Searching for a Stellar Cycle and Spin in Proxima Cen
Abstract
Although hundreds of stars have been optically monitored to look for analogs of the solar 11-year activity cycle, almost no M stars have been examined because of their optical faintness, particularly in the CaII H and K lines that are the basis of most studies. Proxima Cen (dM5.5e) has been monitored somewhat regularly in the optical and UV and there have have been tentative reports of stellar periods ranging from 1.2 to 7 years. Any cyclicity would be surprising since Prox Cen is fully convective and should not have an αΩ dynamo. Several rotation periods have also been suggested, with 83 days currently favored. We present preliminary results on variability and rotation period after monitoring Prox Cen for nearly a year using Swift.
Support for this work was provided by NASA through Swift Grant Number NNX09AR09G.- Publication:
-
AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #11
- Pub Date:
- March 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010HEAD...11.1706W