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Polarization due to rotational distortion in the bright star Regulus

Bailey, Jeremy; Cotton, Daniel V.; Howarth, Ian D. +4 more

Polarization in stars was first predicted by Chandrasekhar¹, who calculated a substantial linear polarization at the stellar limb for a pure electron-scattering atmosphere. This polarization will average to zero when integrated over a spherical star but could be detected if the symmetry was broken, for example, by the eclipse of a binar…