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SAC Seminar - May Pedersen: Flares in A type stars?

Info about event

Time

Wednesday 7 May 2014,  at 15:15 - 16:00

Location

1520-516

Flares are the result of the reconnection of magnetic field lines in stellar atmospheres, which result in a sudden release of energy which we observe as flares. For a magnetic field to rise through the stellar interior and into the atmosphere a dynamo is needed, which in return requires the presence of a convective envelope. The convective envelopes found in A type stars are believed to be too shallow to support this rise of magnetic field lines, and therefore they should not show flares.  However, Balona (2012, 2013) discovered flare-like events in  32 Kepler A type stars. In my bachelor thesis I reinvestigated the light curves of 16 of these A type stars in an attempt to determine whether or not they are indeed flaring.