Using a dedicated high-dispersion fiber-fed spectrograph facility at the 1.1-m telescope of Lowell Observatory, we propose to study stellar/solar magnetic cycles and chromospheric activity The spectrograph records, using CCD detectors, the line profiles of Ca II at the K line (3933 ) and the infrared triplet (8542 ), and H. (6563 ) for solar-type stars and for the Sun itself, observed as just another star using the same instrument. The purpose of these observations is to use stellar cycles as tools to study the solar cycle. From detailed studies of cycle morphology (amplitude, shape, regularity) as a function of stellar mass, age, rotation rate, chemical composition, etc., we may hope to: (a) Infer the time-history of cyclic behavior for a star like the Sun over its entire lifetime, including information about the statistical frequency of major departures from "normal" behavior (e.g., Maunder minima); and (b) Obtain a broad perspective of the total ensemble of cycles possible, hence gain deep insight into the nature of stellar dynamos and into the ultimate origins of stellar magnetism. Stellar cycles provide complementary information unobtainable from observations of the Sun itself but of crucial importance to understanding the solar cycle.
