Asteroseismic signatures of stellar magnetic activity cycles

T. S. Metcalfe, W. A. Dziembowski, P. G. Judge, M. Snow

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Observations of stellar activity cycles provide an opportunity to study magnetic dynamos under many different physical conditions. Space-based asteroseismology missions will soon yield useful constraints on the interior conditions that nurture such magnetic cycles, and will be sensitive enough to detect shifts in the oscillation frequencies due to the magnetic variations. We derive a method for predicting these shifts from changes in the Mg II activity index by scaling from solar data. We demonstrate this technique on the solar-type subgiant β Hyi, using archival International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra and two epochs of ground-based asteroseismic observations. We find qualitative evidence of the expected frequency shifts and predict the optimal timing for future asteroseismic observations of this star.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L16-L20
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Volume379
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2007

Keywords

  • Stars: activity
  • Stars: individual: β hyi
  • Stars: interiors
  • Stars: oscillations

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