The relation of activity to rotation in M dwarfs is of high astrophysical interest because it provides observational evidence of the stellar dynamo, which is poorly understood for low-mass stars, ...especially in the fully convective regime. Previous studies have shown that the relation of X-ray activity to rotation consists of two different regimes: the saturated regime for fast-rotating stars and the unsaturated regime for slowly rotating stars. The transition between the two regimes lies at a rotation period of ∼10 d. We present here a sample of 14 M dwarf stars observed with
XMM-Newton
and
Chandra
, for which we also computed rotational periods from
Kepler
Two-Wheel (K2) Mission light curves. We compiled X-ray and rotation data from the literature and homogenized all data sets to provide the largest uniform sample of M dwarfs (302 stars) for X-ray activity and rotation studies to date. We then fit the relation between
L
x
−
P
rot
using three different mass bins to separate partially and fully convective stars. We found a steeper slope in the unsaturated regime for fully convective stars and a nonconstant
L
x
level in the saturated regime for all masses. In the
L
x
/
L
bol
−
R
O
space we discovered a remarkable double gap that might be related to a discontinuous period evolution. Then we combined the evolution of
P
rot
predicted by angular momentum evolution models with our new results on the empirical
L
x
−
P
rot
relation to provide an estimate for the age decay of X-ray luminosity. We compare predictions of this relationship with the actual X-ray luminosities of M stars with known ages from 100 Myr to a few billion years. We find remarkably good agreement between the predicted
L
x
and the observed values for partially convective stars. However, for fully convective stars at ages of a few billion years, the constructed
L
x
-age relation overpredicts the X-ray luminosity because the angular momentum evolution model underpredicts the rotation period of these stars. Finally, we examine the effect of different parameterizations for the Rossby number (
R
O
) on the shape of the activity-rotation relation in
L
x
/
L
bol
−
R
O
space, and we find that the slope in the unsaturated regime and the location of the break point of the dual power-law depend sensitively on the choice of
R
O
.
Using light curves obtained by the K2 mission, we study the relation between stellar rotation and magnetic activity with special focus on stellar flares. Our sample comprises 56 bright and nearby M ...dwarfs observed by K2 during campaigns C0-C18 in long- and short-cadence mode. We derive rotation periods for 46 M dwarfs and measure photometric activity indicators such as amplitude of the rotational signal, standard deviation of the light curves, and the basic flare properties (flare rate, flare energy, flare duration, and flare amplitude). We found 1662 short-cadence flares, 363 of which have a long-cadence counterpart with flare energies of up to 5.6 × 10
34
erg. The flare amplitude, duration, and frequency derived from the short-cadence light curves differ significantly from those derived from the long-cadence data. The analysis of the short-cadence light curves results in a flare rate that is 4.6 times higher than the long-cadence data. We confirm the abrupt change in activity level in the rotation-activity relation at a critical period of ~10 d when photometric activity diagnostics are used. This change is most drastic in the flare duration and frequency for short-cadence data. Our flare studies revealed that the highest flare rates are not found among the fastest rotators and that stars with the highest flare rates do not show the most energetic flares. We found that the superflare frequency (
E
≥ 5 × 10
34
erg) for the fast-rotating M stars is twice higher than for solar like stars in the same period range. By fitting the cumulative FFD, we derived a power-law index of
α
= 1.84 ± 0.14, consistent with previous M dwarf studies and the value found for the Sun.
M dwarfs are the most numerous stars in the Galaxy. They are characterized by strong magnetic activity. The ensuing high-energy emission is crucial for the evolution of their planets and the eventual ...presence of life on them. We systematically study the X-ray and ultraviolet emission of a subsample of M dwarfs from a recent proper-motion survey, selecting all M dwarfs within 10 pc to obtain a nearly volume-limited sample (∼90 per cent completeness). Archival ROSAT, XMM-Newton and GALEX data are combined with published spectroscopic studies of Hα emission and rotation to obtain a broad picture of stellar activity on M dwarfs. We make use of synthetic model spectra to determine the relative contributions of photospheric and chromospheric emission to the ultraviolet flux. We also analyse the same diagnostics for a comparison sample of young M dwarfs in the TW Hya association (∼10 Myr). We find that generally the emission in the GALEX bands is dominated by the chromosphere but the photospheric component is not negligible in early-M field dwarfs. The surface fluxes for the Hα, near-ultraviolet, far-ultraviolet and X-ray emission are connected via a power-law dependence. We present here for the first time such flux-flux relations involving broad-band ultraviolet emission for M dwarfs. Activity indices are defined as flux ratio between the activity diagnostic and the bolometric flux of the star in analogy to the Ca ii
R′HK index. For given spectral type, these indices display a spread of 2-3 dex which is largest for M4 stars. Strikingly, at mid-M spectral types, the spread of rotation rates is also at its highest level. The mean activity index for fast rotators, likely representing the saturation level, decreases from X-rays over the FUV to the NUV band and Hα, i.e. the fractional radiation output increases with atmospheric height. The comparison to the ultraviolet and X-ray properties of TW Hya members shows a drop of nearly three orders of magnitude for the luminosity in these bands between ∼10 Myr and few Gyr age. A few young field dwarfs (<1 Gyr) in the 10-pc sample bridge the gap indicating that the drop in magnetic activity with age is a continuous process. The slope of the age decay is steeper for the X-ray than for the UV luminosity.
We study the relation between stellar rotation and magnetic activity for a sample of 134 bright, nearby M dwarfs observed in the Kepler Two-Wheel (K2) mission during campaigns C0-C4. The K2 light ...curves yield photometrically derived rotation periods for 97 stars (79 of which without previous period measurement), as well as various measures for activity related to cool spots and flares. We find a clear difference between fast and slow rotators with a dividing line at a period of ~10 d at which the activity level changes abruptly. All photometric diagnostics of activity (spot cycle amplitude, flare peak amplitude and residual variability after subtraction of spot and flare variations) display the same dichotomy, pointing to a quick transition between a high-activity mode for fast rotators and a low-activity mode for slow rotators. This unexplained behaviour is reminiscent of a dynamo mode-change seen in numerical simulations that separates a dipolar from a multipolar regime. A substantial number of the fast rotators are visual binaries. A tentative explanation is accelerated disc evolution in binaries leading to higher initial rotation rates on the main sequence and associated longer spin-down and activity lifetimes. We combine the K2 rotation periods with archival X-ray and UV data. X-ray, FUV and NUV detections are found for 26, 41, and 11 stars from our sample, respectively. Separating the fast from the slow rotators, we determine for the first time the X-ray saturation level separately for early- and for mid-M stars.
The mass accretion rate, M sub(acc), is a key quantity for the understanding of the physical processes governing the evolution of accretion discs around young low-mass (Mlow *< or =2.0 M sub(middot ...in circle)) stars and substellar objects (YSOs). We present here the results of a study of the stellar and accretion properties of the (almost) complete sample of class II and transitional YSOs in the Lupus I, II, III and IV clouds, based on spectroscopic data acquired with the VLT/X-shooter spectrograph. Our study combines the dataset from our previous work with new observations of 55 additional objects. We have investigated 92 YSO candidates in total, 11 of which have been definitely identified with giant stars unrelated to Lupus. The stellar and accretion properties of the 81 bona fide YSOs, which represent more than 90% of the whole class II and transition disc YSO population in the aforementioned Lupus clouds, have been homogeneously and self-consistently derived, allowing for an unbiased study of accretion and its relationship with stellar parameters. The accretion luminosity, L sub(acc), increases with the stellar luminosity, Llow *, with an overall slope of ~1.6, similar but with a smaller scatter than in previous studies. There is a significant lack of strong accretors below Llow *approximate 0.1L sub(middot in circle), where L sub(acc) is always lower than 0.01Llow *. We argue that the L sub(acc)-Llow * slope is not due to observational biases, but is a true property of the Lupus YSOs. The logM sub(acc)- logMlow * correlation shows a statistically significant evidence of a break, with a steeper relation for Mlow *< or =0.2M sub(middot in circle) and a flatter slope for higher masses. The bimodality of the M sub(acc)- Mlow * relation is confirmed with four different evolutionary models used to derive the stellar mass. The bimodal behaviour of the observed relationship supports the importance of modelling self-gravity in the early evolution of the more massive discs, but other processes, such as photo-evaporation and planet formation during the YSO's lifetime, may also lead to disc dispersal on different timescales depending on the stellar mass. The sample studied here more than doubles the number of YSOs with homogeneously and simultaneously determined L sub(acc) and luminosity, L sub(line), of many permitted emission lines. Hence, we also refined the empirical relationships between L sub(acc) and L sub(line) on a more solid statistical basis.
Context. Studies of the formation and evolution of young stars and their disks rely on knowledge of the stellar parameters of the young stars. The derivation of these parameters is commonly based on ...comparison with photospheric template spectra. Furthermore, chromospheric emission in young active stars impacts the measurement of mass accretion rates, a key quantity for studying disk evolution. Aims. Here we derive stellar properties of low-mass (M⋆≲ 2 M⊙) pre-main sequence stars without disks, which represent ideal photospheric templates for studies of young stars. We also use these spectra to constrain the impact of chromospheric emission on the measurements of mass accretion rates. The spectra are reduced, flux-calibrated, and corrected for telluric absorption, and are made available to the community. Methods. We derive the spectral type for our targets by analyzing the photospheric molecular features present in their VLT/X-shooter spectra by means of spectral indices and comparison of the relative strength of photospheric absorption features. We also measure effective temperature, gravity, projected rotational velocity, and radial velocity from our spectra by fitting them with synthetic spectra with the ROTFIT tool. The targets have negligible extinction (AV< 0.5 mag) and spectral type from G5 to K6, and from M6.5 to M8. They thus complement the library of photospheric templates presented in our previous publication. We perform synthetic photometry on the spectra to derive the typical colors of young stars in different filters. We measure the luminosity of the emission lines present in the spectra and estimate the noise due to chromospheric emission in the measurements of accretion luminosity in accreting stars. Results. We provide a calibration of the photospheric colors of young pre-main sequence stars as a function of their spectral type in a set of standard broad-band optical and near-infrared filters. The logarithm of the noise on the accretion luminosity normalized to the stellar luminosity is roughly constant and equal to ~−2.3 for targets with masses larger than 1 solar mass, and decreases with decreasing temperatures for lower-mass stars. For stars with masses of ~ 1.5 M⊙ and ages of ~ 1−5 Myr, the chromospheric noise converts to a limit of measurable mass accretion rates of ~ 3 × 10-10M⊙/yr. The limit on the mass accretion rate set by the chromospheric noise is of the order of the lowest measured values of mass accretion rates in Class II objects.
Photometric space missions such as Kepler and TESS continuously discover new exoplanets and advance the search for a second habitable world. The light curves (LCs) recorded by these telescopes also ...reveal signs of magnetic activity, such as star spot modulation and flares, which can influence habitability. Searching for these characteristics, we analyzed TESS LCs of 112 M dwarfs selected according to the criterion that TESS can spot planet transits over their entire habitable zone (HZ). We detected 2,532 flare events occurring on 35 stars; thus the flaring fraction is ≈32%. For only ≈11% of our stars, we found rotation periods. We calculated bolometric flare energies and luminosities, flare energy frequency distributions (FFDs), and the bolometric flux reaching the HZ at the peak of the flare. We estimated the effects of flaring on the atmosphere of an Earth‐like planet in the HZ from the viewpoint of both ozone depletion and the enabling of chemical reactions necessary to build ribonucleic acid (RNA). None of our targets exhibits highly energetic flares at a frequency large enough to trigger ozone depletion or RNA formation.
Context. In 2020, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observed a rapidly rotating M7 dwarf, TIC 277539431, producing a flare at 81° latitude, the highest latitude flare located to date. ...This is in stark contrast to solar flares that occur much closer to the equator, typically below 30°. The mechanisms that allow flares at high latitudes to occur are poorly understood. Aims. We studied five sectors of TESS monitoring, and obtained 36 ks of XMM-Newton observations to investigate the coronal and flaring activity of TIC 277539431. Methods. From the observations, we infer the optical flare frequency distribution; flare loop sizes and magnetic field strengths; the soft X-ray flux, luminosity, and coronal temperatures; as well as the energy, loop size, and field strength of a large flare in the XMM-Newton observations. Results. We find that the corona of TIC 277539431 does not differ significantly from other low-mass stars on the canonical saturated activity branch with respect to coronal temperatures and flaring activity, but shows lower luminosity in soft X-ray emission by about an order of magnitude, consistent with other late M dwarfs. Conclusions. The lack of X-ray flux, the high-latitude flare, the star’s viewing geometry, and the otherwise typical stellar corona taken together can be explained by the migration of flux emergence to the poles in rapid rotators like TIC 277539431 that drain the star’s equatorial regions of magnetic flux, but preserve its ability to produce powerful flares.
We present VLT/X-shooter observations of a sample of 36 accreting low-mass stellar and substellar objects (YSOs) in the Lupus star-forming region, spanning a range in mass from ~0.03 to ~1.2 M⊙, but ...mostly with 0.1 M⊙<M⋆< 0.5 M⊙. Our aim is twofold: firstly, to analyse the relationship between excess-continuum and line emission accretion diagnostics, and, secondly, to investigate the accretion properties in terms of the physical properties of the central object. The accretion luminosity (Lacc), and in turn the accretion rate (Ṁacc), was derived by modelling the excess emission from the UV to the near-infrared as the continuum emission of a slab of hydrogen. We computed the flux and luminosity (Lline) of many emission lines of H , He , and Ca ii, observed simultaneously in the range from ~330 nm to 2500 nm. The luminosity of all the lines is well correlated with Lacc. We provide empirical relationships between Lacc and the luminosity of 39 emission lines, which have a lower dispersion than relationships previously reported in the literature. Our measurements extend the Paβ and Brγ relationships to Lacc values about two orders of magnitude lower than those reported in previous studies. We confirm that different methodologies of measuring Lacc and Ṁacc yield significantly different results: Hα line profile modelling may underestimate Ṁacc by 0.6 to 0.8 dex with respect to Ṁacc derived from continuum-excess measures. These differences may explain the probably spurious bi-modal relationships between Ṁacc and other YSOs properties reported in the literature. We derived Ṁacc in the range 2 × 10-12–4 × 10-8 M⊙ yr-1 and conclude that Ṁacc ∝ M⋆1.8(±0.2), with a dispersion lower by a factor of about 2 than in previous studies. A number of properties indicate that the physical conditions of the accreting gas are similar over more than 5 orders of magnitude in Ṁacc, confirming previous suggestions that the geometry of the accretion flow controls the rate at which the disc material accretes onto the central star.
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