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Paper: Circular Polarization of the Wolf-Rayet Star EZ CMa
Volume: 465, Four Decades of Massive Star Research - A Scientific Meeting in Honor of Anthony J. Moffat
Page: 92
Authors: de la Chevrotière, A.; St-Louis, N.; Moffat, A. F. J.
Abstract: We report on the first direct search for a magnetic field via Zeeman splitting in a Wolf-Rayet star. We observed at four different rotation phases one of the best WR candidates, expected to harbor a magnetic field, the bright, variable WN4 star EZ CMa = WR 6 = HD 50896. As a consequence of a global, rotating magnetic field, a characteristic circular polarization (Stokes parameter V) pattern in strong emission lines should arise. In order to increase the S/N, we binned the data and looked for such diagnostic. Based on the work of Gayley & Ignace (2010), we investigate the split-monopole scenario as a possible magnetic configuration and obtain an upper limit of ∼ 300 G in the formation region of the strongest emission line, He II λ4686.
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