John Darlington Landstreet

• PhD
• Professor Emeritus at Western University

The origin of atmospheric heating in the cool, magnetic white dwarf GD\,356 remains unsolved nearly 40 years after its discovery. This once idiosyncratic star with eff yet Balmer lines in Zeeman-split emission is now part of a growing class of white dwarfs exhibiting similar features, and which are tightly clustered in the HR diagram suggesting an...

The origin of atmospheric heating in the cool, magnetic white dwarf GD 356 remains unsolved nearly 40 years after its discovery. This once idiosyncratic star with $T_{\rm eff}\approx7500$ K, yet Balmer lines in Zeeman-split emission is now part of a growing class of white dwarfs exhibiting similar features, and which are tightly clustered in the HR...

More than 30 of white dwarfs exhibit atmospheric metals, which are understood to be from recent or ongoing accretion of circumstellar debris. In cool white dwarfs, surface motions should rapidly homogenise photospheric abundances, and the accreted heavy elements should diffuse inward on a timescale much longer than that for surface mixing. The rece...

More than 30% of white dwarfs exhibit atmospheric metals, which are understood to be from recent or ongoing accretion of circumstellar debris. In cool white dwarfs, surface motions should rapidly homogenise photospheric abundances, and the accreted heavy elements should diffuse inward on a timescale much longer than that for surface mixing. The rec...

We present a spectropolarimetric analysis of the hot star V352Peg. We have acquired 18 spectropolarimetric observations of the star with ESPaDOnS at the CFHT between 2018 and 2019 and completed our dataset with one archival ESPaDOnS measurement obtained in 2011. Our analysis of the spectra shows that the star is on the main sequence and chemically...

Numerous magnetic hot stars exhibit gyrosynchrotron radio emission. The source electrons were previously thought to be accelerated to relativistic velocities in the current sheet formed in the middle magnetosphere by the wind opening magnetic field lines. However, a lack of dependence of radio luminosity on the wind power, and a strong dependence o...

Numerous magnetic hot stars exhibit gyrosynchrotron radio emission. The source electrons were previously thought to be accelerated to relativistic velocities in the current sheet formed in the middle magnetosphere by the wind opening magnetic field lines. However, a lack of dependence of radio luminosity on the wind power, and a strong dependence o...

Many stars evolve into magnetic white dwarfs, and observations may help to understand when the magnetic field appears at the stellar surface, if and how it evolves during the cooling phase, and, above all, what are the mechanisms that generate it. After obtaining new spectropolarimetric observations and combining them with previous literature data,...

Many stars evolve into magnetic white dwarfs, and observations may help to understand when the magnetic field appears at the stellar surface, if and how it evolves during the cooling phase, and what are the mechanisms that generate it. After obtaining new spectropolarimetric observations and combining them with previous literature data, we have che...

Despite thousands of spectroscopic detections, only four isolated white dwarfs exhibit Balmer emission lines. The temperature inversion mechanism is a puzzle over 30 years old that has defied conventional explanations. One hypothesis is a unipolar inductor that achieves surface heating via ohmic dissipation of a current loop between a conducting pl...

Despite thousands of spectroscopic detections, only four isolated white dwarfs exhibit Balmer emission lines. The temperature inversion mechanism is a puzzle over 30 years old that has defied conventional explanations. One hypothesis is a unipolar inductor that achieves surface heating via ohmic dissipation of a current loop between a conducting pl...

Rapidly rotating early-type stars with strong magnetic fields frequently show H α emission originating in centrifugal magnetospheres (CMs), circumstellar structures in which centrifugal support due to magnetically enforced corotation of the magnetically confined plasma enables it to accumulate to high densities. It is not currently known whether th...

The sample of white dwarfs included in the local 20 pc volume documents, fairly accurately, the total production of white dwarfs over roughly 10 Gyr of stellar evolution in this part of the Milky Way Galaxy. In this sample, we have been systematically searching for magnetic white dwarfs. Here we report the discovery of six new magnetic white dwarfs...

Rapidly rotating early-type stars with strong magnetic fields frequently show H$\alpha$ emission originating in Centrifugal Magnetospheres (CMs), circumstellar structures in which centrifugal support due to magnetically enforced corotation of the magnetically confined plasma enables it to accumulate to high densities. It is not currently known whet...

How magnetic fields contribute to the differentiation of the rotation rates of the Ap stars and affect the occurrence of non-radial pulsation in some of them are important open questions. Valuable insight can be gained into these questions by studying some of the most extreme examples of the processes at play. The super-slowly rotating rapidly osci...

Non-interacting binary systems containing a magnetic white dwarf and a main-sequence star are considered extremely rare, perhaps non-existent. In the course of a search of magnetic fields in high-mass white dwarfs we have discovered a Sirius-like wide binary system composed of a main-sequence G0 star and an M ∼ 1.1 M⊙ white dwarf with a huge (hundr...

We report the discovery of weak magnetic fields in three white dwarfs within the local 20 pc volume (WD 0816−310, WD 1009−184, and WD 1532+129), and we confirm the magnetic nature of a fourth star (WD 2138−332) in which we had previously detected a field at a 3 σ level. The spectra of all these white dwarfs are characterised by the presence of meta...

We report the discovery of a new magnetic DA white dwarf (WD), WD 0011 − 721, which is located within the very important 20 pc volume-limited sample of the closest WDs to the Sun. This star has a mean field modulus ⟨| B |⟩ of 343 kG, and from the polarisation signal we deduce a line-of-sight field component of 75 kG. The magnetic field is sufficien...

Context . The Ap stars that rotate extremely slowly, with periods of decades to centuries, represent one of the keys to the understanding of the processes leading to the differentiation of stellar rotation. Aims . We characterise the variations of the magnetic field of the Ap star HD 50169 and derive constraints about its structure. Methods. We com...

Context. The Ap stars that rotate extremely slowly, with periods of decades to centuries, represent one of the keys to the understanding of the processes leading to the differentiation of stellar rotation. Aims. We characterise the variations of the magnetic field of the Ap star HD 50169 and derive constraints about its structure. Methods. We combi...

Magnetic fields are present in roughly 10% of white dwarfs. These fields affect the structure and evolution of such stars, and may provide clues about their earlier evolution history. Particularly important for statistical studies is the collection of high-precision spectropolarimetric observations of (1) complete magnitude-limited samples and (2)...

We present high-time-resolution photometry and phase-resolved spectroscopy of the short-period (⁠Porb=80.52min⁠) cataclysmic variable SDSS J123813.73–033933.0, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Kepler/K2 mission, and the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We also report observations of the first detected superoutburst. SDSS J1238–0339 sh...

We present high-time-resolution photometry and phase-resolved spectroscopy of the short-period ($P_\mathrm{orb} = 80.52\,\mathrm{min}$) cataclysmic variable SDSS J123813.73-033933.0, observed with the $\mathit{Hubble}$ $\mathit{Space}$ $\mathit{Telescope}$ $\mathit{(HST)}$, the $\mathit{Kepler/K2}$ mission and the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We als...

Our knowledge of the magnetism in white dwarfs is based on an observational dataset that is biased in favour of stars with very strong magnetic fields. Most of the field measurements available in the literature have a relatively low sensitivity, while current instruments allow us to detect magnetic fields of white dwarfs with sub-kG precision. With...

Our knowledge of the magnetism in white dwarfs is based on an observational dataset that is biased in favour of stars with very strong magnetic fields. Most of the field measurements available in the literature have a relatively low sensitivity, while current instruments allow us to detect magnetic fields of white dwarfs with sub-kG precision. With...

We have measured the magnetic field strengths 〈Bz〉 and 〈|B|〉 of two very weak field magnetic white dwarfs WD2047+372 and WD2359-434, and have used these data to obtain simple magnetic field models.

Magnetic fields are detected in a few percent of white dwarfs. The number of such magnetic white dwarfs known is now some hundreds. Fields range in strength from a few kG to several hundred MG. Almost all the known magnetic white dwarfs have a mean field modulus >= 1 MG. We are trying to fill a major gap in observational knowledge at the low field...

Magnetic fields are detected in a few percent of white dwarfs. The number of such magnetic white dwarfs known is now some hundreds. Fields range in strength from a few kG to several hundred MG. Almost all the known magnetic white dwarfs have a mean field modulus >= 1 MG. We are trying to fill a major gap in observational knowledge at the low field...

The young, rapidly rotating Bp star HR5624 (HD133880) shows an unusually strong non-sinusoidal variability of its longitudinal magnetic field. This behaviour was previously interpreted as the signature of an exceptionally strong, quadrupole-dominated surface magnetic field geometry. We studied the magnetic field structure and chemical abundance dis...

The young, rapidly rotating Bp star HR5624 (HD133880) shows an unusually strong non-sinusoidal variability of its longitudinal magnetic field. This behaviour was previously interpreted as the signature of an exceptionally strong, quadrupole-dominated surface magnetic field geometry. We studied the magnetic field structure and chemical abundance dis...

Until recently almost nothing was known about the evolution of magnetic fields found in upper main sequence Ap/Bp stars during their long main sequence lifetime. We are thus studying magnetic Ap/Bp stars in open clusters in order to obtain observational evidence of how the properties of Ap/Bp magnetic stars, such as field strength and structure, ev...

Until recently almost nothing was known about the evolution of magnetic fields found in upper main sequence Ap/Bp stars during their long main sequence lifetime. We are thus studying magnetic Ap/Bp stars in open clusters in order to obtain observational evidence of how the properties of Ap/Bp magnetic stars, such as field strength and structure, ev...

We investigate the physical properties of the inner gaseous disks of the three, hot, Herbig B2e stars, HD 76534, HD 114981 and HD 216629, by modelling CFHT-ESPaDOns spectra using non-LTE radiative transfer codes. We assume that the emission lines are produced in a circumstellar disk heated solely by the photospheric radiation from the central star...

We investigate the physical properties of the inner gaseous disks of the three, hot, Herbig B2e stars, HD 76534, HD 114981 and HD 216629, by modelling CFHT-ESPaDOns spectra using non-LTE radiative transfer codes. We assume that the emission lines are produced in a circumstellar disk heated solely by the photospheric radiation from the central star...

The atmospheric abundances of elements provide essential insights into the formation and evolution history of stars. The visible wavelength window has been used almost exclusively in the past to determine the abundances of chemical elements in B-type stars. However, some elements do not have useful spectral lines in the visible. A high resolution s...

The atmospheric abundances of elements provide essential insights into the formation and evolution history of stars. The visible wavelength window has been used almost exclusively in the past to determine the abundances of chemical elements in B-type stars. However, some elements do not have useful spectral lines in the visible. A high resolution s...

Over the past two years, we have obtained high resolution high signal/noise (S/N) spectra of the magnetic Be star σ Ori E at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and McDonald Observatory. These spectra, which cover the spectral regions 399-417.5 and 440-458.5 nm and the Hα line and have typical S/N>200 and spectral resolution ≃0.02 nm, were obtained...

Magnetic fields have been detected in several hundred white dwarfs, with strengths ranging from a few kG to several hundred MG. Only a few of the known fields have a mean magnetic field modulus below about 1 MG. We are searching for new examples of magnetic white dwarfs with very weak fields, and trying to model the few known examples. Our search i...

Magnetic fields have been detected in several hundred white dwarfs, with strengths ranging from a few kG to several hundred MG. Only a few of the known fields have a mean magnetic field modulus below about 1 MG. We are searching for new examples of magnetic white dwarfs with very weak fields, and trying to model the few known examples. Our search i...

The study of chemical abundances in stellar atmosphere provides a useful tool to investigate the formation and evolution history of stars. The optical wavelength range has been used almost exclusively in the past to determine the elemental abundance in A-type stars. We use high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ultraviolet spectra obtained from the...

Context. The existence of a significant population of Ap stars with very long rotation periods (up to several hundred years) has progressively emerged over the past two decades. However, only lower limits of the periods are known for most of them because their variations have not yet been observed over a sufficient timebase. Aims. We determine the...

The MiMeS (Magnetism in Massive Stars) project is a large-scale, high-resolution, sensitive spectropolarimetric investigation of the magnetic properties of O- and early B-type stars. Initiated in 2008 and completed in 2013, the project was supported by three Large Program allocations, as well as various programmes initiated by independent principal...

We attempt to constrain the physical properties of the inner, gaseous disk of the Herbig Be star BD+65 1637 using non-LTE, circumstellar disk codes and observed spectra (3700 to 10,500 \r{A}) from the ESPaDOnS instrument on CFHT. The photoionizing radiation of the central star is assumed to be the sole source of input energy for the disk. We model...

The FORS1 instrument on the ESO Very Large Telescope was used to obtain low-resolution circular polarised spectra of nearly a thousand different stars, with the aim of measuring their mean longitudinal magnetic fields. A catalogue of FORS1 magnetic measurements would provide a valuable resource with which to better understand the strengths and limi...

Searches for magnetic fields in white dwarfs have clarified both the frequency of occurrence and the global structure of the fields found down to field strengths of the order of 500 kG. Below this level, the situation is still very unclear. We are studying the weakest fields found in white dwarfs to determine the frequency of such fields and their...

Context. In recent years, significant effort has been made to understand how the magnetic field strengths and atmospheric chemical abundances of Ap/Bp stars evolve during their main sequence lifetime by identifying a large number of Ap/Bp stars with accurately known ages. As a next step, these stars should be studied individually and in detail to o...

Many astronomical sources of radiation emit polarised radiation, for example because of the presence of a disk which produces linear polarisation by scattering some photospheric radiation, or because of the presence of a magnetic field, which leads to circular and sometimes linear polarisation of spectral line profiles. Measuring the wavelength dep...

The stars of the middle main-sequence have relatively quiescent outer layers, and unusual chemical abundance patterns may develop in their atmospheres, revealing the action of such subsurface phenomena as gravitational settling and radiatively driven levitation of trace elements, and their competition with mixing processes such as turbulent diffusi...

Magnetic fields are detected by polarimetry in a large variety of stars across the entire Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram. They deeply influence many evolutionary stages, from the collapse of the protostellar material, to the end of the star’s life as a white dwarf or neutron star. Stellar magnetic fields are detected and studied through the analy...

Stellar spectropolarimetry has become extremely popular during the last decade, and has led to major advances in our understanding of stellar magnetic fields and of their impact on stellar structure and evolution. Many important discoveries have been obtained thanks to observations performed with the FORS low-resolution spectropolarimeters of the E...

Detailed information about the magnetic geometry, atmospheric abundances and radial velocity variations has been obtained for the magnetic standard star HD 94660 based on high-dispersion spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric observations from the UVES, HARPSpol and ESPaDOnS instruments. We perform a detailed chemical abundance analysis using the sp...

The past 20 years have seen remarkable advances in spectropolarimetric instrumentation that have allowed us, for the first time, to identify some magnetic stars in most major stages of stellar evolution. We are beginning to see the broad outline of how such fields change during stellar evolution, to confront theoretical hypotheses and models of mag...

Stellar spectropolarimetry has become an extremely popular technique during the last decade or two, and has led to major advances in the studies of stellar magnetic fields. Many important discoveries have been made thanks to ultra-precise measurements of very small polarimetric signals, which require very stable instruments and special observing st...

We investigate the magnetic field at the surface of 48 red giants selected as promising for detection of Stokes V Zeeman signatures in their spectral lines. We use the spectropolarimeters Narval and ESPaDOnS to detect circular polarization within the photospheric absorption lines of our targets and use the least-squares deconvolution (LSD) method....

CONTEXT. The ESO archive of FORS1 spectropolarimetric observations may be used to create a homogeneous database of magnetic field measurements. However, no systematic comparison of FORS field measurements to those obtained with other instruments has been undertaken so far. AIMS. We exploit the FORS archive of circular spectropolarimetric data to ex...

We have obtained high-quality magnetic field measurements of 19 sharp-lined B-type stars with precisely-measured N/C abundance ratios. Our primary goal is to test the idea that a magnetic field may explain extra drag (through the wind) on the surface rotation, thus producing more internal shear and mixing, and thus could provide an explanation for...

The analysis of Li i 6708 Å line was performed for 6 rotational phases distributed over the whole rotational period (~9.5 years) of HD166473. The magnetic field model was constructed based on the polarimetric measurements from Mathys et al. (2007). For each observed phase the modulus of the magnetic field was also estimated from simulation of the F...

Aims: Our aim is to obtain ages that are as accurate as possible for the seven nearby open clusters alpha Per, Coma Ber, IC 2602, NGC 2232, NGC 2451A, NGC 2516, and NGC 6475, each of which contains at least one magnetic Ap or Bp star. Simultaneously, we test the current calibrations of Te and luminosity for the Ap/Bp star members, and identify clea...

A number of prominent spectral lines in the spectra of magnetic A and B main sequence stars are produced by closely spaced doublets or triplets. Depending on the strength and orientation of magnetic field, the PPB magnetic splitting can result in the Stokes $I$ profiles of a spectral line that differ significantly from those predicted by the theory...

The analysis of Li I 6708A line was performed for 6 rotational phases distributed over the whole rotational period (9.5 years) of HD166473. The magnetic field model was constructed based on the polarimetric measurements from (Mathys et al. 20007). For each observed phase the modulus of the magnetic field was also estimated from simulation of the Fe...

To understand the origin of the magnetic fields in massive stars as well as their impact on stellar internal structure, evolution, and circumstellar environment, within the MiMeS project, we searched for magnetic objects among a large sample of massive stars, and build a sub-sample for in-depth follow-up studies required to test the models and theo...

The stars of the middle main sequence have relatively quiescent outer layers, and unusual chemical abundance patterns may develop in their atmospheres. The presence of chemical peculiarities reveal the action of such subsurface phenomena as gravitational settling and radiatively driven levitation of trace elements, and their competition with mixing...

This paper first surveys how stellar magnetic fields are measured, and especially the impact of the most recent spectropolarimeters on our measurement capabilities. The two main types of stellar magnetism, dynamo and fossil fields, are discussed in a general way. This is followed by a broad survey of the current level of knowledge of magnetic field...

In A- and late B-type stars, strong magnetic fields are always associated with Ap and Bp chemical peculiarities. However, it is not clear at what point in a star's evolution those peculiarities develop. Strong magnetic fields have been observed in pre-main sequence A and B stars (Herbig Ae and Be stars), and these objects have been proposed to be t...

The low-resolution, Cassegrain mounted, FORS spectropolarimeter of the ESO Very Large Telescope is being extensively used for magnetic field surveys. Some of the new discoveries suggest that relatively strong magnetic fields may play an important role in numerous physical phenomena observed in the atmospheres as well as in the circumstellar environ...

HD 147010 is a hot (Teff = 13 000 K), large-field magnetic Ap star that is a member of the Upper Scorpius-Centaurus Association, which means it is a star with a well-defined age (log t = 6.70). We offer a comprehensive analysis of the magnetic field and surface chemistry of HD 147010 based on seven spectra obtained using CFHT's ESPaDOnS spectropola...

It is becoming clear that determination of the abundance of Si using lines of Si II and Si III can lead to quite discordant results in mid to late B-type stars. The difference between the Si abundances derived from the two ion states can exceed one dex in some cases. We have carried out a study intended to clarify which kinds of B stars exhibit thi...

In the context of the ESPaDOnS and Narval spectropolarimetric surveys of Herbig Ae/Be stars, we discovered and then monitored the magnetic field of HD 190073 over more than four years, from 2004 to 2009. Our observations all displayed similar Zeeman signatures in the Stokes V spectra, indicating that HD 190073 hosted an aligned dipole, stable over...

The magnetic peculiar A-type stars (mAp) are characterized by their strong, global magnetic fields (of the order of 1 kG or more) and enhanced abundances of Fe-peak and Rare-Earth elements. Recently, Landstreet et al. (2007, 2008) obtained a significant representation of cluster mAp stars in low to high mass bins and were able to demonstrate that m...

This is the first in a series of papers in which we describe and report the analysis of a large survey of Herbig Ae/Be stars in circular spectropolarimetry. Using the ESPaDOnS and Narval high-resolution spectropolarimeters at the Canada-France-Hawaii and Bernard Lyot Telescopes, respectively, we have acquired 132 circularly-polarised spectra of 70...

We report the analysis of the rotational properties of our sample of Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) and related stars for which we have obtained high-resolution spectropolarimetric observations. Using the projected rotational velocities measured at the surface of the stars, we have calculated the angular momentum of the sample and plotted it as a function of...

One hundred and twenty-five new high-precision spectropolarimetric observations have been obtained with ESPaDOnS (Eschelle Spectro-Polarimetric Device for the Observation of Stars) at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and Narval at Télescope Bernard Lyot to investigate the magnetic properties of the classical Be star ω Ori. No Stokes V signatures...

A number of prominent spectral lines in the spectra of magnetic A and B main sequence stars are produced by closely spaced doublets or triplets. Depending on the strength and orientation of magnetic field, the PPB magnetic splitting can result in the Stokes I profiles of a spectral line that differ significantly from those predicted by the theory o...

We have carried out a re-analysis of polarimetric data of central stars of planetary nebulae, hot subdwarfs, and white dwarfs taken with FORS1 (FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph) on the VLT (Very Large Telescope), and added a large number of new observations in order to increase the sample. A careful analysis of the observations using o...

Context. Oblique magnetic dipole fields have been detected in Bp stars for several decades, and more recently also in normal massive stars. In the past decade, it has been established that stellar magnetospheres form through the channelling and confinement of an outflowing stellar wind by the stellar magnetic field. This explains specific propertie...

Magnetic early B-type stars are rare. To identify them, we use the strongest indirect indicator of a magnetic field in B stars, which is periodic variability of UV stellar wind lines occurring symmetric about the approximate rest wavelength. Probable magnetic candidates are targets for follow-up spectropolarimetry to search for a magnetic field. Fr...

Context: About 10% of white dwarfs have magnetic fields with strength in the range between about 10^5 and 3x10^8 G. It is not known whether the remaining white dwarfs are not magnetic, or if they have a magnetic field too weak to be detected with the techniques adopted in the large surveys. Aims. We describe the results of the first survey specific...

New spectra for the magnetically peculiar A-type star (Ap) HD 318107, obtained from the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter, supplemented with unpolarised spectra from the ESO UVES, UVES-FLAMES, and HARPS spectrographs, have allowed us to re-analyse the first-order model of the magnetic field geometry. The magnetic field structure was modelled with a low-o...

Detection of magnetic fields has been reported in several sdO and sdB stars. Recent literature has cast doubts on the reliability of most of these detections. We revisit data previously published in the literature, and we present new observations to clarify the question of how common magnetic fields are in subdwarf stars. We consider a sample of ab...

HD 133880 is a rapidly rotating chemically peculiar B-type (Bp) star (v sin i≃ 103 km s−1) and is host to one of the strongest magnetic fields of any Ap/Bp star. A member of the Upper Centaurus Lupus association, it is a star with a well-determined age of 16 Myr. 12 new spectra, four of which are polarimetric, obtained from the FEROS, ESPaDOnS and...

Recent spectropolarimetric studies of 7 SPB and $\beta$ Cep stars have suggested that photospheric magnetic fields are more common in B-type pulsators than in the general population of B stars, suggesting a significant connection between magnetic and pulsational phenomena. We present an analysis of new and previously published spectropolarimetric o...

The photospheres of about 10-20% of main sequence A- and B-type stars exhibit a wide range of chemical peculiarities, often associated with the presence of a magnetic field. It is not exactly known at which stage of stellar evolution these chemical peculiarities develop. To investigate this issue, in this paper we study the photospheric composition...

During the last decade, the FORS1 instrument of the ESO VLT has been extensively used to study stellar magnetism. A number of interesting discoveries of magnetic fields in several classes of stars have been announced, many of which obtained at a ~3 sigma level; some of the discoveries are confirmed by measurements obtained with other instruments, s...

In non-degenerate stars, magnetic fields are detected and measured through the Zeeman effect in stellar spectral lines, mainly using the polarization properties of Zeeman splitting. Such data may now be modelled amazingly accurately. In white dwarf stars, fields may be measured using spectral line methods up to ˜ 10 MG (˜ 1 kT). Above this level on...

New spectra have been obtained with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter supplemented with unpolarised spectra from the ESO UVES, UVES-FLAMES, and HARPS spectrographs of the very peculiar large-field magnetic Ap star HD 318107, a member of the open cluster NGC 6405. The available data provide sufficient material with which to re-analyse the first-order...

Recently announced magnetic models for four SPB and {\beta} Cep stars, along with magnetic detections for two additional stars, have potentially doubled the number of known magnetic SPB and \beta Cep stars (see Grunhut et al., these proceedings). We have reanalyzed the published data and re-reduced archival low resolution spectropolarimetry collect...

During the last decade, the FORS1 instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope has been used to obtain low resolution circular polarized spectra for about 500 stars, with the aim of measuring their mean longitudinal magnetic fields. Magnetic field estimates were obtained by different authors, using different software tools. Several interesting detect...

In our search for new magnetic massive stars we use the strongest indirect indicator of a magnetic field in B stars, which is periodic variability of UV stellar wind lines occurring in a velocity range symmetric around zero. Our aim is to obtain follow-up spectropolarimetry to search for a magnetic field in magnetic candidate stars. We quantify UV...

Context. The abundances of elements in the atmosphere of an individual star provide a very broad range of extremely important information about the formation and evolution history of that star. Specifically, during the main sequence phase, the abundance pattern observed can provide valuable constraints on a range of hydrodynamical processes occurri...

This paper discusses the results of our survey of magnetic fields among Ap stars that are members of open clusters. Such stars are unlike field Ap stars in that they have relatively well-determined ages, both absolutely (in years) and as a fraction of the main sequence lifetime elapsed. By measuring the fields of such stars once or a few times per...

Within the context of a large project aimed at studying early F-, A- and late B-type stars, we present the abundance analysis of the photospheres of 21 members of the open cluster NGC 5460, an intermediate-age cluster (log t∼ 8.2) previously not studied with spectroscopy. Our study is based on medium- and high-resolution spectra obtained with the F...

The members of the Commission 36 Organizing Committee attending the IAU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro met for a business session on August 7. Both members from the previous (2006–2009) and the new (2009–2012) Organizing Committee partook in the discussions. Past president John Landstreet described the work he had done over the past three years...

We investigate the magnetic dichotomy between Ap/Bp and other A-type stars by carrying out a deep spectropolarimetric study of Am and HgMn stars. Using the NARVAL spectropolarimeter at the Telescope Bernard Lyot (Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France), we obtained high-resolution circular polarisation spectroscopy of 12 Am stars and 3 HgMn stars. Usi...

IAU Division IV organizes astronomers studying the characteristics, interior and atmospheric structure, and evolution of stars of all masses, ages, and chemical compositions.

Commission 36 covers the whole field of the physics of stellar atmospheres. The scientific activity in this large subject has been very intense during the last triennium and led to the publication of a large number of papers, which makes a complete report quite impractical. We have therefore decided to keep the format of the preceding report: first...

The blue straggler phenomenon is not yet well explained by current theory; however, evolutionary models of star clusters call for a good knowledge of it. Here we try to understand the possible formation scenario of HD 73666, a blue straggler member of the Praesepe cluster. We compile the known physical properties of HD 73666 found in the literature...

We review the interaction in intermediate and high mass stars between their evolution and magnetic and chemical properties. We describe the theory of Ap-star ‘fossil’ fields, before touching on the expected secular diffusive processes which give rise to evolution of the field. We then present recent results from a spectropolarimetric survey of Herb...