Surface magnetic fields on two accreting T Tauri stars: CV Cha and CR Cha

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Abstract

We have produced brightness and magnetic field maps of the surfaces of CV Cha and CR Cha: two actively accreting G- and K-type T Tauri stars in the Chamaeleon I star-forming cloud with ages of 3-5 Myr. Our magnetic field maps show evidence for strong, complex multipolar fields similar to those obtained for young rapidly rotating main-sequence stars. Brightness maps indicate the presence of dark polar caps and low-latitude spots - these brightness maps are very similar to those obtained for other pre-main-sequence and rapidly rotating main-sequence stars. Only two other classical T Tauri stars have been studied using similar techniques so far: V2129 Oph and BP Tau. CV Cha and CR Cha show magnetic field patterns that are significantly more complex than those recovered for BP Tau, a fully convective T Tauri star. We discuss possible reasons for this difference and suggest that the complexity of the stellar magnetic field is related to the convection zone; with more complex fields being found in T Tauri stars with radiative cores (V2129 Oph, CV Cha and CR Cha). However, it is clearly necessary to conduct magnetic field studies of T Tauri star systems, exploring a wide range of stellar parameters in order to establish how they affect magnetic field generation, and thus how these magnetic fields are likely to affect the evolution of T Tauri star systems as they approach the main sequence. © 2009 RAS.

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Hussain, G. A. J., Collier Cameron, A., Jardine, M. M., Dunstone, N., Velez, J. R., Stempels, H. C., … Lawson, W. A. (2009). Surface magnetic fields on two accreting T Tauri stars: CV Cha and CR Cha. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 398(1), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.14881.x

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