A survey of nine beta Cephei stars for magnetic fields

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Abstract
Nine β Cephei variables have been observed for the presence of magnetic fields by measuring the circular polarization in the wings of the Balmer lines. Of the 80 nightly measurements on the nine stars, only one, on β Cep itself, exceeded the 3σ level of significance. (The 1σ levels were generally between 500 and 1000 G, though a fourth of the measurements had errors less than 500 G.) However, a χ2 analysis indicated the likely presence of fields in β Cep and γ Peg. A general χ2 analysis of all 80 measurements suggests the possible existence of fields in the class of stars as a whole. The typical fields might be as large as 1 kG and would almost surely be variable. Among the specific instances of possible real fields, we could identify no periodicities.

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