# Polarization due to rotational distortion in the bright star Regulus

@article{Cotton2017PolarizationDT,
title={Polarization due to rotational distortion in the bright star Regulus},
author={Daniel V. Cotton and Jeremy Bailey and Ian D. Howarth and Kimberly Bott and Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer and Philip W. Lucas and James Hough},
journal={Nature Astronomy},
year={2017},
volume={1},
pages={690-696}
}
• Published 18 September 2017
• Physics
• Nature Astronomy
Polarization in stars was first predicted by Chandrasekhar1, who calculated a substantial linear polarization at the stellar limb for a pure electron-scattering atmosphere. This polarization will average to zero when integrated over a spherical star but could be detected if the symmetry was broken, for example, by the eclipse of a binary companion. Nearly 50 years ago, Harrington and Collins2 modelled another way of breaking the symmetry and producing net polarization—the distortion of a…
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