Article contents
Stellar magnetic cycles
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2010
Abstract
The solar activity cycle is a manifestation of the hydromagnetic dynamo working inside our star. The detection of activity cycles in solar-like stars and the study of their properties allow us to put the solar dynamo in perspective, investigating how dynamo action depends on stellar parameters and stellar structure. Nevertheless, the lack of spatial resolution and the limited time extension of stellar data pose limitations to our understanding of stellar cycles and the possibility to constrain dynamo models. I briefly review some results obtained from disc-integrated proxies of stellar magnetic fields and discuss the new opportunities opened by space-borne photometry made available by MOST, CoRoT, Kepler, and GAIA, and by new ground-based spectroscopic or spectropolarimetric observations. Stellar cycles have a significant impact on the energetic output and circumstellar magnetic fields of late-type active stars which affects the interaction between stars and their planets. On the other hand, a close-in massive planet could affect the activity of its host star. Recent observations provide circumstantial evidence of such an interaction with possible consequences for stellar activity cycles.
- Type
- Contributed Papers
- Information
- Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S264: Solar and Stellar Variability: Impact on Earth and Planets , August 2009 , pp. 120 - 129
- Copyright
- Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010
References
- 9
- Cited by