A FIRST LOOK AT ROTATION IN INACTIVE LATE-TYPE M DWARFS
Name
West-2009-A FIRST LOOK AT ROTA.pdf
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196.61 KB
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Author(s)
Basri, Gibor
West, A. A.
Date Issued
March 2009
Journal
Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society
Citation
West, Andrew A., and Gibor Basri. “A FIRST LOOK AT ROTATION IN INACTIVE LATE-TYPE M DWARFS.” The Astrophysical Journal 693, no. 2 (March 9, 2009): 1283–1289. © 2009 American Astronomical Society.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We have examined the relationship between rotation and activity in 14 late-type (M6–M7) M dwarfs, using high-resolution spectra taken at the W. M. Keck Observatory and flux-calibrated spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Most were selected to be inactive at a spectral type where strong Hα emission is quite common. We used the cross-correlation technique to quantify the rotational broadening; six of the stars in our sample have v sin i ≥ 3.5 km s[superscript –1]. Our most significant and perplexing result is that three of these stars do not exhibit Hα emission, despite rotating at velocities where previous work has observed strong levels of magnetic field and stellar activity. Our results suggest that rotation and activity in late-type M dwarfs may not always be linked, and open several additional possibilities, including a rotationally dependent activity threshold, or a possible dependence on stellar parameters of the Rossby number at which magnetic/activity "saturation" takes place in fully convective stars.
MIT Department
MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/693/2/1283
