A STUDY OF DIFFERENTIAL ROTATION ON II PEGASI VIA PHOTOMETRIC STARSPOT IMAGING

We present the results of a study of differential rotation on the K2 IV primary of the RS CVn binary II Pegasi (HD 224085) performed by inverting light curves to produce images of the dark starspots on its surface. The data were obtained in the standard Johnson B and V filter passbands via the Tennessee State University T3 0.4 m Automated Photometric Telescope from JD 2447115.8086-2455222.6238 (1987 November 16-2010 January 26). The observations were subdivided into 79 data sets consisting of pairs of B and V light curves, which were then inverted using a constrained nonlinear inversion algorithm that makes no a priori assumptions regarding the number of spots or their shapes. The resulting surface images were then assigned to 24 groups corresponding to time intervals over which we could observe the evolution of a given group of spots (except for three groups consisting of single data sets). Of these 24 groups, six showed convincing evidence of differential rotation over time intervals of several months. For the others, the spot configuration was such that differential rotation was neither exhibited nor contraindicated. The differential rotation we infer is in the same sense as that on the Sun: lower latitudes have shortermore » rotation periods. From plots of the range in longitude spanned by the spotted regions versus time, we obtain estimates of the differential rotation coefficient k defined as in earlier work by Henry et al. and show that our results for its value are consistent with the value obtained therein.« less