Related papers: Diffusion and Settling in Ap/Bp Stars
In stellar astrophysics, the study of the atmospheres of early-type stars plays a very special role. The atmospheres of these stars display a variety of different phenomena, such as the presence of large magnetic fields, strong surface…
Aims. We aim to provide observational constraints on diffusion models that predict peculiar chemical abundances in the atmospheres of Am stars. We also intend to check if chemical peculiarities and slow rotation can be explained by the…
We present the results of a systematic study of the magnetic fields and other properties of the Ap stars with resolved magnetically split lines. This study is based on new measurements of the mean magnetic field modulus, the mean…
Doppler imaging, a technique which inverts spectral line profile variations of an Ap star into a two-dimensional abundance maps, provides new observational constraints on diffusion mechanism in the presence of a global magnetic field. A…
Our recent discoveries of magnetic fields in a small number of Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) stars, the evolutionary progenitors of main sequence A/B stars, raise new questions about the origin of magnetic fields in the intermediate mass stars. The…
We give concisely the formulae governing diffusion of chemical elements and their isotopes in quiescent stellar atmospheres, due to electrostatic, gravitational and radiation fields and to impacts between particles. Isotope segregation of…
Stars are, generically, rotating and magnetised objects with a misalignment between their magnetic and rotation axes. Since a magnetic field induces a permanent distortion to its host, it provides effective rigidity even to a fluid star,…
We rediscuss the evolutionary state of upper main sequence magnetic stars using a sample of Ap and Bp stars with accurate Hipparcos parallaxes and definitely determined longitudinal magnetic fields. FORS1 at the VLT in spectropolarimetric…
Abundance anomalies have been determined at the surface of many field and open cluster A and F dwarfs. These abundance anomalies are most likely caused by microscopic diffusion at work within the stable envelopes of A stars. However…
Strong, stable, and organised magnetic fields are present at the surfaces of a small fraction of OBA stars. These "fossil fields" exhibit uniform characteristics in stars over a tremendous range of stellar mass, age, temperature, and…
Context. The chemically peculiar (CP) stars of the upper main sequence are defined by spectral peculiarities that indicate unusual elemental abundance patterns in the presence of diffusion in the calm, stellar atmospheres. Some of them have…
Two types of stars are known to have strong, large scale magnetic fields: the main sequence Ap stars and the magnetic white dwarfs. This suggest that the former might be the progenitors of the latter. In order to test this idea, I have…
The stars of the middle main sequence often have relatively quiescent outer layers and spot-like chemical structures may develope in their atmospheres. Recent observations show that abundance peculiarities can change as stars evolve on the…
A portion of the upper main-sequence stars, called chemically peculiar (CP) stars, show significant abundance anomalies mainly due to atomic diffusion of chemical elements within the stellar atmospheres of these stars. Slowly rotating CP…
High time resolution spectroscopy of roAp stars at large telescopes has led to a major breakthrough in our understanding of magnetoacoustic pulsations in these interesting objects. New observations have allowed to uncover a number of…
In this contribution I review some of the major work that have been undertaken in the last decade to study the magnetic fields in intermediate-mass pre-main sequence stars, with the goal of understanding the origin of the magnetic fields…
The X-ray emission of magnetic intermediate mass Ap/Bp stars is reviewed and put into context of intrinsic as well as extrinsic hypotheses for its origin. New X-ray observations of Ap/Bp stars are presented and combined with an updated…
We have obtained high-quality magnetic field measurements of 19 sharp-lined B-type stars with precisely-measured N/C abundance ratios. Our primary goal is to test the idea that a magnetic field may explain extra drag (through the wind) on…
Hot cluster Horizontal Branch (HB) stars and field subdwarf B (sdB) stars are core helium burning stars that exhibit abundance anomalies that are believed to be due to atomic diffusion. Diffusion can be effective in these stars because they…
A series of recent theoretical atomic diffusion studies has address the challenging problem of predicting inhomogeneous vertical and horizontal chemical element distributions in the atmospheres of magnetic ApBp stars. Here we critically…