Statistics of BY Draconis variables

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Abstract
A statistical survey of 113 spotted red dwarf stars that are known or suspected BY Draconis variables is presented. Typical indicators of stellar photometric activity—the amplitudes of the rotational modulation and seasonal mean brightness variations ΔV and Δ〈V〉—are compared to the global parameters of the stars. First, photometric variability shows a weak dependence on spectral type; second, ΔV and Δ〈V〉 grow with increasing stellar rotational velocity and decreasing Rossby number, with the dependences saturating at the critical values Vcrit∼15–20 km/s and Rocrit∼0.2–0.3; and third, the Sun as a star fits well into the derived relations. Thus, the spottedness of stars, like other indicators of stellar activity, depends on their global parameters.

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