22,115 research outputs found
Temporal fluctuations in the differential rotation of cool active stars
This paper reports positive detections of surface differential rotation on
two rapidly rotating cool stars at several epochs, by using stellar surface
features (both cool spots and magnetic regions) as tracers of the large scale
latitudinal shear that distorts the convective envelope in this type of stars.
We also report definite evidence that this differential rotation is different
when estimated from cool spots or magnetic regions, and that it undergoes
temporal fluctuations of potentially large amplitude on a time scale of a few
years. We consider these results as further evidence that the dynamo processes
operating in these stars are distributed throughout the convective zone rather
than being confined at its base as in the Sun. By comparing our observations
with two very simple models of the differential rotation within the convective
zone, we obtain evidence that the internal rotation velocity field of the stars
we investigated is not like that of the Sun, and may resemble that we expect
for rapid rotators. We speculate that the changes in differential rotation
result from the dynamo processes (and from the underlying magnetic cycle) that
periodically converts magnetic energy into kinetic energy and vice versa. We
emphasise that the technique outlined in this paper corresponds to the first
practical method for investigating the large scale rotation velocity field
within convective zones of cool active stars, and offers several advantages
over asteroseismology for this particular purpose and this specific stellar
class.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
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Kinosternon integrum
Number of Pages: 6Integrative BiologyGeological Science
Magnetic activity on AB Doradus: Temporal evolution of starspots and differential rotation from 1988 to 1994
Surface brightness maps for the young K0 dwarf AB Doradus are reconstructed
from archival data sets for epochs spanning 1988 to 1994. By using the
signal-to-noise enhancement technique of Least-Squares Deconvolution, our
results show a greatly increased resolution of spot features than obtained in
previously published surface brightness reconstructions. These images show that
for the exception of epoch 1988.96, the starspot distributions are dominated by
a long-lived polar cap, and short-lived low to high latitude features. The
fragmented polar cap at epoch 1988.96 could indicate a change in the nature of
the dynamo in the star. For the first time we measure differential rotation for
epochs with sufficient phase coverage (1992.05, 1993.89, 1994.87). These
measurements show variations on a timescale of at least one year, with the
strongest surface differential rotation ever measured for AB Dor occurring in
1994.86. In conjunction with previous investigations, our results represent the
first long-term analysis of the temporal evolution of differential rotation on
active stars.Comment: accepted by MNRAS 18 pages 18 figure
Rotationally Modulated X-ray Emission from T Tauri Stars
We have modelled the rotational modulation of X-ray emission from T Tauri
stars assuming that they have isothermal, magnetically confined coronae. By
extrapolating surface magnetograms we find that T Tauri coronae are compact and
clumpy, such that rotational modulation arises from X-ray emitting regions
being eclipsed as the star rotates. Emitting regions are close to the stellar
surface and inhomogeneously distributed about the star. However some regions of
the stellar surface, which contain wind bearing open field lines, are dark in
X-rays. From simulated X-ray light curves, obtained using stellar parameters
from the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project, we calculate X-ray periods and make
comparisons with optically determined rotation periods. We find that X-ray
periods are typically equal to, or are half of, the optical periods. Further,
we find that X-ray periods are dependent upon the stellar inclination, but that
the ratio of X-ray to optical period is independent of stellar mass and radius.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Survival of microorganisms in desert soil exposed to five years of continuous very high vacuum
Microorganism survivability in desert algal soil crust under continuous very high vacuu
Inferring coronal structure from X-ray lightcurves and Doppler shifts: a Chandra study of AB Doradus
The Chandra X-ray observatory monitored the single cool star, AB Doradus,
continuously for a period lasting 88 ksec (1.98 Prot) in 2002 December with the
LETG/HRC-S. The X-ray lightcurve shows rotational modulation, with three peaks
that repeat in two consecutive rotation cycles. These peaks may indicate the
presence of compact emitting regions in the quiescent corona. Centroid shifts
as a function of phase in the strongest line profile, O VIII 18.97 A, indicate
Doppler rotational velocities with a semi-amplitude of 30 +/- 10 km/s. By
taking these diagnostics into account along with constraints on the rotational
broadening of line profiles (provided by archival Chandra HETG Fe XVII and FUSE
Fe XVIII profile) we can construct a simple model of the X-ray corona that
requires two components. One of these components is responsible for 80% of the
X-ray emission, and arises from the pole and/or a homogeneously distributed
corona. The second component consists of two or three compact active regions
that cause modulation in the lightcurve and contribute to the O VIII centroid
shifts. These compact regions account for 16% of the emission and are located
near the stellar surface with heights of less than 0.3R*. At least one of the
compact active regions is located in the partially obscured hemisphere of the
inclined star, while one of the other active regions may be located at 40
degrees. High quality X-ray data such as these can test the models of the
coronal magnetic field configuration as inferred from magnetic Zeeman Doppler
imaging.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, accepted by Ap
Doppler-beaming in the Kepler light curve of LHS 6343 A
Context. Kepler observations revealed a brown dwarf eclipsing the M-type star
LHS 6343 A with a period of 12.71 days. In addition, an out-of-eclipse light
modulation with the same period and a relative semi-amplitude of 2 x 10^-4 was
observed showing an almost constant phase lag to the eclipses produced by the
brown dwarf. In a previous work, we concluded that this was due to the light
modulation induced by photospheric active regions in LHS 6343 A. Aims. In the
present work, we prove that most of the out-of-eclipse light modulation is
caused by the Doppler-beaming induced by the orbital motion of the primary
star. Methods. We introduce a model of the Doppler-beaming for an eccentric
orbit and also considered the ellipsoidal effect. The data were fitted using a
Bayesian approach implemented through a Monte Carlo Markov chain method. Model
residuals were analysed by searching for periodicities using a Lomb-Scargle
periodogram. Results. For the first seven quarters of Kepler observations and
the orbit previously derived from the radial velocity measurements, we show
that the light modulation of the system outside eclipses is dominated by the
Doppler-beaming effect. A period search performed on the residuals shows a
significant periodicity of 42.5 +- 3.2 days with a false-alarm probability of 5
x 10^-4, probably associated with the rotational modulation of the primary
component.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
A search for starlight reflected from HD 75289 b
We have used a doppler tomographic analysis to conduct a deep search for the
starlight reflected from the planetary companion to HD 75289. In 4 nights on
VLT2/UVES in January 2003, we obtained 684 high resolution echelle spectra with
a total integration time of 26 hours. We establish an upper limit on the
planet's geometric albedo p < 0.12 (to the 99.9% significance level) at the
most probable orbital inclination i ~ 60 degrees, assuming a grey albedo, a
Venus-like phase function and a planetary radius R_p = 1.6 R_Jup. We are able
to rule out some combinations of the predicted planetary radius and atmospheric
albedo models with high, reflective cloud decks.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS accepted 12 Oct 200
Surface differential rotation and prominences of the Lupus post T Tauri star RX J1508.6-4423
We present in this paper a spectroscopic monitoring of the Lupus post T Tauri star RX J1508.6-4423 carried out at two closely separated epochs (1998 May 06 and 10) with the UCL Echelle Spectrograph on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. Applying least-squares convolution and maximum entropy image reconstruction techniques to our sets of spectra, we demonstrate that this star features on its surface a large cool polar cap with several appendages extending to lower latitudes, as well as one spot close to the equator. The images reconstructed at both epochs are in good overall agreement, except for a photospheric shear that we interpret in terms of latitudinal differential rotation. Given the spot distribution at the epoch of our observations, differential rotation could only be investigated between latitudes 15° and 60°. We find in particular that the observed differential rotation is compatible with a solar-like law (i.e., with rotation rate decreasing towards high latitudes proportionally to sin 2l, where l denotes the latitude) in this particular latitude range. Assuming that such a law can be extrapolated to all latitudes, we find that the equator of RX J1508.6-4423 does one more rotational cycle than the pole every 50 ±10 d, implying a photospheric shear 2 to 3 times stronger than that of the Sun. We also discover that the Hα emission profile of RX J1508.6-4423 is most of the time double-peaked and strongly modulated with the rotation period of the star. We interpret this rotationally modulated emission as being caused by a dense and complex prominence system, the circumstellar distribution of which is obtained through maximum entropy Doppler tomography. These maps show in particular that prominences form a complete and inhomogeneous ring around the star, precisely at the corotation radius. We use the total Hα and HÎČ emission flux to estimate that the mass of the whole prominence system is about 10 20g. From our observation that the whole cloud system surrounding the star is regenerated in less than 4 d, we conclude that the braking time-scale of RX J1508.6-4423 is shorter than 1 Gyr, and that prominence expulsion is thus likely to contribute significantly to the rotational spindown of young low-mass stars
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