Observations of Intensity Fluctuations Attributed to Granulation and Faculae on Sun-like Stars from the Kepler Mission

Author(s)

C. Karoff, T. L. Campante, J. Ballot, T. Kallinger, M. Gruberbauer, R. A. García, D. A. Caldwell, J. L. Christiansen, K. Kinemuchi

Abstract

Sun-like stars show intensity fluctuations on a number of timescales due

to various physical phenomena on their surfaces. These phenomena can

convincingly be studied in the frequency spectra of these

stars—while the strongest signatures usually originate from spots,

granulation, and p-mode oscillations, it has also been suggested that

the frequency spectrum of the Sun contains a signature of faculae. We

have analyzed three stars observed for 13 months in short cadence (58.84

s sampling) by the Kepler mission. The frequency spectra of all three

stars, as for the Sun, contain signatures that we can attribute to

granulation, faculae, and p-mode oscillations. The temporal variability

of the signatures attributed to granulation, faculae, and p-mode

oscillations was analyzed and the analysis indicates a periodic

variability in the granulation and faculae signatures—comparable

to what is seen in the Sun.

Organisation(s)

Department of Astrophysics

External organisation(s)

Universidade do Porto, Saint Mary's University, University of Birmingham, Aarhus University, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), University of Toulouse, Université Paris VII - Paris-Diderot, National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)

Journal

The Astrophysical Journal

Volume

767

No. of pages

10

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/767/1/34

Publication date

04-2013

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103004 Astrophysics, 103003 Astronomy

Keywords

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/f46ba89e-8f0d-4897-907e-410d10597d33