Bibcode
Mathur, S.; García, R. A.; Ballot, J.; Ceillier, T.; Salabert, D.; Metcalfe, T. S.; Régulo, C.; Jiménez, A.; Bloemen, S.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 562, id.A124, 24 pp.
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2
2014
Journal
Citations
142
Refereed citations
122
Description
Context. The study of stellar activity is important because it can
provide new constraints for dynamo models when combined with surface
rotation rates and the depth of the convection zone. We know that the
dynamo mechanism, which is believed to be the main process that rules
the magnetic cycle of solar-like stars, results from the interaction
between (differential) rotation, convection, and magnetic field. The
Kepler mission has already been collecting data for a large number of
stars during four years allowing us to investigate magnetic stellar
cycles. Aims: We investigated the Kepler light curves to look for
magnetic activity or even hints of magnetic activity cycles. Based on
the photometric data we also looked for new magnetic indexes to
characterise the magnetic activity of the stars. Methods: We
selected a sample of 22 solar-like F stars that have a rotation period
shorter than 12 days. We performed a time-frequency analysis using the
Morlet wavelet yielding a magnetic proxy for our sample of stars. We
computed the magnetic index Sph as the standard deviation of
the whole time series and the index ⟨ Sph ⟩, which
is the mean of standard deviations measured in subseries of length five
times the rotation period of the star. We defined new indicators, such
as the contrast between high and low activity, to take into account the
fact that complete magnetic cycles are not observed for all the stars.
We also inferred the Rossby number of the stars and studied their
stellar background. Results: This analysis shows different types
of behaviour in the 22 F stars. Two stars show behaviour very similar to
magnetic activity cycles. Five stars show long-lived spots or active
regions suggesting the existence of active longitudes. Two stars in our
sample seem to have a decreasing or increasing trend in the temporal
variation of the magnetic proxies. Finally, the last group of stars
shows magnetic activity (with the presence of spots) but no sign of
cycle.
Appendix A is available in electronic fom at http://www.aanda.org
Related projects
Helio and Astero-Seismology and Exoplanets Search
The principal objectives of this project are: 1) to study the structure and dynamics of the solar interior, 2) to extend this study to other stars, 3) to search for extrasolar planets using photometric methods (primarily by transits of their host stars) and their characterization (using radial velocity information) and 4) the study of the planetary
Savita
Mathur