Tuesday, February 7, 2012

1109.5148 (Anand Thirumalai et al.)

The Magnetised Bellows of Betelgeuse    [PDF]

Anand Thirumalai, Jeremy S. Heyl
We present calculations for a magnetised hybrid wind model for Betelegeuse ($\alpha - $Orionis). The model is a direct application of our previously derived theory, combining a canonical Weber-Davis (WD) stellar wind with dust grains in the envelope of an AGB star \citep[see][]{Thirumalai2010}. The resulting hybrid picture provides a mechanism for solving the problem of lifting stellar material up from the photosphere \citep[e.g.][] {Harper2009,Guandalini2006,Jura1984} and into the circumstellar envelope. It also predicts wind velocities in agreement with current estimates. Our approach reveals that magnetic fields in supergiant stars like Betelgeuse \citep[see][]{Auriere2010}, may play a vital role in determining the nature of the stellar outflow and consequently, opens a new avenue of investigation in the field of hybrid stellar winds.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1109.5148

No comments:

Post a Comment