Speaker
Description
Obtaining detailed information on the active regions, i.e. spots, on stellar surfaces based on photometry is challenging. This is because retrieving two-dimensional information based on one-dimensional time-series data corresponds to an ill-posed inverse problem.
However, there are ways around the ill-posedness and it is possible to study stellar spot configurations in detail in a variety of situations with different methods.
We discuss three such ways. The first one is a statistical one that takes advantage of long-term photometry and variations caused by a number of large spots. The second is modelling of high-precision photometry of a star with known inclination. The third one is determining spot properties based on their occultations by transiting objects.