The Effects of Magnetic Fields on Line-Driven Hot-Star Winds

This talk summarizes results from recent MHD simulations of the role of a dipole magnetic field in inducing large-scale structure in the line-driven stellar winds of hot, luminous stars. Unlike previous fixed-field analyses, the MHD simulations here take full account of the dynamical competition between the field and the flow. A key result is that the overall degree to which the wind is influenced by the field depends largely on a single, dimensionless ‘wind magnetic confinement parameter’, η∗(= B 2 eqR 2 ∗/Ṁv∞), which characterizes the ratio between magnetic field energy density and kinetic energy density of the wind. For weak confinement, η∗ ≤ 1, the field is fully opened by wind outflow, but nonetheless, for confinement as small as η∗ = 1/10 it can have significant back-influence in enhancing the density and reducing the flow speed near the magnetic equator. For stronger confinement, η∗ > 1, the magnetic field remains closed over limited range of latitude and height above the equatorial surface, but eventually is opened into nearly radial configuration at large radii. Within the closed loops, the flow is channeled toward loop tops into shock collisions that are strong enough to produce hard X-rays. Within the open field region, the equatorial channeling leads to oblique shocks that are again strong enough to produce X-rays and also lead to a thin, dense, slowly outflowing “disk” at the magnetic equator.