Recalibration of the M star ζ Metallicity Index Using Common Proper Motion Systems

Details Recalibration of the M star ζ Metallicity Index Using Common Proper Motion Systems Recalibration of the M star ζ Metallicity Index Using Common Proper Motion Systems

Jan 2012

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21934517w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #345.17

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

M dwarfs and subdwarfs comprise 70% of the stellar population of the Galaxy, and their main sequence lifetimes are longer than the Hubble time, which potentially makes them powerful tracers of the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Milky Way if their metallicities can be estimated from simple measurements. The ζ(TiO/CaH) index, which measures the relative strengths of the TiO and CaH bands in M stars, can be used to estimate the metallicity of M dwarfs using low-resolution optical spectra. The index is currently used to divide main-sequence M stars into four metallicity subclasses: dwarfs (dM), subdwarfs (sdM), extreme subdwarfs (esdM), and ultrasubdwarfs (usdM). As a means to verify the calibration of the ζ(TiO/CaH) index across spectral subtypes, we have obtained optical spectra of 143 wide M + M binaries, identified as common proper motion doubles in the LSPM-north catalog. Using the pairs as equal-metallicity calibrators, we have revised the definition of ζ(TiO/CaH). The new calibration will improve metallicity estimates of low mass main sequence stars, without the need for high-resolution optical spectroscopy. In addition, we have updated the relationship between spectral subtype and each of the the CaH2, CaH3, TiO5, TiO6 and TiO7 spectral indices, using measurements from high signal-to-noise, empirical classification templates. The revised relationships will improve metallicity and effective temperature estimates of M dwarfs in upcoming optical spectroscopic surveys.

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