OH 1.563 micron Absorption from Starspots on Active Stars

We present results from a study of starspots on active stars using a pair of vibrational-rotational absorption lines of the OH molecule near 1.563mu m. We detect excess OH absorption due to dark, cool starspots on the RS CVn binaries II Pegasi, V1762 Cygni, and lambda Andromedae. This is the first detection of OH absorption from spots on stars other than the Sun. We have measured absorption equivalent widths of these OH lines (which are blended at the resolution of our observations) in inactive giant and dwarf stars of spectral types G, K, and M. We find that the total equivalent width of the line pair increases approximately linearly as effective temperature decreases from 5000 K to 3000 K. This greatly extends the temperature range over which starspots can be detected through molecular absorption features. We measure starspot filling factors by fitting the spectra of active stars with linear combinations of comparison star spectra representing the spot and non-spot regions of the star. Fitting only one spectral feature, we cannot derive independent constraints on starspot area and temperature. Assuming spot temperatures based on previous analyses, we find (for one epoch) spot filling factors between 35% and 48% for II Peg, 22% and 26% for lambda And, and 27% and 32% for V1762 Cyg.