Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21730702h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #307.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Magnetic reconnection on M dwarfs powers explosive flares with flux increases of several magnitudes in the blue/near-UV on timescales of minutes to hours. We obtained over 500 hours of flare monitoring observations at the Apache Point Observatory to make the first measurements of the flare frequency distribution of inactive early and mid M dwarfs and active late M dwarfs. These new measurements combined with our studies of flare rates from both SDSS photometry and spectroscopy have allowed us to construct a model of M dwarf flaring in the Galaxy that predicts the number and magnitude of flares expected in a given survey. In addition to the implications for time-domain surveys such as LSST, Pan-STARRS, and PTF, and for planet-habitability, the rate of flaring on stars of different mass and age informs our knowledge of the formation and evolution of stellar magnetic fields. We find that the flare star distribution is more concentrated toward the Galactic mid-plane than the active star population, implying that they are younger. Active stars flare more frequently and with more energy than inactive stars. Flares on late-type active M dwarfs are less energetic than those on earlier types.
We acknowledge support from NSF grant AST
08-07205.
Hawley Suzanne L.
Hilton Eric J.
Kowalski Adam F.
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