Magnetism of hot stars

Abstract

Strong, stable, and organised magnetic fields are present at the surfaces of a small fraction of OBA stars. These "fossil fields" exhibit uniform characteristics in stars over a tremendous range of stellar mass, age, temperature, and rotation rate. In hot O- and B-type stars, these magnetic fields couple efficiently to the stellar radiatively driven winds, strongly influencing stellar mass loss and rotation. In this article we review the characteristics of the known magnetic hot stars, discuss recent discoveries and insights, and describe recent theoretical progress toward understanding basic field properties and the influence of magnetic fields on hot star evolution.