NGC 1624-2 is the most strongly magnetized O-type star known. Previous spectroscopic observations of this object in the ultraviolet provided evidence that it hosts a large and dense circumstellar magnetosphere. Follow-up observations obtained with the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} not only confirm that previous inference, but also suggest that NGC 1624-2's magnetosphere has a complex structure. Furthermore, an expanded spectropolarimetric time series shows a potential departure from a dipolar magnetic field geometry, which could mean that the strongest field detected at the surface of an O-type star is also topologically complex. This result raises important questions regarding the origin and evolution of magnetic fields in massive stars.
@article{arxiv.2010.07482,
title = {New observations of NGC 1624-2 reveal a complex magnetospheric structure and underlying surface magnetic geometry},
author = {A. David-Uraz and V. Petit and M. E. Shultz and A. W. Fullerton and C. Erba and Z. Keszthelyi and S. Seadrow and G. A. Wade},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2010.07482},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by MNRAS (2020 December 1)