Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs
Because of the continuous variations in mass, metallicity, and opacity, dwarf stars are distributed along the main sequence on optical and near-IR color–magnitude diagrams following a smooth polynomial. In this study, utilizing a catalog of crossmatched Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and Gaia sou...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada771 |
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| author | Wei-Chun Jao Allison Youngblood |
| author_facet | Wei-Chun Jao Allison Youngblood |
| author_sort | Wei-Chun Jao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Because of the continuous variations in mass, metallicity, and opacity, dwarf stars are distributed along the main sequence on optical and near-IR color–magnitude diagrams following a smooth polynomial. In this study, utilizing a catalog of crossmatched Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and Gaia sources, we identify two distinct populations of M dwarfs in the near-UV (NUV) band on the M _NUV versus M _G diagram. We also reveal a pronounced increase in the number of stars exhibiting high NUV fluxes near the spectral type M2 or M _G ~ 9.4, coinciding with the H _2 formation in the atmosphere that improves the energy transportation at the surface. This suggests that certain yet-to-be-understood stellar mechanisms drive heightened activity in the NUV band around the effective temperatures of M2 and later types of M dwarfs. Through examination of archival Hubble Space Telescope spectra, we show that Fe ii line forests at ~2400 Å and 2800 Å dominate the spectral features in the GALEX NUV bandpass, contributing to the observed excess fluxes at a given mass between the two populations. Additionally, our investigation indicates that fast rotators and young stars likely increase in brightness in the NUV band, but not all stars with bright NUV fluxes are fast rotators or young stars. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8ff1428d94b84ccb9e6c22b70ffd55e3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-8ff1428d94b84ccb9e6c22b70ffd55e32025-08-20T02:08:04ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169314410.3847/1538-3881/ada771Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M DwarfsWei-Chun Jao0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0193-2187Allison Youngblood1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1176-3391Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, GA 30303, USA ; wjao@gsu.eduNASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USABecause of the continuous variations in mass, metallicity, and opacity, dwarf stars are distributed along the main sequence on optical and near-IR color–magnitude diagrams following a smooth polynomial. In this study, utilizing a catalog of crossmatched Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and Gaia sources, we identify two distinct populations of M dwarfs in the near-UV (NUV) band on the M _NUV versus M _G diagram. We also reveal a pronounced increase in the number of stars exhibiting high NUV fluxes near the spectral type M2 or M _G ~ 9.4, coinciding with the H _2 formation in the atmosphere that improves the energy transportation at the surface. This suggests that certain yet-to-be-understood stellar mechanisms drive heightened activity in the NUV band around the effective temperatures of M2 and later types of M dwarfs. Through examination of archival Hubble Space Telescope spectra, we show that Fe ii line forests at ~2400 Å and 2800 Å dominate the spectral features in the GALEX NUV bandpass, contributing to the observed excess fluxes at a given mass between the two populations. Additionally, our investigation indicates that fast rotators and young stars likely increase in brightness in the NUV band, but not all stars with bright NUV fluxes are fast rotators or young stars.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada771M dwarf starsUltraviolet photometryMain sequence starsStellar chromospheresStellar structures |
| spellingShingle | Wei-Chun Jao Allison Youngblood Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs The Astronomical Journal M dwarf stars Ultraviolet photometry Main sequence stars Stellar chromospheres Stellar structures |
| title | Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs |
| title_full | Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs |
| title_fullStr | Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs |
| title_short | Mind the Gap. II. The Near-UV Fluxes of M Dwarfs |
| title_sort | mind the gap ii the near uv fluxes of m dwarfs |
| topic | M dwarf stars Ultraviolet photometry Main sequence stars Stellar chromospheres Stellar structures |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ada771 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weichunjao mindthegapiithenearuvfluxesofmdwarfs AT allisonyoungblood mindthegapiithenearuvfluxesofmdwarfs |