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G.A.J. Hussain (Harvard Smithsonian CfA), C. Allende Prieto (Univ. of Texas at Austin), S.H. Saar (Harvard Smithsonian CfA), A. Collier Cameron (Univ. of St Andrews, UK), M.D. Still (NASA GSFC)
The technique of Doppler imaging enables us to map starspots at the surfaces of rapidly rotating cool stars. Starspots are probes of magnetic activity, thus the locations of these spots also indicate where the strongest magnetic fields tend to emerge. We present surface spot maps of the K2V component of V471 Tau from 2001-2002. Our spot maps can be used (a) to show that magnetic activity is confined to high latitude regions in the K2V component, (b) to measure surface differential rotation of this component and (c) to evaluate spot lifetimes in rapid rotators. We conclude that the K2V component of V471 Tau shows a similar equator-pole lap-time as the Sun and that its surface spots last on the order of months.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #3
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.