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The accurate characterisation of the stellar magnetism of planetary host stars has been gaining momentum, especially in the context of transmission spectroscopy investigations of exoplanets. Indeed, the magnetic field regulates the amount of energetic radiation and stellar wind impinging on planets, as well as the presence of inhomogeneities on the stellar surface that hinder the precise extraction of the planetary atmospheric absorption signal. We initiated a spectropolarimetric campaign to unveil the magnetic field properties of known exoplanet hosting stars included in the current list of potential Ariel targets. In this work, we focus on HD 63433, a young solar-like star hosting two sub-Neptunes and an Earth-sized planet. These exoplanets orbit within 0.15 au from the host star and have likely experienced different atmospheric evolutionary paths. We analysed optical spectropolarimetric data collected with ESPaDOnS, HARPSpol, and Neo-Narval to compute the magnetic activity indices (log R'_HK , H$\alpha$, and Ca ii infrared triplet), measure the longitudinal magnetic field, and reconstruct the large-scale magnetic topology via Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI). The magnetic field map was then employed to simulate the space environment in which the exoplanets orbit. The reconstructed stellar magnetic field has an average strength of 24 G and it features a complex topology with a dominant toroidal component, in agreement with other stars of a similar spectral type and age. Our simulations of the stellar environment locate 10% of the innermost planetary orbit inside the Alfv\'en surface and, thus, brief magnetic connections between the planet and the star can occur. The outer planets are outside the Alfv\'en surface and a bow shock between the stellar wind and the planetary magnetosphere could potentially form., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures and 4 tables. Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Stellar winds of cool main sequence stars are very difficult to constrain observationally. One way to measure stellar mass loss rates is to detect soft X-ray emission from stellar astrospheres produced by charge exchange between heavy ions of the stellar wind and cold neutrals of the interstellar medium (ISM) surrounding the stars. Here we report detections of charge-exchange induced X-ray emission from the extended astrospheres of three main sequence stars, 70 Ophiuchi, epsilon Eridani, and 61 Cygni based on analysis of observations by XMM-Newton. We estimate the corresponding mass loss rates to be 66.5 +- 11.1, 15.6 +- 4.4, and 9.6 +- 4.1 times the solar mass loss rate for 70 Ophiuchi, epsilon Eridani, and 61 Cygni, respectively, and compare our results to the hydrogen wall method. We also place upper limits on the mass loss rates of several other main sequence stars. This method has potential utility for determining the mass loss rates from X-ray observations showing spatial extension beyond a coronal point source., Comment: Published in Nature Astronomy on April 12th, 2024

The magnetic processes associated with the non-thermal broadening of optically thin emission lines appear to carry enough energy to heat the corona and accelerate the solar wind. We investigate whether non-thermal motions in cool stars exhibit the same behaviour as on the Sun by analysing archival stellar spectra taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, and full-disc Solar spectra taken by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. We determined the non-thermal velocities by measuring the excess broadening in optically thin emission lines formed in the stellar atmosphere; the chromosphere, the transition region and the corona. Assuming the non-thermal broadening is caused by the presence of Alfv\'en waves, we also determined the associated wave energy densities. Our results show that, with a non-thermal velocity of $\sim$23 kms$^{-1}$ the Sun-as-a-star results are in very good agreement with values obtained from spatially-resolved solar observations. The non-thermal broadening in our sample show correlation to stellar rotation, with the strength of the non-thermal velocity decreasing with decreasing rotation rate. Finally, the non-thermal velocity in cool Sun-like stars varies with atmospheric height or temperature of the emission lines, and peaks at transition region temperatures. This points towards a solar-like Alfv\'en wave driven heating in stellar atmospheres. However, the peak is at a lower temperature in some cool stars suggesting that, other magnetic process such as flaring events could also dominate., Comment: 13 pages, 8 Figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Context: With the recent surge of planetary surveys focusing on detecting Earth-mass planets around M dwarfs, it is becoming more important to understand chromospheric activity in M dwarfs. Stellar chromospheric calcium emission is typically measured using the $R'_\mathrm{HK}$ calibrations of Noyes et al. (1984), which are only valid for $0.44 \le B-V \le 0.82$. Measurements of calcium emission for cooler dwarfs $B-V \ge 0.82$ are difficult because of their intrinsic dimness in the blue end of the visible spectrum. Aims: We measure the absolute Ca II HK and H$\alpha$ flux of a sample of 110 HARPS M dwarfs and also extend the calibration of $R'_\mathrm{HK}$ to the M dwarf regime using PHOENIX stellar atmosphere models. Methods: We normalized a template spectrum with a high signal-to-noise ratio that was obtained by coadding multiple spectra of the same star to a PHOENIX stellar atmosphere model to measure the chromospheric Ca II HK and H$\alpha$ flux in physical units. We used three different $T_\mathrm{eff}$ calibrations and investigated their effect on Ca II HK and H$\alpha$ activity measurements. We performed conversions of the Mount Wilson S index to $R'_\mathrm{HK}$ as a function of effective temperature for the range 2300 K $\le T_\mathrm{eff} \le$ 7200 K. Last, we calculated continuum luminosity $\chi$ values for Ca II HK and H$\alpha$ in the same manner as West & Hawley (2008) for $-1.0 \le \mathrm{Fe/H} \le +1.0$ in steps of $\Delta \mathrm{Fe/H} = 0.5$. Results: We compare different $T_\mathrm{eff}$ calibrations and find $\Delta T_\mathrm{eff} \sim$ several 100 K for mid- to late-M dwarfs. Using these different $T_\mathrm{eff}$ calibrations, we establish a catalog of $\log R'_\mathrm{HK}$ and $\mathcal{F}'_\mathrm{H\alpha}/\mathcal{F}_\mathrm{bol}$ measurements for 110 HARPS M dwarfs. [abridged], Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Abstract abridged for arXiv submission

Spectropolarimetric data allow for simultaneous monitoring of stellar chromospheric $\log{R^{\prime}_{\rm{HK}}}$ activity and the surface-averaged longitudinal magnetic field, $B_l$, giving the opportunity to probe the relationship between large-scale stellar magnetic fields and chromospheric manifestations of magnetism. We present $\log{R^{\prime}_{\rm{HK}}}$ and/or $B_l$ measurements for 954 mid-F to mid-M stars derived from spectropolarimetric observations contained within the PolarBase database. Our magnetically active sample complements previous stellar activity surveys that focus on inactive planet-search targets. We find a positive correlation between mean $\log{R^{\prime}_{\rm{HK}}}$ and mean $\log|B_l|$, but for G stars the relationship may undergo a change between $\log{R'_{\rm{HK}}}\sim-4.4$ and $-4.8$. The mean $\log{R^{\prime}_{\rm{HK}}}$ shows a similar change with respect to the $\log{R^{\prime}_{\rm{HK}}}$ variability amplitude for intermediately-active G stars. We also combine our results with archival chromospheric activity data and published observations of large-scale magnetic field geometries derived using Zeeman Doppler Imaging. The chromospheric activity data indicate a slight under-density of late-F to early-K stars with $-4.75\leq\log{R'_{\rm HK}}\leq-4.5$. This is not as prominent as the original Vaughan-Preston gap, and we do not detect similar under-populated regions in the distributions of the mean $|B_l|$, or the $B_l$ and $\log{R'_{\rm HK}}$ variability amplitudes. Chromospheric activity, activity variability and toroidal field strength decrease on the main sequence as rotation slows. For G stars, the disappearance of dominant toroidal fields occurs at a similar chromospheric activity level as the change in the relationships between chromospheric activity, activity variability and mean field strength., Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables

Cool main-sequence stars, such as the Sun, have magnetic fields which are generated by an internal dynamo mechanism. In the Sun, the dynamo mechanism produces a balance between the amounts of magnetic flux generated and lost over the Sun's 11-year activity cycle and it is visible in the Sun's different atmospheric layers using multi-wavelength observations. We used the same observational diagnostics, spanning several decades, to probe the emergence of magnetic flux on the two close by, active- and low-mass K dwarfs: 61 Cygni A and Epsilon Eridani. Our results show that 61 Cygni A follows the Solar dynamo with a regular cycle at all wavelengths, while Epsilon Eridani represents a more extreme level of the Solar dynamo, while also showing strong Solar-like characteristics. For the first time we show magnetic butterfly diagrams for stars other than the Sun. For the two K stars and the Sun, the rate at which the toroidal field is generated from surface poloidal field is similar to the rate at which toroidal flux is lost through flux emergence. This suggests that the surface field plays a crucial role in the dynamos of all three stars. Finally, for Epsilon Eridani, we show that the two chromospheric cycle periods, of ~3 and ~13 years, correspond to two superimposed magnetic cycles., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures: Accepted by A&A

A detailed investigation of the magnetic properties of young Sun-like stars can provide valuable information on our Sun's magnetic past and its impact on the early Earth. We determine the properties of the moderately rotating young Sun-like star kappa Ceti's magnetic and activity cycles using 50 years of chromospheric activity data and six epochs of spectropolarimetric observations. The chromospheric activity was determined by measuring the flux in the Ca II H and K lines. A generalised Lomb-Scargle periodogram and a wavelet decomposition were used on the chromospheric activity data to establish the associated periodicities. The vector magnetic field of the star was reconstructed using the technique of Zeeman Doppler imaging on the spectropolarimetric observations. Our period analysis algorithms detect a 3.1 year chromospheric cycle in addition to the star's well-known ~6 year cycle period. Although the two cycle periods have an approximate 1:2 ratio, they exhibit an unusual temporal evolution. Additionally, the spectropolarimetric data analysis shows polarity reversals of the star's large-scale magnetic field, suggesting a ~10 year magnetic or Hale cycle. The unusual evolution of the star's chromospheric cycles and their lack of a direct correlation with the magnetic cycle establishes kappa Ceti as a curious young Sun. Such complex evolution of magnetic activity could be synonymous with moderately active young Suns, which is an evolutionary path that our own Sun could have taken., Comment: 15 pages including appendices, accepted for publication in A&A

Alfv\'en-wave-driven 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models, which are increasingly used to predict stellar wind properties, contain unconstrained parameters and rely on low-resolution stellar magnetograms. We explore the effects of the input Alfv\'en wave energy flux and the surface magnetogram on the wind properties predicted by the Alfv\'en Wave Solar Model (AWSoM). We lowered the resolution of two solar magnetograms during solar cycle maximum and minimum using spherical harmonic decomposition. The Alfv\'en wave energy was altered based on non-thermal velocities determined from a far ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum of the solar twin 18 Sco. Additionally, low-resolution magnetograms of three solar analogues were obtained using Zeeman Doppler imaging (ZDI). Finally, the simulated wind properties were compared to Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) observations. AWSoM simulations using well constrained input parameters taken from solar observations can reproduce the observed solar wind mass and angular momentum loss rates. The resolution of the magnetogram has a small impact on the wind properties and only during cycle maximum. However, variation in Alfv\'en wave energy influences the wind properties irrespective of the solar cycle activity level. Furthermore, solar wind simulations carried out using the low-resolution magnetogram of the three stars instead of the solar magnetogram could lead to an order of a magnitude difference in the simulated wind properties. The choice in Alfv\'en energy has a stronger influence on the wind output compared to the magnetogram resolution. The influence could be even stronger for stars whose input boundary conditions are not as well constrained as those of the Sun. Unsurprisingly, replacing the solar magnetogram with a stellar magnetogram could lead to completely inaccurate solar wind properties, and should be avoided in solar and stellar wind simulations., Comment: accepted for publication in A&A

The field of exoplanetary science is making rapid progress both in statistical studies of exoplanet properties as well as in individual characterization. As space missions provide an emerging picture of formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems, the search for habitable worlds becomes one of the fundamental issues to address. To tackle such a complex challenge, we need to specify the conditions favorable for the origin, development and sustainment of life as we know it. This requires the understanding of global (astrospheric) and local (atmospheric, surface and internal) environments of exoplanets in the framework of the physical processes of the interaction between evolving planet-hosting stars along with exoplanetary evolution over geological timescales, and the resulting impact on climate and habitability of exoplanets. Feedbacks between astrophysical, physico-chemical atmospheric and geological processes can only be understood through interdisciplinary studies with the incorporation of progress in heliophysics, astrophysics, planetary, Earth sciences, astrobiology, and the origin of life communities. The assessment of the impacts of host stars on the climate and habitability of terrestrial (exo)planets and potential exomoons around them may significantly modify the extent and the location of the habitable zone and provide new directions for searching for signatures of life. Thus, characterization of stellar ionizing outputs becomes an important task for further understanding the extent of habitability in the universe. The goal of this white paper is to identify and describe promising key research goals to aid the theoretical characterization and observational detection of ionizing radiation from quiescent and flaring upper atmospheres of planet hosts as well as properties of stellar coronal mass ejections and stellar energetic particle events., Comment: White Paper submitted to the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020), 8 pages, 1 figure

The behaviour of the large-scale dipolar field, during a star's magnetic cycle, can provide valuable insight into the stellar dynamo and associated magnetic field manifestations such as stellar winds. We investigate the temporal evolution of the dipolar field of the K dwarf 61 Cyg A using spectropolarimetric observations covering nearly one magnetic cycle equivalent to two chromospheric activity cycles. The large-scale magnetic field geometry is reconstructed using Zeeman Doppler imaging, a tomographic inversion technique. Additionally, the chromospheric activity is also monitored. The observations provide an unprecedented sampling of the large-scale field over a single magnetic cycle of a star other than the Sun. Our results show that 61 Cyg A has a dominant dipolar geometry except at chromospheric activity maximum. The dipole axis migrates from the southern to the northern hemisphere during the magnetic cycle. It is located at higher latitudes at chromospheric activity cycle minimum and at middle latitudes during cycle maximum. The dipole is strongest at activity cycle minimum and much weaker at activity cycle maximum. The behaviour of the large-scale dipolar field during the magnetic cycle resembles the solar magnetic cycle. Our results are further confirmation that 61 Cyg A indeed has a large-scale magnetic geometry that is comparable to the Sun's, despite being a slightly older and cooler K dwarf., Comment: accepted for publication, A&A Letters

Loading the containers on the ship from a yard, is an impor- tant part of port operations. Finding the optimal sequence for the loading of containers, is known to be computationally hard and is an example of combinatorial optimization, which leads to the application of simple heuristics in practice. In this paper, we propose an approach which uses a mix of Evolutionary Strategies and Reinforcement Learning (RL) tech- niques to find an approximation of the optimal solution. The RL based agent uses the Policy Gradient method, an evolutionary reward strategy and a Pool of good (not-optimal) solutions to find the approximation. We find that the RL agent learns near-optimal solutions that outperforms the heuristic solutions. We also observe that the RL agent assisted with a pool generalizes better for unseen problems than an RL agent without a pool. We present our results on synthetic data as well as on subsets of real-world problems taken from container terminal. The results validate that our approach does comparatively better than the heuristics solutions available, and adapts to unseen problems better., Comment: 6 Pages, 2 figures, accepted in ESANN 2018

Chromospheric activity monitoring of a wide range of cool stars can provide valuable information on stellar magnetic activity and its dependence on fundamental stellar parameters such as effective temperature and rotation.We compile a chromospheric activity catalogue of 4454 cool stars from a combination of archival HARPS spectra and multiple other surveys, including the Mount Wilson data that have recently been released by the NSO. We explore the variation in chromospheric activity of cool stars along the main sequence for stars with different effective temperatures. Additionally, we also perform an activity-cycle period search and investigate its relation with rotation. The chromospheric activity index, S-index, was measured for 304 main-sequence stars from archived high-resolution HARPS spectra. Additionally, the measured and archived S-indices were converted into the chromospheric flux ratio log R'HK. The activity-cycle periods were determined using the generalised Lomb-Scargle periodogram to study the active and inactive branches on the rotation-activity-cycle period plane. The global sample shows that the bimodality of chromospheric activity, known as the Vaughan-Preston gap, is not prominent, with a significant percentage of the stars at an intermediate-activity level around log R'HK = -4.75. Independently, the cycle period search shows that stars can lie in the region intermediate between the active and inactive branch, which means that the active branch is not as clearly distinct as previously thought. The weakening of the Vaughan-Preston gap indicates that cool stars spin down from a higher activity level and settle at a lower activity level without a sudden break at intermediate activity. Some cycle periods are close to the solar value between the active and inactive branch, which suggests that the solar dynamo is most likely a common case of the stellar dynamo., Comment: 25 pages, accepted for publication in A&A

Magnetic activity is known to be correlated to the rotation period for moderately active main sequence solar-like stars. In turn, the stellar rotation period evolves as a result of magnetised stellar winds that carry away angular momentum. Understanding the interplay between magnetic activity and stellar rotation is therefore a central task for stellar astrophysics. Angular momentum evolution models typically employ spin-down torques that are formulated in terms of the surface magnetic field strength. However, these formulations fail to account for the magnetic field geometry, unlike those that are expressed in terms of the open flux, i.e. the magnetic flux along which stellar winds flow. In this work, we model the angular momentum evolution of main sequence solar-mass stars using a torque law formulated in terms of the open flux. This is done using a potential field source surface model in conjunction with the Zeeman-Doppler magnetograms of a sample of roughly solar-mass stars. We explore how the open flux of these stars varies with stellar rotation and choice of source surface radii. We also explore the effect of field geometry by using two methods of determining the open flux. The first method only accounts for the dipole component while the second accounts for the full set of spherical harmonics available in the Zeeman-Doppler magnetogram. We find only a small difference between the two methods, demonstrating that the open flux, and indeed the spin-down, of main sequence solar-mass stars is likely dominated by the dipolar component of the magnetic field., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted to MNRAS

The young and magnetically active K dwarf Epsilon Eridani exhibits a chromospheric activity cycle of about 3 years. Previous reconstructions of its large-scale magnetic field show strong variations at yearly epochs. To understand how Epsilon Eridani's large-scale magnetic field geometry evolves over its activity cycle we focus on high cadence observations spanning 5 months at its activity minimum. Over this timespan we reconstruct 3 maps of Epsilon Eridani's large-scale magnetic field using the tomographic technique of Zeeman Doppler Imaging. The results show that at the minimum of its cycle, Epsilon Eridani's large-scale field is more complex than the simple dipolar structure of the Sun and 61 Cyg A at minimum. Additionally we observe a surprisingly rapid regeneration of a strong axisymmetric toroidal field as Epsilon Eridani emerges from its S-index activity minimum. Our results show that all stars do not exhibit the same field geometry as the Sun and this will be an important constraint for the dynamo models of active solar-type stars., Comment: 6 pages, accepted by MNRAS

Magnetic activity and rotation are known to be intimately linked for low-mass stars. Understanding rotation evolution over the stellar lifetime is therefore an important goal within stellar astrophysics. In recent years, there has been increased focus on how the complexity of the stellar magnetic field affects the rate of angular momentum-loss from a star. This is a topic that Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI), a technique that is capable of reconstructing the large-scale magnetic field topology of a star, can uniquely address. Using a potential field source surface model, we estimate the open flux, mass loss-rate and angular momentum-loss rates for a sample of 66 stars that have been mapped with ZDI. We show that the open flux of a star is predominantly determined by the dipolar component of its magnetic field for our choice of source surface radius. We also show that, on the main sequence, the open flux, mass- and angular momentum-loss rates increase with decreasing Rossby number. The exception to this rule is stars less massive than $0.3M_{\odot}$. Previous work suggests that low mass M dwarfs may possess either strong, ordered and dipolar fields or weak and complex fields. This range of field strengths results in a large spread of angular momentum-loss rates for these stars and has important consequences for their spin down behaviour. Additionally, our models do not predict a transition in the mass-loss rates at the so called wind dividing line noted from Ly$\alpha$ studies., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted to MNRAS

Zeeman Doppler imaging has successfully mapped the large-scale magnetic fields of stars over a large range of spectral types, rotation periods and ages. When observed over multiple epochs, some stars show polarity reversals in their global magnetic fields. On the Sun, polarity reversals are a feature of its activity cycle. In this paper, we examine the magnetic properties of stars with existing chromospherically determined cycle periods. Previous authors have suggested that cycle periods lie on multiple branches, either in the cycle period-Rossby number plane or the cycle period-rotation period plane. We find some evidence that stars along the active branch show significant average toroidal fields that exhibit large temporal variations while stars exclusively on the inactive branch remain dominantly poloidal throughout their entire cycle. This lends credence to the idea that different shear layers are in operation along each branch. There is also evidence that the short magnetic polarity switches observed on some stars are characteristic of the inactive branch while the longer chromospherically determined periods are characteristic of the active branch. This may explain the discrepancy between the magnetic and chromospheric cycle periods found on some stars. These results represent a first attempt at linking global magnetic field properties obtained form ZDI and activity cycles., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, accepted to MNRAS

The long-term monitoring of magnetic cycles in cool stars is a key diagnostic in understanding how dynamo generation and amplification of magnetic fields occur in stars similar in structure to the Sun. We investigate the temporal evolution of a possible magnetic cycle, determined from its large-scale field, of 61 Cyg A over its activity cycle using spectropolarimetric observations and compare it to the solar case. We use Zeeman Doppler imaging (ZDI) to reconstruct the large-scale magnetic geometry over multiple observational epochs spread over a time span of nine years. We investigate the time evolution of the different components of the large-scale field and compare it with the evolution of its chromospheric activity by measuring the flux in three different chromospheric indicators: Ca II H&K, H-alpha and Ca II infra red triplet lines. We also compare our results with the star's coronal activity using XMM-Newton observations. The large-scale magnetic geometry of 61 Cyg A exhibits polarity reversals in both poloidal and toroidal field components, in phase with the chromospheric activity cycle. We also detect weak solar-like differential rotation with a shear level similar to the Sun. During our observational time span of nine years, 61 Cyg A exhibits solar-like variations in its large-scale field geometry as it evolves from minimum activity to maximum activity and vice versa. During its activity minimum in epoch 2007.59, ZDI reconstructs a simple dipolar geometry which becomes more complex close to activity maximum in epoch 2010.55. The radial field flips polarity and reverts back to a simple geometry in epoch 2013.61. The field is strongly dipolar and the evolution of the dipole component of the field is reminiscent of the solar behaviour. The polarity reversal of the large-scale field indicates a magnetic cycle that is in phase with the chromospheric and coronal cycle.

Wood et al suggested that mass-loss rate is a function of X-ray flux ($\dot{M} \propto F_x^{1.34}$) for dwarf stars with $F_x \lesssim F_{x,6} \equiv 10^6$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. However, more active stars do not obey this relation. These authors suggested that the break at $F_{x,6}$ could be caused by significant changes in magnetic field topology that would inhibit stellar wind generation. Here, we investigate this hypothesis by analysing the stars in Wood et al's sample that had their surface magnetic fields reconstructed through Zeeman-Doppler Imaging (ZDI). Although the solar-like outliers in the $\dot{M}$ -- $F_x$ relation have higher fractional toroidal magnetic energy, we do not find evidence of a sharp transition in magnetic topology at $F_{x,6}$. To confirm this, further wind measurements and ZDI observations at both sides of the break are required. As active stars can jump between states with highly toroidal to highly poloidal fields, we expect significant scatter in magnetic field topology to exist for stars with $F_x \gtrsim F_{x,6}$. This strengthens the importance of multi-epoch ZDI observations. Finally, we show that there is a correlation between $F_x$ and magnetic energy, which implies that $\dot{M}$ -- magnetic energy relation has the same qualitative behaviour as the original $\dot{M}$ -- $F_x$ relation. No break is seen in any of the $F_x$ -- magnetic energy, Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, accepted to MNRAS Letters

Spectropolarimetric observations have been used to map stellar magnetic fields, many of which display strong bands of azimuthal fields that are toroidal. A number of explanations have been proposed to explain how such fields might be generated though none are definitive. In this paper, we examine the toroidal fields of a sample of 55 stars with magnetic maps, with masses in the range 0.1-1.5$\,{\rm M}_\odot$. We find that the energy contained in toroidal fields has a power law dependence on the energy contained in poloidal fields. However the power index is not constant across our sample, with stars less and more massive than 0.5$\,{\rm M}_\odot$ having power indices of 0.72$\pm$0.08 and 1.25$\pm$0.06 respectively. There is some evidence that these two power laws correspond to stars in the saturated and unsaturated regimes of the rotation-activity relation. Additionally, our sample shows that strong toroidal fields must be generated axisymmetrically. The latitudes at which these bands appear depend on the stellar rotation period with fast rotators displaying higher latitude bands than slow rotators. The results in this paper present new constraints for future dynamo studies., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, submitted to MNRAS (referee's report indicated minor revisions only)

The large-scale magnetic field of solar-type stars reconstructed from their spectropolarimetric observations provide important insight into their underlying dynamo processes.We aim to investigate the temporal variability of the large-scale surface magnetic field and chromospheric activity of a young solar analogue, the G0 dwarf HN Peg.The large-scale surface magnetic field topology is reconstructed using Zeeman Doppler Imaging at six observational epochs covering seven years.We also investigated the chromospheric activity variations by measuring the flux in the line cores of the three chromospheric activity indicators: Ca II H&K, H alpha, and the Ca II IRT lines.The magnetic topology of HN Peg shows a complex and variable geometry. While the radial field exhibits a stable positive polarity magnetic region at the poles at each observational epoch, the azimuthal field is strongly variable in strength, where a strong band of positive polarity magnetic field is present at equatorial latitudes. This field disappears during the middle of our time span, reappearing again during the last two epochs of observations. The mean magnetic field derived from the magnetic maps also follow a similar trend to the toroidal field, with the field strength at a minimum in epoch 2009.54. Summing the line of sight magnetic field over the visible surface at each observation, HN Peg exhibits a weak longitudinal magnetic field ranging from -14 G to 13 G, with no significant long-term trend, although there is significant rotational variability within each epoch. Those chromospheric activity indicators exhibit more long-term variations over the time span of observations, where the minimal is observed in Epoch 2008.71., Comment: accepted in A&A

The phenomenon of stochastic resonance (SR) is known to occur mostly in bistable systems. However, the question of occurrence of SR in periodic potential systems is not conclusively resolved. Our present numerical work shows that the periodic potential system indeed exhibits SR in the high frequency regime, where the linear response theory yields maximum frequency dependent mobility as a function of noise strength. The existence of two (and only two) distinct dynamical states of trajectories in this moderately feebly-damped periodically driven noisy periodic potential system plays an important role in the occurrence of SR.

Recently, dispersionless (coherent) motion of (noninteracting) massive Brownian particles, at intermediate time scales, was reported in a sinusoidal potential with a constant tilt. The coherent motion persists for a finite length of time before the motion becomes diffusive. We show that such coherent motion can be obtained repeatedly by applying an external zero-mean square-wave drive of appropriate period and amplitude, instead of a constant tilt. Thus, the cumulative duration of coherent motion of particles is prolonged. Moreover, by taking an appropriate combination of periods of the external field, one can postpone the beginning of the coherent motion and can even have coherent motion at a lower value of position dispersion than in the constant tilt case., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

The underdamped Langevin equation of motion of a particle, in a symmetric periodic potential and subjected to a symmetric periodic forcing with mean zero over a period, with nonuniform friction, is solved numerically. The particle is shown to acquire a steady state mean velocity at asymptotically large time scales. This net particle velocity or the ratchet current is obtained in a range of forcing amplitudes $F_0$ and peaks at some value of $F_0$ within the range depending on the value of the average friction coefficient and temperature of the medium. At these large time scales the position dispersion grows proportionally with time, $t$, allowing for calculating the steady state diffusion coefficient $D$ which, interestingly, shows a peaking behaviour around the same $F_0$. The ratchet current, however, turns out to be largely coherent. At intermediate time scales, which bridge the small time scale behaviour of dispersion$\sim t^2$ to the large time one, the system shows, in some cases, periodic oscillation between dispersionless and steeply growing dispersion depending on the frequency of the forcing. The contribution of these different dispersion regimes to ratchet current is analysed., Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures

We obtain ratchet effect in inertial structureless systems in symmetric periodic potentials where the asymmetry comes from the nonuniform friction offered by the medium and driven by symmetric periodic forces. In the adiabatic limit the calculations are done by extending the matrix continued fraction method and also by numerically solving the appropriate Langevin equation. For finite frequency field drive the ratchet effect is obtained only numerically. In the transient time scales the system shows dispersionless behaviour as reported earlier when a constant force is applied. In the periodic drive case the dispersion behaviour is more complex. In this brief communication we report some of the results of our work, Comment: 14 pages, 7figures

There are many prospective mission opportunities involving atmospheric entry probes. The Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies (PSDS3) re-cently selected probe missions to Venus, Mars, and the outer planets as part of the 10 selected studies. Two of the six themes in the most recent New Fron-tiers call were a Saturn probe and a Venus in situ explorer. The 2013-2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey includes probe missions at Venus, Mars, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. Across mission destinations and mission classes there is growing interest in planetary probes. While interplanetary trajectory specialists may like to use a broad sweep of low-fidelity solutions to find a wide array of trajectory options, probe specialists typically start off with mid- to high-fidelity point designs for the entry probe since the equations of motion for atmospheric probes require numerical integration and are so directly linked with some of the probe's subsystem design. Cur-rently, there are no alternatives to this design ap-proach as there are no tools capable of automatical-ly and concurrently designing interplanetary and atmospheric trajectories. Unfortunately, this makes us reliant on point designs in the early stages of the mission design process. The reliance on point de-signs for atmospheric probes hinders the flexibility of the design, making the design process cumber-some and restricting decision-making down the road. The research presented here addresses this problem by providing low-fidelity models for the automated, rapid design of atmospheric trajectories and probe's models which may be solved concur-rently with the interplanetary trajectory.

We present the Small Next-Generation Atmospheric Probe (SNAP) as a secondary payload concept for future missions to giant planets. As a case study, we examine the advantages, cost and risk of adding SNAP to the future Uranus Orbiter and Probe flag-ship mission; in combination with the missions main probe, SNAP would perform atmospheric in-situ measurements at a second location.