Probing the magnetospheres of hot magnetic stars using ECME

TL;DR

This paper reviews how Electron Cyclotron Maser Emission (ECME) observed in hot magnetic stars reveals details about stellar magnetospheres and discusses recent observations and potential future applications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of ECME observations in hot magnetic stars and explores how this emission can be used to probe stellar magnetospheres.

Findings

ECME observed in four hot magnetic stars using GMRT

ECME pulses are highly circularly polarized

ECME properties depend on magnetospheric plasma

Abstract

We discuss Electron Cyclotron Maser Emission (ECME), observed in the form of highly circularly polarized pulses, from a few hot magnetic stars. This emission is one of the manifestations of stellar wind-magnetic field interaction. With the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), we have observed ECME from four magnetic B/A type stars. Currently, we are trying to understand certain properties of the ECME pulses and their dependences on the magnetospheric plasma. Here we briefly review all those works which have used ECME observed from hot magnetic stars to infer some physical properties of the host stars. We finally discuss how this phenomenon can further be exploited to probe the stellar magnetosphere.