Measuring the magnetic fields in the chromospheres of low-mass stars

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cang, Tianqi, Petit, Pascal, Donati, Jean-François, Tian, Hui, Fu, Jianning, Li, Hao, Bellotti, Stefano, Hu, Xueying, Ma, Xiaoyu, Ariste, Arturo Lopez, Xing, Keyu, Morin, Julien, Lu, Hongpeng, Zong, Weikai
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Cang, Tianqi
Petit, Pascal
Donati, Jean-François
Tian, Hui
Fu, Jianning
Li, Hao
Bellotti, Stefano
Hu, Xueying
Ma, Xiaoyu
Ariste, Arturo Lopez
Xing, Keyu
Morin, Julien
Lu, Hongpeng
Zong, Weikai
author_facet Cang, Tianqi
Petit, Pascal
Donati, Jean-François
Tian, Hui
Fu, Jianning
Li, Hao
Bellotti, Stefano
Hu, Xueying
Ma, Xiaoyu
Ariste, Arturo Lopez
Xing, Keyu
Morin, Julien
Lu, Hongpeng
Zong, Weikai
contents Magnetic fields in the upper atmospheres of solar-like stars are believed to provide an enormous amount of energy to power the hot coronae and drive large-scale eruptions that could impact the habitability of planetary systems around these stars. However, these magnetic fields have never been routinely measured on stars beyond the solar system. Through decade-long spectropolarimetric observations, we have now achieved the measurements of magnetic fields in the lower and middle chromospheres of three M-dwarfs. Our results indicate that the line-of-sight component of the chromospheric magnetic fields can reach up to hundreds of Gauss, whose sign frequently opposes that of the photospheric field. The measurements highlight the magnetic field complexity and the variation with height close to the surface of these M-dwarfs. They provide critical constraints on the energy budget responsible for heating and eruptions of stellar upper atmospheres, and enable assessments of how stellar magnetic activity may affect exoplanet environments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_08891
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Measuring the magnetic fields in the chromospheres of low-mass stars
Cang, Tianqi
Petit, Pascal
Donati, Jean-François
Tian, Hui
Fu, Jianning
Li, Hao
Bellotti, Stefano
Hu, Xueying
Ma, Xiaoyu
Ariste, Arturo Lopez
Xing, Keyu
Morin, Julien
Lu, Hongpeng
Zong, Weikai
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Magnetic fields in the upper atmospheres of solar-like stars are believed to provide an enormous amount of energy to power the hot coronae and drive large-scale eruptions that could impact the habitability of planetary systems around these stars. However, these magnetic fields have never been routinely measured on stars beyond the solar system. Through decade-long spectropolarimetric observations, we have now achieved the measurements of magnetic fields in the lower and middle chromospheres of three M-dwarfs. Our results indicate that the line-of-sight component of the chromospheric magnetic fields can reach up to hundreds of Gauss, whose sign frequently opposes that of the photospheric field. The measurements highlight the magnetic field complexity and the variation with height close to the surface of these M-dwarfs. They provide critical constraints on the energy budget responsible for heating and eruptions of stellar upper atmospheres, and enable assessments of how stellar magnetic activity may affect exoplanet environments.
title Measuring the magnetic fields in the chromospheres of low-mass stars
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.08891