Multiple, short-lived “stellar prominences” on O stars: the supergiant λ Cephei

Abstract

Many OB stars show unexplained cyclical variability in their winds and in many optical lines, which are formed at the base of the wind. For these stars no dipolar magnetic fields have been detected. We propose that these cyclical variations are caused by the presence of multiple, transient, short-lived, corotating magnetic loops, which we call “stellar prominences”. We present a simplified model representing these prominences as corotating spherical blobs and fit the rapid variability in the Heii λ4686 line of the O supergiant λ Cep for time-resolved spectra obtained in 1989. Our conclusions are: (1) From model fits we find that the life time of the prominences varies, and is between 2–7 h. (2) The adopted inclination angle is 68° with a rotation period of ≈ 4.1 d (but not well constrained). (3) The contribution of non-radial pulsations is negligible (4) Similar behavior is observed in at least 4 other O stars. We propose that prominences are a common phenomenon among O stars.