dynamo-generated large-scale toroidal magnetic structure. The triple polarity latitudinal pattern observed for this structure in the upper hemisphere of AB Dor indicates that the degree of the underlying large-scale poloidal structure in an axisymmetric spherical harmonics expansion is equal to or greater than five. It also strengthens the idea that the dynamo processes operating in AB Dor feature a nonsolar component distributed throughout the convective zone.From the subtle distortion of successive brightness images, we can also confirm the surface differential rotation first measured on this star by Donati &amp; Cameron in both sense and magnitude, with a pole rotating mon slowly than the equator by about one part in 220.Finally, the rotation periods we measure for four prominences (from the recurrence rate of their spectral signatures in Balmer lines) confirm the presumption that such clouds are anchored at intermediate to high latitudes. The intrinsic variability of these prominences is not associated with any abrupt changes in the photospheric brightness or magnetic distributions, implying that they essentially result from the reorganization of coronal field lines.</p

Identifying solar-like magnetic cycles with Zeeman-Doppler-Imaging (ZDI)

Funding: UK Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) (ST/M001296/1) (MJM). UK STFC and the ERC (Synergy Grant: WHOLE SUN, Grant Agreement No. 810218) (DHM).We are reaching the point where spectropolarimetric surveys have run for long enough to reveal solar-like magnetic activity cycles. In this paper we investigate what would be the best strategy to identify solar-like magnetic cycles and ask which large-scale magnetic field parameters best follow a solar-type magnetic cycle and are observable with the Zeeman-Doppler-Imaging (ZDI) technique. We approach these questions using the 3D non-potential flux transport simulations of Yeates & Mackay (2012) modelling the solar vector magnetic field over 15 years (centred on solar cycle 23). The flux emergence profile was extracted from solar synoptic maps and used as input for a photospheric flux transport model in combination with a non-potential coronal evo- lution model. We synthesise spectropolarimetric data from the simulated maps and reconstruct them using ZDI. The ZDI observed solar cycle is set into the context of other cool star observations and we present observable trends of the magnetic field topology with time, sunspot number and S-index. We find that the axisymmetric en- ergy fraction is the best parameter of the ZDI detectable large-scale field to trace solar-like cycles. Neither the surface averaged large-scale field or the total magnetic energy is appropriate. ZDI seems also to be able to recover the increase of the toroidal energy with S-index. We see further that ZDI might unveil hints of the dynamo modes that are operating and of the global properties of the small-scale flux emergence like active latitudesPostprintPeer reviewe

Coordinated Optical/X-ray observations of the CTTS V2129 Oph The Chandra View

Young low-mass accreting stars (classical T Tauri stars; CTTSs) possess strong magnetic fields that are responsible for the regulation of the accretion and outflow processes, and the confinement and heating of coronal plasma. Understanding the physics of CTTS magnetospheres and of their interaction with circumstellar disks can elucidate the history and evolution of our own Sun and Solar System, at the stage when planets were being formed. In June 2009 we have conducted an extensive multi-wavelength observing campaign of V2129 Oph, a K5 CTTS in the ρ Ophiuchi molecular cloud, with the goal of obtaining a synoptic view of its photosphere, magnetic field, coronal plasma, and of its accretion spot(s) and funnel flow(s). We here report on the X-ray emission, as observed by the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG). High-density plasma, presumably from the accretion shock, is responsible for the soft X-ray emission, at least during the first half of the observation. The X-ray emission from both the coronal plasma (T˜20MK) and the cooler and denser material from the accretion spot (T˜3MK) is observed to vary between the first and second half of the observation. From the high-resolution X-ray spectra we constrain the emission measure of the two components and the density of the cool plasma. Finally we interpret the time variability of the cool plasma component in terms of stellar rotation and the time-changing viewing angle of the accretion stream, as constrained by simultaneous optical observations

Surface and atmospheric structure on the T Tauri star V2129 Oph

We provide an overview of a multi-wavelength observing campaign focusing on the accretion and coronal processes in the young star V2129 Oph. V2129 Oph is a classical T Tauri star with a 6.5 day rotation period in the ρ Oph star forming region. On 27-29 June 2009 we obtained two 100 ksec Chandra HETG exposures, aiming at opposite hemispheres of the star. We discuss the X-ray data elsewhere. In order to place the coronal X-ray emission in context, we obtained contemporaneous optical and near-IR photometry and high dispersion optical spectroscopy. The photometry shows the existence of dark photospheric spots. The Hα line profiles show a modulation of the mean Hα velocity and the presence of red-shifted absorption, probably from the accretion stream, at certain phases. Zeeman Doppler images reveal the presence of both a cool spot and an accreting region at similar longitudes