Magnetism in Massive Stars

Abstract

Stars with mass more than 8 solar masses end their lives as neutron stars, which we mostly observe as highly magnetized objects. Where does this magnetic field come from? Such a field could be formed during the collapse, or is a (modified) remnant of a fossil field since the birth of the star, or otherwise generated by a dynamo during its lifetime in the pre-collapse stages. The answer is unknown, but traditionally magnetic massive stars should not exist since they do not have a convective layer such as the Sun. In the last decade, however, a number of magnetic massive stars have been found, which likely possess a stable field from their birth, and indirect evidence is accumulating that localized fields can indeed be generated during the main-sequence lifetime and beyond. These observational facts opened a new field of research, which is the topic of this review.

Among the indirect evidence is a large range of observational phenomena among O and B stars that cannot be explained without the presence of surface magnetic fields. These phenomena include photospheric turbulence, wind clumping, cyclic wind variability observed in UV lines, other types of wind variability in optical lines, anomalous X-ray emission, and non-thermal emission in the radio region. A summary of the properties of observed magnetic massive OB stars is given and the role of magnetic fields in massive stars will be discussed, including how to identify new magnetic candidates.