2024ApJ...963..160Z -
Astrophys. J., 963, 160 (2024/March-2)
Stellar Cycle and Evolution of Polar Spots in an M+WD Binary.
ZHAO X., WANG S., LI X., XIANG Y., XU F., GU S., DU B. and LIU J.
Abstract (from CDS):
Stellar activity cycles reveal continuous relaxation and induction of magnetic fields. The activity cycle is typically traced through the observation of cyclic variations in total brightness or Ca H&K emission flux of stars, as well as cyclic variations in the orbital periods of binary systems. In this work, we report the identification of a semidetached binary system (TIC 16320250) consisting of a white dwarf (0.67 M⊙) and an active M dwarf (0.56 M⊙). The long-term multiband optical light curves spanning twenty years revealed three repeated patterns, suggestive of a possible activity cycle of about 10 years of the M dwarf. Light-curve fitting indicates the repeated variation is caused by the evolution, particularly the motion, of polar spots. The significant Ca H&K, Hα, ultra-violet, and X-ray emissions imply that the M dwarf is one of the most magnetically active stars. We propose that in the era of large time-domain photometric sky surveys (e.g., ASAS-SN, Zwicky Transient Facility, LSST, Sitian), long-term light-curve modeling can be a valuable tool for tracing and revealing stellar activity cycle, especially for stars in binary systems.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Neutron stars - White dwarf stars - Binary stars - Stellar activity
Simbad objects:
7
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