Spectropolarimetric multi line analysis of stellar magnetic fields

¹ Instituto de Astronomia – Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 04510 Coyoacan, DF, Mexico e-mail: jramirez@astroscu.unam.mx
² LESIA, Observatoire de Paris Meudon, 92195 Meudon, France e-mail: [Julio.Ramirez;Meir.Semel]@obspm.fr
³ Institute for Astronomy, Univ. of Vienna, Türkenschanzstrazze 17, 1180 Wien, Austria e-mail: stift@astro.univie.ac.at
⁴ LERMA, Observatoire de Paris Meudon, 92195 Meudon, France e-mail: Marian.Martinez@obspm.fr
⁵ Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, via lactea s/n, 38205 Tenerfie, Spain e-mail: marian@iac.es
⁶ Laboratoire d'Astrophysique Toulouse-Tarbes, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, France e-mail: petit@ast.obs-mip.fr
⁷ School of Physics and Astronomy, U. of St Andrews, KY169SS, UK e-mail: njd2@st-andrews.ac.uk

Received: 30 June 2008
Accepted: 20 December 2009

Abstract

Aims. In this paper we study the feasibility of inferring the magnetic field from polarized multi line spectra using two methods: The pseudo line approach and The PCA-ZDI approach.

Methods. We use multi line techniques, meaning that all the lines of a stellar spectrum contribute to obtain a polarization signature. The use of multiple lines dramatically increases the signal-to-noise-ratio of these polarizations signatures. Using one technique, the pseudo line approach, we construct the pseudo line as the mean profile of all the individual lines. The other technique, the PCA-ZDI approach proposed recently by Semel et al. (2006, ASPC, 358, 355) for the detection of polarized signals, combines principle components analysis (PCA) and the Zeeman Doppler imaging technique (ZDI). This new method has a main advantage: the polarized signature is extracted using cross correlations between the stellar spectra and functions containing the polarization properties of each line. is extracted using cross correlations between the stellar spectra and functions containing the polarization properties of each line." These functions are the principal components of a database of synthetic spectra. The synthesis of the spectra of the database are obtained using the radiative transfer equations in LTE. The profiles built with the PCA-ZDI technique are called multi Zeeman signatures.

Results. The construction of the pseudo line as well as the multi Zeeman signatures is a powerful tool in the study of stellar and solar magnetic fields. The information of the physical parameters that governs the line formation is contained in the final polarized profiles. We have shown in particular using inversion codes that the magnetic field vector can be properly inferred with both approaches despite the magnetic field regime.