Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-09-06
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
38 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in AJ. Note that Figure 6 is shown here at lower resolution
Scientific paper
We have identified 63 flares on M dwarfs from the individual component spectra in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey using a novel measurement of emission line strength called the Flare Line Index. Each of the ~38,000 M dwarfs in the SDSS low mass star spectroscopic sample of West et al. was observed several times (usually 3-5) in exposures that were typically 9-25 minutes in duration. Our criteria allowed us to identify flares that exhibit very strong H-alpha and H-beta emission line strength and/or significant variability in those lines throughout the course of the exposures. The flares we identified have characteristics consistent with flares observed by classical spectroscopic monitoring. The flare duty cycle for the objects in our sample is found to increase from 0.02% for early M dwarfs to 3% for late M dwarfs. We find that the flare duty cycle is larger in the population near the Galactic plane and that the flare stars are more spatially restricted than the magnetically active but non-flaring stars. This suggests that flare frequency may be related to stellar age (younger stars are more likely to flare) and that the flare stars are younger than the mean active population.
Hawley Suzanne L.
Hilton Eric J.
Kowalski Adam F.
West Andrew A.
No associations
LandOfFree
M Dwarf Flares from Time-Resolved SDSS Spectra does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with M Dwarf Flares from Time-Resolved SDSS Spectra, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and M Dwarf Flares from Time-Resolved SDSS Spectra will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-703706