Qualitative illustrations of spot emergence patterns based on Hypothesis 1 (left panel) and Hypothesis 2 (right panel) as discussed in Sect. 5.3. In both cases we assume a slowly rotating pole compared to the equator (similar to the Sun). Darker shades indicate higher activity levels (e.g., higher spot emergence rates). For the depiction of Hypothesis 2, we use the solar-like butterfly diagram simply as an example to describe the overall change in emergence latitude caused by the primary cycle.