Speaker
Description
Stellar magnetic activity causes different observable phenomena on a stellar surface from dark spots to bright and explosive events, such as flares and coronal mass ejections. Both flares and starspots induce variations in stellar brightness, which can be seen in light curves. Starspots and stellar rotation together produce periodic dimmings of a star, whereas flares cause sudden and irregular brightenings as they release magnetic energy into a stellar atmosphere. Flares can have significant influence on planetary environments and consequently on the habitability of planets. The presented research focuses on late-type stars (spectral types F, G, K, and M), which have convective envelopes and are therefore expected to be magnetically active. We examine flares from seven late-type stars and assess their possible connection to starspots. Data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) are used in the analysis. Flares are identified from light curves using a flare detection program based on a machine learning algorithm. The timings of flares are compared to the stellar brightness trend in order to reveal a possible correlation between the flare occurrence and the stellar rotational phase.