A search for rotational modulation of the ultraviolet spectra of psi3 Piscium and 31 Comae Berenices.

Abstract

IUE observations were made daily over a 7 day interval to search for rotational variability in the ultraviolet emission lines of two rapidly rotating, early G giants, ψ³Psc and 31 Com. No evidence was found to suggest that the chromospheric and transition-region lines of these stars, or their ultraviolet continua near 1725 Å, are modulated by rotation. The uniformity of the ultraviolet emission of these giants can be accounted for if their outer atmospheres are heated by acoustic waves. If the heating is a manifestation of dynamo-generated magnetic fields as on the Sun, then regions of magnetic activity must be rather evenly distributed in longitude over the stellar surface.