Towards a 3D dynamo model of the PMS star BP Tau

Nicolas Bessolaz (1) , A.S. Brun (1)

1 AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112) - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation

Studying how convective and magnetic properties of pre-main sequence stars change during their evolution towards the zero-age main sequence is a growing area of research triggered by the development of efficient spectropolarimeters. 3D simulations can help to identify the key parameters to understand the diversity (strength, topology) of magnetic fields observed. We present results of a dynamo computation done with the ASH code for a 0.7 M$\odot$ pre-main sequence star with a 7.6 day rotation period which is nearly fully convective, using a realistic stratification contrast to resolve 90 % of the convective zone. This star corresponds to the target star BP Tau already observed with spectropolarimetry (Donati et al. 2008). We particularly compare the magnetic field properties found in our simulation with the observational constraints.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

Nicolas Bessolaz, A.S. Brun. Towards a 3D dynamo model of the PMS star BP Tau. Astronomical Notes / Astronomische Nachrichten, 2011, 332 (9-10), pp.1045-1051. ⟨10.1002/asna.201111612⟩. ⟨cea-00828173⟩