A small fraction of intermediate-mass main sequence (A and B type) stars have strong, organised magnetic fields. The large majority of such stars, however, show no evidence for magnetic fields, even when observed with very high precision. In this paper we describe a simple model, motivated by qualitatively new observational results, that provides a natural physical explanation for the small fraction of observed magnetic stars.

Aims. We investigated a sample of 28 well-known spectroscopically-identified magnetic Ap/Bp stars, with weak, poorly-determined or previously undetected magnetic fields. The aim of this study is to explore the weak part of the magnetic field distribution of Ap/Bp stars. Methods. Using the MuSiCoS and NARVAL spectropolarimeters at Telescope Bernard Lyot (Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France) and the cross-correlation technique Least Squares Deconvolution (LSD), we obtained 282 LSD Stokes V signatures of our 28 sample stars, in order to detect the magnetic field and to infer its longitudinal component with high precision (median σ = 40 G). Results. For the 28 studied stars, we obtained 27 detections of StokesV Zeeman signatures from the MuSiCoS observations. Detection of the Stokes V signature of the 28th star (HD 32650) was obtained during science demonstration time of the new NARVAL spectropolarimeter at Pic du Midi. This result clearly shows that when observed with sufficient precision, all firmly classified Ap/Bp stars show detectable surface magnetic fields. Furthermore, all detected magnetic fields correspond to longitudinal fields which are significantly greater than some tens of G. To better characterise the surface magnetic field intensities and geometries of the sample, we phased the longitudinal field measurements of each star using new and previously-published rotational periods, and modeled them to infer the dipolar field intensity (Bd, measured at the magnetic pole) and the magnetic obliquity (β). The distribution of derived dipole strengths for these stars exhibits a plateau at about 1 kG, falling off to larger and smaller field strengths. Remarkably, in this sample of stars selected for their presumably weak magnetic fields, we find only 2 stars for which the derived dipole strength is weaker than 300 G. We interpret this “magnetic threshold” as a critical value necessary for the stability of large-scale magnetic fields, and develop a simple quantitative model that is able to approximately reproduce the observed threshold characteristics. This scenario leads to a natural explanation of the small fraction of intermediate-mass magnetic stars. It may also explain the near-absence of magnetic fields in more massive B and O-type stars.

Context: .The chemically peculiar HgMn stars are a class of Bp stars which have historically been found to be both non-magnetic and non-variable. Remarkably, it has recently been demonstrated that the bright, well-studied HgMn star ? And exhibits clear Hg ii line profile variations indicative of a non-uniform surface distribution of this element. Aims: .With this work, we have conducted an extensive search for magnetic fields in the photosphere of ? And. Methods: .We have acquired new circular polarisation spectra with the MuSiCoS and ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeters. We have also obtained FORS1 circular polarisation spectra from the ESO Archive, and considered all previously published magnetic data. This extensive dataset has been used to systematically test for the presence of magnetic fields in the photosphere of ? And. We have also examined the high-resolution spectra for line profile variability. Results: .The polarimetric and magnetic data provide no convincing evidence for photospheric magnetic fields. The highest-S/N phase- and velocity-resolved Stokes V profiles, obtained with ESPaDOnS, allow us to place a 3? upper limit of about 100 G on the possible presence of any undetected pure dipolar, quadrupolar or octupolar surface magnetic fields (and just 50 G for fields with significant obliquity). We also consider and dismiss the possible existence of more complex fossil and dynamo-generated fields, and discuss the implications of these results for explaining the non-uniform surface distribution of Hg. The very high-quality ESPaDOnS spectra have allowed us to confidently detect variability of Hg ii ? 6149, ? 5425 and ? 5677. The profile variability of the Hg ii lines is strong, and similar to that of the Hg ii ? 3984 line. On the other hand, variability of other lines (e.g. Mn, Fe) is much weaker, and appears to be attributable to orbital modulation, continuum normalisation differences and weak, variable fringing.

The effect of stable stratification on the vertical transport of passive contaminants in forced, stationary, two-dimensional (2D) and inhomogeneous shear turbulence is investigated numerically. The mean flow consists of several superimposed parallel sheared layers in a stably stratified medium. We find that, as stratification increases, the vertical transport decreases much faster than predicted by mixing length estimates. For the highest stratification, particles vertical dispersion nearly vanishes. The proposed interpretation emphasizes the role of weakly sheared layers where the relative increase of the mean horizontal velocity with respect to the root-mean-square (rms) vertical velocity causes the decrease of the Lagrangian correlation timescale.

This article describes the first results of a systematic spectropolarimetric survey of the coolest magnetic Ap stars, undertaken with the MuSiCoS spectro-polarimeter, with the aim of clarifying the magnetic field and atmospheric characteristics of these enigmatic objects.

We investigate the magnetic geometry of the active G8 dwarf xi Bootis A, from spectropolarimetric observations obtained in 2003 with the MuSiCoS echelle spectropolarimeter at the Telescope Bernard Lyot (Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France). We repeatedly detect a photospheric magnetic field, with periodic variations consistent with rotational modulation. Circularly polarized (Stokes V) line profiles present a systematic asymmetry, showing up as an excess in amplitude and area of the blue lobe of the profiles. A direct modeling of Stokes V profiles suggests that the global magnetic field is composed of two main components, with an inclined dipole and a large-scale toroidal field. We derive a dipole intensity of about 40 G, with an inclination of 35 degrees of the dipole with respect to the rotation axis. The toroidal field strength is of order of 120 G. A noticeable evolution of the field geometry is observed over the 40 nights of our observing window and results in an increase of the field strength and of the dipole inclination. This study is the first step of a long-term monitoring of xi Bootis A and other active solar-type stars, with the aim to investigate secular fluctuations of stellar magnetic geometries induced by activity cycles.

Forty-five new measurements of the mean longitudinal magnetic fields and mean equivalent widths of 4 roAp stars have obtained using the MuSiCoS spectropolarimeter at Pic du Midi observatory. These new high-precision data have been combined with archival measurements in order to constrain the rotational periods of HD 12098, HD 24712 = HR 1217, HD 122970 and HD 176232 = 10 Aql. We report a revised rotational period for HD 24712 (P-rot = 12.45877 +/- 0.00016 d, crucial for interpretation of upcoming MOST observations of this star), new rotational periods for HD 12098 and HD 122970 (P-rot = 5.460 +/- 0.001 d and P-rot = 3.877 +/- 0.001 d, respectively) and evidence for an extremely long period for HD 176232.

Abundances anomalies and helioseismology provide constraints on the turbulent transport of chemical species in stellar radiative zone. We use these constraints to derive upper bounds oil the velocity and lengthscale of the vertical turbulent motions. We also present numerical simulations showing that a strong anisotropy between horizontal and vertical motions could help understand the observed transport.

We present spectropolarimetric observations of the FK Com star HD 199178 obtained between 1998 December and 2003 August at the Telescope Bernard Lyot (Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France). We report the detection of a photospheric magnetic field and reconstruct its distribution by means of Zeeman-Doppler imaging. We observe large regions where the magnetic field is mainly azimuthal, suggesting that the dynamo processes generating the magnetic activity of HD 199178 may be active very close to the stellar surface. We investigate the rapid evolution of surface brightness and magnetic structures from a continuous monitoring of the star over several weeks in 2002 and 2003. We report that significant changes occur in the distribution of cool-spots and magnetic regions on typical time-scales of the order of two weeks. Our spectropolarimetric observations also suggest that the surface of HD 199178 is sheared by differential rotation, with a difference in rotation rate between equatorial and polar regions of the order of 1.5 times that of the Sun.

High-S/N, phase-distributed circular polarisation spectra of the variable HgMn star α And provide no evidence of any photospheric magnetic field, with an upper limit for oblique dipolar fields of 280 G (approximately the equipartition field at log τ5000 = 0.0). We therefore propose that the variability of the Hg λ3984 line and the inferred nonuniform distribution of Hg (reported by Adelman et al. 2002) most plausibly result from a separation mechanism unrelated to the presence of a magnetic field.