Model atmospheres of red dwarf stars.
High temperature atmospheric models for red dwarf stars and sun to determine convection effect on atmospheric surface layers and emitted flux
Auman, J. R., Jr.↗
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Photometry of Southern Hemisphere red dwarf stars
Results are presented for a photometric investigation of a spectroscopically selected sample of red dwarf stars in the Southern Hemisphere. Absolute magnitudes and distances for the stars are estimated from broadband red colors. Three stars which may be subluminous are identified, as are several stars which may be within 25 pc. The tangential velocity and velocity dispersion of the sample are similar to values found in other studies of nearby late-type stars.
Weistrop, D.↗
Narrow-band radio flares from red dwarf stars
VLA observations of narrow-band behavior in 20 cm flares from two red dwarf stars, L726 - 8A and AD Leo, are reported. The flare on L726 - 8A was observed at 1415 and 1515 MHz; the flux and the evolution differed significantly at the two frequencies. The flare on AD Leo lasted for 2 hr at 1415 MHz but did not appear at 1515 MHz. The AD Leo flare appears to rule out a source drifting through the stellar corona and is unlikely to be due to plasma emission. In the cyclotron maser model the narrow-band behavior reflects the range of magnetic fields present within the source. The apparent constancy of this field for 2 hr is difficult to understand if magnetic reconnection is the source of energy for the flare. The consistent polarization exhibited by red dwarf flares at 20 cm may be related to stellar activity cycles, and changes in this polarization will permit measuring the length of these cycles.
White, Stephen M.↗
Photometric study on stellar magnetic activity. I. Flare variability of red dwarf stars in the open cluster M37
Based on one-month long MMT time-series observations of the open cluster M37, we monitored light variations of nearly 2500 red dwarfs and successfully identified 420 flare events from 312 cluster M dwarf stars. For each flare light curve, we derived observational and physical parameters, such as flare shape, peak amplitude, duration, energy, and peak luminosity. We show that cool stars produce serendipitous flares energetic enough to be observed in the r-band, and their temporal and peak characteristics are almost the same as those in traditional U-band observations. We also found many large-amplitude flares with inferred Δu>6 mag in the cluster sample which had been rarely reported in previous ground-based observations. Following the ergodic hypothesis, we investigate in detail statistical properties of flare parameters over a range of energy (E{sub r} ≃ 10{sup 31}–10{sup 34} erg). As expected, there are no statistical differences in the distributions of flare timescales, energies, and frequencies among stars of the same age and mass group. We note that our sample tend to have longer rise and decay timescales compared to those seen in field flare stars of the same spectral type and be more energetic. Flare frequency distributions follow power-law distributions with slopes β∼0.62–1.21 for all flare stars and β∼0.52–0.97 for stars with membership information (P{sub mem}⩾0.2). These are in general agreement with previous works on flare statistics of young open clusters and nearby field stars. Our results give further support to the classical age–activity relations.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Speckle Interferometry of Red Dwarf Stars
We report high-resolution optical speckle observations of 336 M dwarfs, which results in 113 measurements of the relative position of 80 systems and 256 other stars with no indications of duplicity. These are the first measurements for two of the systems. We also present the earliest measurements of relative position for 17 others. We include orbits for six of the systems, two revised and four reported for the first time. For one of the systems with a new orbit, G 161-7, we determine masses of 0.156 ± 0.011 and 0.1175±0.0079 M{sub ⊙} for the A and B components, respectively. All six of these new calculated orbits have short periods (between five and 38 years) and hold the promise of deriving accurate masses in the near future. For many other pairs we can establish their nature as physical or chance alignment, depending on their relative motion. Of the 80 systems, 32 have calculated orbits, 25 others are physical pairs, four are optical pairs, and 19 are currently unknown.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Possible evidence for the occurrence of magnetic fields of order 10 kilogauss in the red dwarf star by Draconis
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Mullan, D. J.↗
STABILIZING CLOUD FEEDBACK DRAMATICALLY EXPANDS THE HABITABLE ZONE OF TIDALLY LOCKED PLANETS
The habitable zone (HZ) is the circumstellar region where a planet can sustain surface liquid water. Searching for terrestrial planets in the HZ of nearby stars is the stated goal of ongoing and planned extrasolar planet surveys. Previous estimates of the inner edge of the HZ were based on one-dimensional radiative-convective models. The most serious limitation of these models is the inability to predict cloud behavior. Here we use global climate models with sophisticated cloud schemes to show that due to a stabilizing cloud feedback, tidally locked planets can be habitable at twice the stellar flux found by previous studies. This dramatically expands the HZ and roughly doubles the frequency of habitable planets orbiting red dwarf stars. At high stellar flux, strong convection produces thick water clouds near the substellar location that greatly increase the planetary albedo and reduce surface temperatures. Higher insolation produces stronger substellar convection and therefore higher albedo, making this phenomenon a stabilizing climate feedback. Substellar clouds also effectively block outgoing radiation from the surface, reducing or even completely reversing the thermal emission contrast between dayside and nightside. The presence of substellar water clouds and the resulting clement surface conditions will therefore be detectable with the James Webb Space Telescope.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
FINDING EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE USING GROUND-BASED HIGH-DISPERSION SPECTROSCOPY
Exoplanet observations promise one day to unveil the presence of extraterrestrial life. Atmospheric compounds in strong chemical disequilibrium would point to large-scale biological activity just as oxygen and methane do in the Earth's atmosphere. The cancellation of both the Terrestrial Planet Finder and Darwin missions means that it is unlikely that a dedicated space telescope to search for biomarker gases in exoplanet atmospheres will be launched within the next 25 years. Here we show that ground-based telescopes provide a strong alternative for finding biomarkers in exoplanet atmospheres through transit observations. Recent results on hot Jupiters show the enormous potential of high-dispersion spectroscopy to separate the extraterrestrial and telluric signals, making use of the Doppler shift of the planet. The transmission signal of oxygen from an Earth-twin orbiting a small red dwarf star is only a factor of three smaller than that of carbon monoxide recently detected in the hot Jupiter {tau} Booetis b, albeit such a star will be orders of magnitude fainter. We show that if Earth-like planets are common, the planned extremely large telescopes can detect oxygen within a few dozen transits. Ultimately, large arrays of dedicated flux-collector telescopes equipped with high-dispersion spectrographs can provide the large collecting area needed to perform a statistical study of life-bearing planets in the solar neighborhood.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
An infrared study of the eclipsing dwarf nova U Geminorum
One series of data comprising the present J, H, K broadband IR photometry of the cataclysmic binary system U Geminorum over the course of two orbital cycles was obtained several days before an outburst, while a second was gathered when the system had almost completely returned to quiescence from that outburst. In quiescence, the M4-M5.5 red dwarf star supplies most of the IR luminosity of the system, while the light curves at this time are tidally induced ellipsoidal variations of the red dwarf which exhibit an amplitude such that the red dwarf must fill, or nearly fill, its Roche lobe. This shows directly that Roche lobe overflow is important in cataclysmic variable stars. The range of the disk IR colors after outbursts suggest that cool and optically thick gas, together with optically thin gas, supply most of the IR light of the disk.
Berriman, G.↗
Detection of a proton beam during the impulsive phase of a stellar flare
A transient event consistent with the predicted temporal and spectral signatures of an energetic proton beam was detected in the impulsive phase of a small flare on the red dwarf star AU Microscopii. It consisted of a prominent increase in the flux in the red wing of Lyman-alpha near 1223 A, simultaneously with the peak of a flare observed in the 1206 A transition region line of Si III. The probability that the red wing event was a chance fluctuation is one chance in 2.5 x 10 exp 4. This observation represents a confirmation of the prediction by Orrall and Zirker (1976) in which downstreaming protons accelerated during the impulsive phase of a flare charge exchange with ambient neutral hydrogen and emit Lyman-alpha radiation from 1 to 15 A redward of line center.
Woodgate, Bruce E.↗
Platform for probing radiation transport properties of hydrogen at conditions found in the deep interiors of red dwarfs
We describe an experimental concept at the National Ignition Facility for specifically tailored spherical implosions to compress hydrogen to extreme densities (up to ∼800× solid density, electron number density ne∼4×1025 cm−3) at moderate temperatures (T∼200 eV), i.e., to conditions, which are relevant to the interiors of red dwarf stars. The dense plasma will be probed by laser-generated x-ray radiation of different photon energy to determine the plasma opacity due to collisional (free–free) absorption and Thomson scattering. The obtained results will benchmark radiation transport models, which in the case for free–free absorption show strong deviations at conditions relevant to red dwarfs. This very first experimental test of free–free opacity models at these extreme states will help to constrain where inside those celestial objects energy transport is dominated by radiation or convection. Moreover, our study will inform models for other important processes in dense plasmas, which are based on electron–ion collisions, e.g., stopping of swift ions or electron–ion temperature relaxation.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Magnetic fields and activity of the sun and stars - An overview
Recent work on the observation and theory of solar and stellar magnetic field activity and its relation to stellar activity is reviewed, emphasizing those aspects relevant to the problem of activity of red dwarf stars. New observational facts relevant to understanding the root cause of stellar surface activity are summarized and theoretical questions concerning the underlying physical basis for the observed correlations between stellar activity, rotation, and magnetic fields are addressed. These include dyanamo theory and the rotation-activity connection as well as flux tube dynamics and plasma heating.
Rosner, R.↗
Modelling Thomson Scattering in a Hydrogen Plasma at Stellar Interior Conditions Using the Hypernetted‐Chain Approach
Under the extreme conditions found in small stars, where electron degeneracy and Coulomb coupling are significant, accurate modeling of Thomson scattering is crucial for determining opacity, a primary quantity for stellar energy transport. We use hypernetted-chain calculations, incorporating quantum pseudopotentials and electron-exchange effects to obtain the electron–electron static structure factor to calculate the Thomson scattering transport cross-section for conditions prevailing in the interior of small stars. These results are compared to those from average-atom simulations and analytical calculations. Our findings support laboratory astrophysics experiments aimed at benchmarking opacity models for stellar interiors, particularly for red dwarf stars, and help to bridge theoretical models with observations.
ICF↗
Accurate radio and optical positions for the radio star HD 36705 (AB Doradus)
Arc-second position measurements of the active star HD 36705 (AB Dor) and of the variable radio source found nearby are presented. These measurements show that the radio source is clearly identified with HD 36705 and not with the nearby red-dwarf star Rst 137B.
White, Graeme L.↗
A nearby transiting rocky exoplanet that is suitable for atmospheric investigation
Spectroscopy of transiting exoplanets can be used to investigate their atmospheric properties and habitability. Combining radial velocity (RV) and transit data provides additional information on exoplanet physical properties. We detect a transiting rocky planet with an orbital period of 1.467 days around the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 486. The planet Gliese 486 b is 2.81 Earth masses and 1.31 Earth radii, with uncertainties of 5%, as determined from RV data and photometric light curves. The host star is at a distance of ~8.1 parsecs, has a J-band magnitude of ~7.2, and is observable from both hemispheres of Earth. On the basis of these properties and the planet’s short orbital period and high equilibrium temperature, we show that this terrestrial planet is suitable for emission and transit spectroscopy.
T. Trifonov↗
Understanding the Effects of Space Radiation on Living Organisms and its Implication for Astrobiology
The planetary environment around a star will be assaulted with various amounts of radiation. including solar and ionizing radiation. The amount and type varies with the type of star, the distance from the star, time of day, and other variables. While some radiation is critical to life on Earth, especially from 400-750 nm (so-called visible and photosynthetically active radiation), the effects of ultraviolet and ionizing radiation can be hazardous and even deadly. This is because life is based on organic carbon, which is susceptible to radiation damage. Radiation regimes in our own solar system address specifically radiation in our solar system with a main sequence star. The possibility remains of planets around red dwarfs. Such stars are much smaller in mass than the Sun (between 0.5 and .08 M(sub Sun), and so their temperature and stellar luminosity are low and peaked in the red. Since red dwarfs comprise about 75% of all stars in the galaxy, the possibility of life on planets around red dwarfs has been examined.
Tarter, Jill C.↗
ON THE PERIODIC VARIABILITY OF THE LONGITUDINAL MAGNETIC FIELDS OF STARS
There exist 218 stars with measured phase curves of their longitudinal (effective) magnetic field B{sub e} . In that group, 172 objects are classified as magnetic chemically peculiar stars. The remaining objects are stars of various spectral types, from the most massive hot Of?p supergiants to low-mass red dwarfs and stars with planets. In this paper, we discuss the behavior of the longitudinal magnetic field B{sub e} and present estimated parameters of the apparent magnetic variability for stars of each spectral type. This paper also aims to briefly review the properties of the observed magnetic behavior among various types of stars.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
LIVING WITH A RED DWARF: ROTATION AND X-RAY AND ULTRAVIOLET PROPERTIES OF THE HALO POPULATION KAPTEYN’S STAR
As part of Villanova’s Living with a Red Dwarf program, we have obtained UV, X-ray, and optical data of the Population II red dwarf—Kapteyn’s Star. Kapteyn’s Star is noteworthy for its large proper motions and high radial velocity of ∼+245 km s{sup −1}. As the nearest Pop II red dwarf, it serves as an old age anchor for calibrating activity/irradiance–rotation–age relations, and an important test bed for stellar dynamos and the resulting X-ray–UV emissions of slowly rotating, near-fully convective red dwarf stars. Adding to the notoriety, Kapteyn’s Star has recently been reported to host two super-Earth candidates, one of which (Kapteyn b) is orbiting within the habitable zone. However, Robertson et al. questioned the planet’s existence since its orbital period may be an artifact of activity, related to the star’s rotation period. Because of its large Doppler-shift, measures of the important, chromospheric H i Lyα 1215.67 Å emission line can be reliably made, because it is mostly displaced from ISM and geo-coronal sources. Lyα emission dominates the FUV region of cool stars. Our measures can help determine the X-ray–UV effects on planets hosted by Kapteyn’s Star, and planets hosted by other old red dwarfs. Stellar X-ray and Lyα emissions have strong influences on the heating and ionization of upper planetary atmospheres and can (with stellar winds and flares) erode or even eliminate planetary atmospheres. Using our program stars, we have reconstructed the past exposures of Kapteyn’s Star's planets to coronal—chromospheric XUV emissions over time.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗