Sizes of spots in spotted stars.
Abstract
Coincidence of the characteristic sizes of sunspots and sunspot groups and the size of solar supergranulation are used to predict sizes of spots on other representative stars. The corresponding vertical scales are determined from convective envelope models. The expected spot sizes are always small, becoming at most 5% of the stellar diameter for a typical cooler component of an RS CVn-type system. This suggests that observed large photometric effects (the distortion wave) are due to rich groups of such relatively small spots. Brightness fluctuations during eclipse of the spotted star due to disappearance and reappearance of individual groups of various sizes should have a spectrum that varies as the inverse square of frequency.
- Publication:
-
Acta Astronomica
- Pub Date:
- 1979
- Bibcode:
- 1979AcA....29..203R
- Keywords:
-
- Stellar Envelopes;
- Stellar Structure;
- Sunspots;
- Convection Currents;
- Eclipses;
- Solar Granulation;
- Stellar Luminosity;
- Astrophysics;
- BY Draconis Stars:Starspots;
- RS CVn Stars:Starspots