Related papers: Expanding stellar horizons with polarized light
Eclipsing binary stars have long served as benchmark systems to measure fundamental stellar properties. In the past few decades, asteroseismology - the study of stellar pulsations - has emerged as a new powerful tool to study the structure…
Stars with radiative envelopes, specifically the upper main sequence chemically peculiar (Ap) stars, were among the first objects outside our solar system for which surface magnetic fields have been detected. Currently magnetic Ap stars…
Open and globular star clusters have served as benchmarks for the study of stellar evolution due to their supposed nature as simple stellar populations of the same age and metallicity. After a brief review of some of the pioneering work…
This article aims to provide a brief overview of both established and novel ellipsometry techniques, as well as their applications. Ellipsometry is an indirect optical technique in that information about the physical properties of a sample…
This is a review of a decade-long effort to develop novel tools for exploring magnetism in cold astrophysical media and to establish a new field of molecular spectropolarimetry since Berdyugina et al. (2000). It is most directly applicable…
This work combines new observations of NIR starlight linear polarimetry with previously simulated observations in order to constrain dynamo models of the Galactic magnetic field. Polarimetric observations were obtained with the Mimir…
The fields of occultation and microlensing are linked historically. Early this century, occultation of the Sun by the Moon allowed the apparent positions of background stars projected near the limb of the Sun to be measured and compared…
Enormous progress has been made on observing stellar magnetism in stars from the main sequence through to compact objects. Recent data have thrown into sharper relief the vexed question of the origin of stellar magnetic fields, which…
Polarimetry of stars at optical and near-infrared wavelengths is an invaluable tool for tracing interstellar dust and magnetic fields. Recent studies have demonstrated the power of combining stellar polarimetry with distances from the Gaia…
The powerful radiative winds of hot stars with strong magnetic fields are magnetically confined into large, corotating magnetospheres, which exert important influences on stellar evolution via rotational spindown and mass-loss quenching.…
Magnetic fields play an important role in producing and modifying the photospheric chemical peculiarities of intermediate-mass main sequence stars. This article discusses the basic theory and methods of measurement used to detect and…
Current models of magnetars require extremely strong magnetic fields to explain their observed quiescent and bursting emission, implying that the field strength within the star's outer crust is orders of magnitude larger than the dipole…
A detailed understanding of the physics of star and planet formation requires study of individual objects as well as statistical assessment of global properties and evolutionary trends. Observational investigations of circumstellar material…
Polarized scattering in planetary atmospheres is computed in the context of exoplanets. The problem of polarized radiative transfer is solved for a general case of absorption and scattering, while Rayleigh and Mie polarized scattering are…
Interstellar linear polarization occurs when starlight passes through elongated dust grains aligned by interstellar magnetic fields. The observed polarization can come from different dust structures along the line of sight (LOS). By…
Magnetic fields have been detected on stars across the H-R diagram and substellar objects either directly by their effect on the formation of spectral lines, or through the activity phenomena they power which can be observed across a large…
The determination of photospheric abundances in late-type stars from spectroscopic observations is a well-established field, built on solid theoretical foundations. Improving those foundations to refine the accuracy of the inferred…
The presence of magnetic fields at the surfaces of many massive stars has been suspected for decades, to explain the observed properties and activity of OB stars. However, very few genuine high-mass stars had been identified as magnetic…
The origin of magnetic fields in the Universe is an open problem in astrophysics and fundamental physics. Polarization observations with the forthcoming large radio telescopes, especially the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), will open a new…
The study of eclipsing binaries is our primary source of measured properties of normal stars, achieved through analysis of light and radial velocity curves of eclipsing systems. The study of oscillations and pulsations is increasingly vital…