1111.0212 (G. A. Wade)
G. A. Wade
The common - arguably ubiquitous - large-scale variability of optical and UV
lines profiles of hot, massive stars is widely interpreted as the direct
consequence of structured, variable winds. Many of the variability phenomena
are observed to recur on timescales compatible with stellar rotation,
suggesting a picture in which perturbations at the base of the wind - carried
into view by stellar rotation - produce large-scale outward-propagating density
structures. Magnetic fields have been repeatedly proposed to be at the root of
these phenomena, although evidence supporting this view remains tenuous. In
this review I discuss the evidence for large-scale structures in the winds of
O-type stars, the relationship between the observed recurrence timescales and
the expected stellar rotational periods, the magnetic and variability
properties of known magnetic O-type stars, and their implications for
understanding wind variability of the broader population.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.0212
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