Far beyond the Sun: II. Probing the stellar magnetism of the young Sun {\iota} Horologii from the photosphere to its corona

TL;DR

This study conducts a multi-wavelength analysis of the young Sun-like star $$ Horologii, combining spectropolarimetry, photometry, and ultraviolet observations to characterize its magnetic activity, surface features, and variability from photosphere to corona.

Contribution

It presents the first combined magnetic field mapping and activity analysis of $$ Horologii using Zeeman-Doppler imaging and multi-wavelength data, revealing detailed stellar activity insights.

Findings

The star's surface is spot dominated during observations.

Enhanced emission indicates a flaring event in UV diagnostics.

Correlations between photometric and spectroscopic variability were established.

Abstract

A comprehensive multi-wavelength campaign has been carried out to probe stellar activity and variability in the young Sun-like star $\iota$-Horologii. We present the results from long-term spectropolarimetric monitoring of the system by using the ultra-stable spectropolarimeter/velocimeter HARPS at the ESO 3.6-m telescope. Additionally, we included high-precision photometry from the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and observations in the far- and near-ultraviolet spectral regions using the STIS instrument on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The high-quality dataset allows a robust characterisation of the star's rotation period, as well as a probe of the variability using a range of spectroscopic and photometric activity proxies. By analyzing the gradient of the power spectra (GPS) of the TESS lightcurves we constrained the faculae-to-spot driver ratio ($\rm S_{fac}/S_{spot}$) to 0.510$\pm$0.023, which indicates that the stellar surface is spot dominated during the time of the observations. We compared the photospheric activity properties derived from the GPS method with a magnetic field map of the star derived using Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI) from simultaneous spectropolarimetric data for the first time. Different stellar activity proxies enable a more complete interpretation of the observed variability. For example, we observed enhanced emission in the HST transition line diagnostics C IV and C III, suggesting a flaring event. From the analysis of TESS data acquired simultaneously with the HST data, we investigate the photometric variability at the precise moment that the emission increased and derive correlations between different observables, probing the star from its photosphere to its corona.