Stellar cycles: General properties and future directions

Abstract

We discuss the general properties of stellar cycles with emphasis on their amplitudes as a function of stellar parameters, particularly those stellar characteristics relevant to dynamo-driven magnetic activity. We deduce an empirical scaling relation between cycle frequency and differential rotation based on previously established empirical relations. We also compare the recent Cycle 23 to cycles in solar-type stars. We find that the extended minimum of Cycle 23 resembled in its Ca II H & K emission at minimum the mean levels of activity seen in stars with no cycles. © 2012 International Astronomical Union.