Inês Martins Rolo
IA / FCUP

Abstract
One of the Sun’s many interesting intricacies is its magnetic activity, which varies over a period of approximately 11 years known as the Solar Cycle. Dark sunspots and bright faculae in the Sun’s photosphere are some of the visible manifestations of this activity, with faculae typically forming around spots. Throughout the cycle, the number, location and properties of these features change, and the understanding of this change has been of increasing interest both regarding the Sun as well as other solar-like stars. This has motivated the creation of parameterized models that can be constrained observationally. This work builds upon that of Santos, A. R. G. et al. (2015), where the behaviour and properties of dark sunspots during the solar cycle were reconstructed using such a parameterized model. We extend this model by including the behaviour and properties of the solar bright faculae. The sunspot and faculae properties are studied using data from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) across Solar Cycle 23. Our results show that the new extended model is able to reproduce the behaviour of sunspots and their associated faculae throughout the solar cycle. Furthermore, we were able to estimate the impact of faculae on the light curve of the Sun, complementing the existing model discussed in Santos, A. R. G. et al. (2017) which primarily featured the signature of spots. This represents a step forward towards realistic modelling of stellar magnetic activity, particularly useful for its mitigation in order to find Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars.

2023 November 02, 13:30

IA/U.Porto
Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (Classroom)
Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto