Understanding the Radio Emission from the $\beta$ Cep star V2187 Cyg

Abstract

We analyze the radio emission from the $\beta$ Cep star V2187 Cyg using archive data from the Jansky Very Large Array. The observations were made in ten epochs at 1.39 and 4.96 GHz in the highest angular resolution A configuration. We determine a spectral index of of $\alpha = 0.6\pm0.2$ ($S_{\nu} \propto \nu^\alpha$), consistent with an ionized wind or a partially optically-thick synchrotron or gyrosynchrotron source. The emission is spatially unresolved at both frequencies. The 4.96 GHz data shows a radio pulse with a duration of about one month that can be modeled in terms of an internal shock in the stellar wind produced by a sudden increase in the mass-loss rate and the terminal velocity. The quiescent radio emission of V2187 Cyg at 4.96 GHz (with a flux density of $\simeq 150~\mu Jy$), cannot be explained in terms of an internally (by V2187 Cyg) or externally (by a nearby O star) photoionized wind. We conclude that, despite the spectral index suggestive of free-free emission from an ionized wind, the radio emission of V2187 Cyg most likely has a magnetic origin, a possibility that can be tested with a sensitive search for circular polarization in the radio, as expected from gyro-synchrotron radiation, and also by trying to measure the stellar magnetic field, that is expected to be in the range of several kGauss.