New Suns in the Cosmos II: Differential rotation in Kepler Sun-like stars

TL;DR

This study identifies Sun-like stars with surface differential rotation using Kepler data, employing autocorrelation and a two-spot model to analyze photometric signals and measure differential rotation parameters.

Contribution

It introduces a method to detect differential rotation in Sun-like stars using light curve analysis and Bayesian model selection, identifying 17 stars with measurable differential rotation.

Findings

17 stars with stable photometric signals identified

Surface differential rotation parameters measured for these stars

Method demonstrates effectiveness in detecting differential rotation in Sun-like stars

Abstract

The present study reports the discovery of Sun-like stars, namely main-sequence stars with $T_{\rm eff}$, $\log g$ and rotation periods $P_{rot}$ similar to solar values, presenting evidence of surface differential rotation. An autocorrelation of the time series was used to select stars presenting photometric signal stability from a sample of 881 stars with light curves collected by the $Kepler$ space-borne telescope, in which we have identified 17 stars with stable signals. A simple two-spot model together with a Bayesian information criterion were applied to these stars in the search for indications of differential rotation; in addition, for all 17 stars, it was possible to compute the spot rotation period $P$, the mean values of the individual spot rotation periods and their respective colatitudes, and the relative amplitude of the differential rotation.