Thesis title
Stellar magnetism in the era of high-precision photometric space missions Abstract
Composition of the jury
- Chairwoman : Nabila Aghanim
- Rapporteurs : Nadège Meunier, Pascal Petit
- Examiners : Laurène Jouve, Magali Deleuil
- Thesis supervisors : Frédéric Baudin, Réza Samadi
- Invited : Barbara Perri, Charly Pinçon
Abstract
The spots that appear on the surface of stars are not mere dust, but excellent tracers of stellar magnetism, whose functioning remains poorly understood and whose diversity is unexplained. Yet stellar magnetic fields have a direct impact on the habitability of planets, particularly our own, Earth. One way to study this magnetism is to decode the variations in starlight that are induced by these spots.
However, this method is subject to significant degeneration, as a single light curve contains a large amount of information. This thesis therefore consisted of developing a new method to circumvent these limitations, while establishing the first links between photometry and 3D simulations in order to better understand the expression of magnetism through these spots. This work also aims to open up new perspectives for analysis for the PLATO mission scheduled for 2026.
