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Do Magnetic Fields Actually Inflate Low-Mass Stars?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Gregory A. Feiden
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, Uppsala 751 20, Sweden. Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. email: [email protected]
Brian Chaboyer
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Magnetic fields have been hypothesized to inflate the radii of low-mass stars—defined as less than 0.8 M–in detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). We evaluate this hypothesis using the magnetic Dartmouth stellar evolution code. Results suggest that magnetic suppression of thermal convection can inflate low-mass stars that possess a radiative core and convective outer envelope. A scaling relation between X-ray luminosity and surface magnetic flux indicates that model surface magnetic field strength predictions are consistent with observations. This supports the notion that magnetic fields may be inflating these stars. However, magnetic models are unable to reproduce radii of fully convective stars in DEBs. Instead, we propose that model discrepancies below the fully convective boundary are related to metallicity.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014 

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