Magnetodynamical processes in interacting magnetospheres of RS CVn binaries
Uchida, Y. and T. Sakurai, Magnetodynamical processes in interacting magnetospheres of RS CVn binaries, 107, 281-285 (1985) (ADS)
(click on the image for a larger version)
This cartoon shows two stars in a close binary system, viewed
pole-on, which share magnetic field lines from their magnetospheres.
This is a model
"RS CVn" [1] system; the name includes a contraction of
the Latin genitive plural of "Venetian Dogs," the spelling-out of
which is beyond the average astronomer.
Hence RS CVn, pronounced "RS can ven".
This insult must have been coined by one of the Doge's rivals.
It is going very far afield to show a cartoon from an RS CVn binary
star system in a collection of solar flare cartoons.
However the Archivist has always felt that this illustrated an important point:
clearly the magnetic reconnection implied by this cartoon can have
a substantial real-time driver.
In this case the inexorable orbital motions of the stars to which the
fields are rooted will serve.
There are also stellar flare models involving
accretion disks
or planets, again
another good place to imagine the anchoring the magnetic field.
On the other
hand, RS CVn flares do not occur regularly in orbital phase, so
there must be some "stick and slip" energy buildup in these systems
too.
In that sense it would be as we imagine solar flares to work,
since a direct driver is thought not to be available.
This cartoon shows two stars in a close binary system, viewed pole-on, which share magnetic field lines from their magnetospheres. This is a model "RS CVn" [1] system; the name includes a contraction of the Latin genitive plural of "Venetian Dogs," the spelling-out of which is beyond the average astronomer. Hence RS CVn, pronounced "RS can ven". This insult must have been coined by one of the Doge's rivals.
It is going very far afield to show a cartoon from an RS CVn binary star system in a collection of solar flare cartoons. However the Archivist has always felt that this illustrated an important point: clearly the magnetic reconnection implied by this cartoon can have a substantial real-time driver. In this case the inexorable orbital motions of the stars to which the fields are rooted will serve. There are also stellar flare models involving accretion disks or planets, again another good place to imagine the anchoring the magnetic field. On the other hand, RS CVn flares do not occur regularly in orbital phase, so there must be some "stick and slip" energy buildup in these systems too. In that sense it would be as we imagine solar flares to work, since a direct driver is thought not to be available.
[1] RS CVn