Thesis Supervisor: Gaitee Hussain
Abstract
Magnetic fields affect the appearance of all Sun-like stars from their surfaces, where magnetic flux first emerges from their interiors to their coronae and throughout their interplanetary environments. As these stars age and spin down over the course of their main sequence lifetimes, magnetic activity levels decrease until they reach the sedate levels observed in our own Sun. Furthermore, stars with similar ages and spectral types can have a wide dispersion in their rotation rates.
This project is to understand magnetic activity in Sun-like stars: from measuring flux emergence and evolution timescales using high precision lightcurves from the NASA Kepler space mission. The student will work with new Kepler data to characterise activity on a range of stars. The project will involve the analysis of high precision lightcurves to measure the flux emergence timescales of a range of stars using the latest statistical techniques. These results will be compared with flux emergence and dissipation models that have been developed for Sun-like stars.
A second aspect of this project is to characterise the interplanetary environment around Sun-like stars, bringing together magnetic field images, HST data and models of the interplanetary environment. The ultimate goal is to develop a thorough understanding of the activity levels in planet-hosting stars and their implications for habitability.