RUI/Collaborative Research: Molecular Band Measurements of Absolute Starspot Properties

南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿大学的詹姆斯·内夫博士和宾夕法尼亚州基斯通学院的道格拉斯·奥尼尔博士将领导一项研究，以了解恒星的物理条件。与太阳上的黑子类似，恒星黑子是其他恒星大气中比恒星表面其他部分更冷的区域。该项目的目标是利用大气建模代码的最新进展来确定恒星黑子的性质，使用新技术重新分析现有光谱的大量数据库，扩大观测范围以包括较冷的恒星，并结合各种技术来更好地了解恒星黑子的观测特征。太阳上的磁活动可能是天文学影响我们日常生活的最戏剧性的方式。通过测量大范围活动恒星上的恒星黑子的性质和分布，有可能揭示太阳发电机的基本性质。光度学光曲线建模、多普勒成像和分子带(仅在恒星黑子中形成，而不是在较温暖的无黑子大气中形成)的光谱性质都提供了关于恒星黑子的分布、温度和部分覆盖率的重要信息。

Dr. James Neff (College of Charleston, South Carolina) and Dr. Douglas O'Neal (Keystone College, Pennsylvania) will lead an effort to understand the physical conditions in starspots. Analogous to spots on the Sun, starspots are regions in the atmospheres of other stars that are cooler than the rest of the stellar surface. The goals of this project are to use recent advances in atmospheric modeling codes to determine starspot properties, re-analyze extensive databases of existing spectra using the new techniques, expand observational surveys to include cooler stars, and combine various techniques to yield a better understanding of the observational signatures of starspots.Magnetic activity on the Sun is perhaps the most dramatic way in which astronomy impacts our daily lives. By measuring the properties and distribution of starspots on a wide range of active stars, it might be possible to uncover the fundamental nature of the solar dynamo. Photometric light curve modeling, Doppler imaging, and the spectroscopic properties of molecular bands (which are formed only in starspots, not in the warmer unspotted atmosphere) all yield important information about the distribution, temperature, and fractional coverage of starspots.