Formation of starspots in self-consistent global dynamo models: Polar spots on cool stars

Abstract

Observations of cool stars reveal dark spot-like features on their surfaces. Compared to sunspots, starspots can be bigger or cover a larger fraction of the stellar surface. While sunspots appear only at low latitudes, starspots are also found in polar regions, in particular on rapidly rotating stars. Sunspots are believed to result from the eruption of magnetic flux-tubes rising from the deep interior of the Sun. The strong magnetic field locally reduces convective heat transport to the solar surface. Such flux-tube models have also been invoked to explain starspot properties. However, these models use several simplifications and so far the generation of either sunspots or starspots has not been demonstrated in a self-consistent simulation of stellar magnetic convection. Here we show that direct numerical simulations of a distributed dynamo operating in a density-stratified rotating spherical shell can spontaneously generate cool spots. Convection in the interior of the model produces a large scale magnetic field which interacts with near surface granular convection leading to strong concentrations of magnetic flux and formation of starspots. Prerequisites for the formation of sizeable high-latitude spots in the model are sufficiently strong density stratification and rapid rotation. Our model presents an alternate mechanism for starspot formation by distributed dynamo action.