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STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS

Polarization from a spinning star

Nature Astronomy volume 1, pages 657–658 (2017)Cite this article

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Although predicted 50 years ago, the polarization of light from a rotationally distorted stellar atmosphere has only recently been detected, thanks to polarimetry measurements with precision at the parts-per-million level.

Often an effect is predicted long before it can be measured: the detection of gravitational waves is an outstanding instance. Now, writing in Nature Astronomy, Daniel Cotton and collaborators1 report the measurement of an effect predicted nearly 50 years ago, which had long seemed beyond the reach of observation. The authors have measured the faint polarization that arises within the atmosphere of a hot star: the rapidly spinning (320 km s–1) B7V star, Regulus.

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Fig. 1: Reconstructed image and polarization model of Regulus.

References

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  1. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742-2421, USA

    J. Patrick Harrington

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  1. J. Patrick Harrington
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Correspondence to J. Patrick Harrington.

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Harrington, J.P. Polarization from a spinning star. Nat Astron 1, 657–658 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0267-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-017-0267-1

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