Abstract
Some stars hotter than 10,000 K show propensity for unusual surface abundances and excessive magnetic fields. These peculiar stars, Ap and Bp in the spectral nomenclature, show unusually prominent absorption lines of heavier elements. Rapid rotation and strong magnetic fields are revealed by line shapes and Zeeman splitting. We have used very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) to directly probe the source size and brightness temperature of weak radio emission recently discovered from two isolated Bp stars, σ Orionis E and HD37017. The emitting zone for each star is no more than 6 stellar diameters in extent, reflecting brightness temperatures of more than 109 K. Such high surface brightness resembles gyrosynchrotron radiation from mildly relativistic electrons trapped in the strong magnetic fields surrounding these stars1,2. Compact radio radiation from these two stars presents new opportunities for probing the physical environments of early-type stars and for precise radio astrometry.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lestrade, J.-F. et al. Astrophys. J. 282, L23–L26 (1984).
Drake, S. A. et al. Astrophys. J. 322, 902–908 (1987).
Trasco, J. D., Wood, H. J. & Roberts, M. S. Astrophys. J. 161, L129–L131 (1970).
Kodaira, K. & Fomalont, E. B. Astrophys. J. 161, 1169–1171 (1970).
Altenhoff, W., Pflinderer, J. & Weiss, W. in IAU Colloquium 32, Physics of Ap Stars (eds Weiss, W., Jenker, H. H. & Wood, H. J.) 497–501 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1976).
Turner, K. C. in Radio Stars (eds Hjellming, R. M. & Gibson, D. M.) 283–286 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1985).
Blaauw, A. & van Albada, T. S. Astrophys. J. 137, 791–820 (1963).
Greenstein, J. L. & Wallerstein, G. Astrophys. J. 127, 237–245 (1958).
Walborn, N. R. Astrophys. J. 191, L95–L98 (1974).
Hesser, J. E., Walborn, N. R. & Ugarte, P. Nature 262, 116–117 (1976).
Groote, D. & Hunger, K. Astr. Astrophys. 56, 129–133 (1977).
Barker, P. K. in IAU Colloquium 87, Hydrogen Deficient Stars and Related Objects (eds Hunger, K., Schöberner, D. & Kameswara, N.) (Reidel, Dordrecht, in the press).
Landstreet, J. D. & Borra, E. F. Astrophys. J. 224, L5–L8 (1978).
Borra, E. F. & Landstreet, J. D. Astrophys. J. 228, 809–816 (1979).
Dulk, G. A. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 23, 169–224 (1985).
Lestrade, J.-F., Preston, R. A., Mutel, R. L., Niell, A. E. & Phillips, R. B. in Second FAST Thinkshop on the Processing of Scientific Data from the ESA Satellite HIPPARCOS (ed. J. Kovalesky) 383–389 (CERGA, Grasse, France, 1987).
Lestrade, J.-F., Rogers, A. E. E., Niell, A. E. & Preston, R. A. in IAU Symposium 129, The Impact of VLBI on Astrophysics and Geophysics (eds Reid, M. J. & Moran, J. M.) (Reidel, Dordrecht, in the press).
Bartel, N., Herring, T. A., Ratner, M. L., Shapiro, I. I. & Corey, B. E. Nature 319, 733–738 (1986).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Phillips, R., Lestrade, JF. Compact non-thermal radio emission from B-peculiar stars. Nature 334, 329–331 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334329a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/334329a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
