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Title: Modeling Stellar Surface Features on a Subgiant Star with an M-dwarf Companion
Authors: Maria C. Schutte et al.
First Author’s Institution: University of Oklahoma
Status: Published in AJ
The authors of today’s article search for polka dots of concentrated magnetic flux on the surface of a subgiant star.
A Menagerie of Astrophysical Phenomena
The surface of a star hosts a menagerie of astrophysical phenomena: flares that dramatically increase the brightness of the star, coronal mass ejections that spew plasma into space, and cold, dark regions that grow and decay called starspots (check out this astrobite to learn more about stellar activity). Understanding this stellar activity is not only imperative for understanding stellar evolution, but also for studying the planets that orbit these stars.
The Many Uses of a Light Curve
One of the main ways that exoplanet scientists search for planets is with a technique called the transit method. Scientists monitor the brightness of a star, looking for a dip in that brightness. This dip can be caused by a planet passing, or “transiting,” in front of the star as seen from Earth. However, this graph of the brightness of the star — called a light curve — can also be used to detect other celestial happenings. Astronomers have used light curves to study binary star systems, supernovae, and — in the case of today’s article — starspots!
A Light Curve of Interest
The authors of today’s article studied the light curve of a star called KOI-340, where KOI stands for Kepler Object of Interest. KOIs are stars that were observed by the Kepler space telescope and are suspected to host exoplanets. This particular KOI is a subgiant star, which means that it is brighter and larger than a normal main-sequence star, but it is not as bright or as large as a giant star. KOI-340 also hosts a smaller, colder M-dwarf companion, making it a binary star system.
The light curve of KOI-340 was of interest to the authors because the depth of the planet’s transit is shallower than it should be if the star did not have any starspots. They therefore used a modeling code called STarSPot (STSP), which is publicly available on github, to model 36 transits of the planet orbiting KOI-340 to show evidence of starspots on the surface of the star. They found that the average radius of the starspots is roughly 10% the radius of the star, which would make these starspots some of the largest ever recorded (Figure 1).
The authors even found a starspot as large as 16% of the radius of the star (Figure 2)! In a different transit, the authors found an additional dip in their fit, indicating the presence of a bright spot on KOI-340 followed by a dark spot (Figure 3). This work shows that starspots are not simply a nuisance to exoplanet scientists; they are also a window into the life and evolution of the star itself. For example, the authors of today’s article were able to conclude that the increased activity on KOI-340 as compared to the Sun is likely due to KOI-340’s faster rotation and/or the increasing size of its convection zone as it evolves from a main-sequence star into a red giant star.In general, today’s authors show us how multifaceted starspots can be, as well as the splendor of polka-dotted stars!
Original astrobite edited by Maryum Sayeed.
About the author, Catherine Clark:
Catherine Clark is a PhD candidate at Northern Arizona University and Lowell Observatory. Her research focuses on the smallest, coldest, faintest stars, and she uses high-resolution imaging techniques to look for them in multi-star systems. She is also working on a Graduate Certificate in Science Communication. Previously she attended the University of Michigan, where she studied Astronomy & Astrophysics, as well as Spanish. Outside of research, she enjoys spending time outdoors hiking and photographing, and spending time indoors playing games and playing with her cats.