Stellar Magnetism and starspots: the implications for exoplanets

Conrad Vilela, John Southworth, Carlos del Burgo
2013 Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union  
Stellar variability induced by starspots can hamper the detection of exoplanets and bias planet property estimations. These features can also be used to study star-planet interactions as well as inferring properties from the underlying stellar dynamo. However, typical techniques, such as ZDI, are not possible for most host-stars. We present a robust method based on spot modelling to map the surface of active star allowing us to statistically study the effects and interactions of stellar
more » ... m with transiting exoplanets. The method is applied to the active Kepler-9 star where we find small evidence for a possible interaction between planet and stellar magnetosphere which leads to a 2:1 resonance between spot rotation and orbital period.
doi:10.1017/s1743921314002208 fatcat:hfjsccdtcrc65ljbo4llfu6zri