On the stability of a general magnetic field topology in stellar radiative zones

Abstract

This paper provides a brief overview of the formation of stellar fossil magnetic fields and what potential instabilities may occur given certain configurations of the magnetic field. One such instability is the purely magnetic Tayler instability, which can occur for poloidal, toroidal, and mixed poloidal-toroidal axisymmetric magnetic field configurations. However, most of the magnetic field configurations observed at the surface of massive stars are non-axisymmetric. Thus, extending earlier studies in spherical geometry, we introduce a formulation for the global change in the potential energy contained in a convectively-stable region for both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric magnetic fields.