Dynamical Magnetic Fields of Antialigned Nonspinning Dipoles

Abstract

This movie shows the dynamical behavior of field lines seeded on one of the stars. We find a clear cyclical process operating in the magnetosphere. First, field lines from one star can attach to the second star. Second, as the orbit progresses these field lines develop twist and are expelled outward past the second star as closed loops. Third, these loops open up to infinity and then reconnect on the far side of the first star opposite to the second. Fourth, the orbital motion will bring the second star back into contact with the closed loops, and they reattach to the second star.