Speaker
Description
Eclipsing binaries with a spotted giant component are exceptional laboratories for the study of stellar magnetism. Although magnetic activity in such systems has long been recognised, detailed photometric analyses were historically limited by incomplete ground based data. High precision space photometry now enables eclipse mapping, a technique which allows us to infer starspot properties from modulations in the eclipse light curves of binaries.
Using Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data, we compile and analyse a sample of 29 eclipsing binaries consisting of a magnetically active (sub)giant primary and a main sequence secondary (so called RS CVn systems). We apply a set of inversion techniques, including eclipse mapping, and perform a detailed study of a representative system. We derive precise spot properties for the primaries, detect latitudinal drifts as well as longitudinal and radial differential rotation, and trace the evolution of spot groups on yearly timescales. These results represent one of the most detailed studies of magnetic activity in RS CVn systems to date.