Pablo J. D. Mauas

Hα and the Ca II H and K lines as activity proxies for late-type stars

The main chromospheric activity indicator is the S index, which is esentially the ratio of the flux in the core of the Ca II H and K lines to the continuum nearby, and is well studied basically for stars from F to K. Another usual chromospheric proxy is the H\alpha line, which is beleived to be tightly correlated with the Ca II index. In this work we characterize both chromospheric activity indicators, one associated with the H and K Ca II lines and the other with H\alpha, for the whole range of late type stars, from F to M. We present periodical medium-resolution echelle observations covering the complete visual range, which were taken at the CASLEO Argentinean Observatory. These observations are distributed along 7 years. We use a total of 917 flux-calibrated spectra for 109 stars which range from F6 to M5. We statistically study these two indicators for stars of different activity levels and spectral types. We directly derive the conversion factor which translate the known S index to flux in the Ca II cores, and extend its calibration to a wider spectral range. We investigate the relation between the activity measurements in the calcium and hydrogen lines, and found that the usual correlation observed is basically the product of the dependence of each flux with stellar colour, and not the product of similar activity phenomena.Context. The main chromospheric activity indicator is the S index, which is the ratio of the flux in the core of the Ca II H and K lines to the continuum nearby, and is well studied for stars from F to K. Another chromospheric proxy is the Hα line, which is believed to be tightly correlated with the Ca II index. Aims. In this work we characterize both chromospheric activity indicators, the one associated with the H and K Ca II lines and the other with Hα, for the whole range of late type stars, from F to M. Methods. We present periodic medium-resolution echelle observations covering the complete visual range, taken at the CASLEO Argentinean Observatory over 7 years. We use a total of 917 flux-calibrated spectra for 109 stars that range from F6 to M5. We statistically study these two indicators for stars of different activity levels and spectral types. Results. We directly derive the conversion factor that translates the known S index to flux in the Ca II cores, and extend its calibration to a wider spectral range. We investigate the relation between the activity measurements in the calcium and hydrogen lines, and found that the usual correlation observed is the product of the dependence of each flux on stellar colour, and not the product of similar activity phenomena.

High stellar FUV/NUV ratio and oxygen contents in the atmospheres of potentially habitable planets

Recent observations of several planet-hosting M dwarfs show that most have FUV/NUV flux ratios 1000 times greater than that of the Sun. Here we show that the atmospheric oxygen contents (O2 and O3) of potentially habitable planets in this type of UV environment could be 2–3 orders of magnitude greater than those of their counterparts around Sun-like stars as a result of decreased photolysis of O3, H2O2, and HO2. Thus detectable levels of atmospheric oxygen, in combination with the existence of H2O and CO2, may not be the most promising biosignatures on planets around stars with high FUV/NUV ratios such as the observed M dwarfs.

Measuring helium abundance difference in giants of NGC 2808

Context. Multiple populations have been detected in several globular clusters (GC) that do not display a spread in metallicity. Unusual features of their observed colour–magnitude diagrams (CMD) can be interpreted in terms of differences in the helium content of the stars belonging to the sub-populations. Aims. Even if evidence gathered so far is compelling, differences in He abundance have never been directly observed. We attempt to measure these differences in two giant stars of NGC 2808 with very similar astrophysical parameters but different Na and O abundances, hence that presumably belong to different sub-populations, by directly comparing their He I 10 830 A lines. Methods. The He 10 830 A line forms in the upper chromosphere. Our detailed models derive the chromospheric structure using the Ca II and Hα chromospheric lines, and simulate the corresponding He I 10 830 line profiles as a function of the helium abundance. We show that, at a given value of He abundance, the He I 10 830 equivalent width cannot significantly change without a corresponding much larger change in the Ca II chromospheric lines. We have used the VLT-CRIRES to obtain high-resolution spectra in the 10 830 A region, and the VLT-UVES to obtain spectra of the Ca II and Hα lines of our target stars. Results. The two target stars have very similar Ca II and Hα chromospheric lines, but different appearances in the He region. One line, blueshifted by 17 km s −1 with respect to the He 10 830 rest wavelength, is detected in the spectrum of the Na-rich star, whereas the Na-poor star spectrum is consistent with a non-detection. From a detailed chromospheric modeling, we show that the difference in the spectra is consistent and most closely explained by an He abundance difference between the two stars of ΔY ≥ 0.17. Our optical observations bracket the infrared ones over a range of about 50 days and we do not observe any substantial variability in the Ca II and Hα lines. Conclusions. We provide direct evidence of a significant He line strength difference in giant stars of NGC 2808 belonging to different sub-populations, which had been previously detected by other photometric and spectroscopic means. The use of appropriate model chromospheres allows us for the first time to provide an approximate quantitative estimate of this difference, which is clearly consistent with the expected difference in abundance required by the stellar evolution theory to account for the observed peculiarities of this cluster’s cmD.

Trumpeting M dwarfs with CONCH-SHELL: a catalogue of nearby cool host-stars for habitable exoplanets and life

We present an all-sky catalog of 2970 nearby (d . 50 pc), bright (J < 9) M- or late Ktype dwarf stars, 86% of which have been confirmed by spectroscopy. This catalog will be useful for searches for Earth-size and possibly Earth-like planets by future spacebased transit missions and ground-based infrared Doppler radial velocity surveys. Stars were selected from the SUPERBLINK proper motion catalog according to absolute magnitudes, spectra, or a combination of reduced proper motions and photometric colors. From our spectra we determined gravity-sensitive indices, and identified and removed 0.2% of these as interloping hotter or evolved stars. Thirteen percent of the stars exhibit Hα emission, an indication of stellar magnetic activity and possible youth. The mean metallicity is [Fe/H] = -0.07 with a standard deviation of 0.22 dex, similar to nearby solar-type stars. We determined stellar effective temperatures by least-squares fitting of spectra to model predictions calibrated by fits to stars with established bolometric temperatures, and estimated radii, luminosities, and masses using empirical relations. Six percent of stars with images from integral field spectra are resolved doubles. We inferred the planet population around M dwarfs using Kepler data and applied this to our catalog to predict detections by future exoplanet surveys.

The Muscles Treasury Survey. I. Motivation and Overview

Ground- and space-based planet searches employing radial velocity techniques and transit photometry have detected thousands of planet-hosting stars in the Milky Way. With so many planets discovered, the next step toward identifying potentially habitable planets is atmospheric characterization. While the Sun-Earth system provides a good framework for understanding the atmospheric chemistry of Earth-like planets around solar-type stars, the observational and theoretical constraints on the atmospheres of rocky planets in the habitable zones (HZs) around low-mass stars (K and M dwarfs) are relatively few. The chemistry of these atmospheres is controlled by the shape and absolute flux of the stellar spectral energy distribution (SED), however, flux distributions of relatively inactive low-mass stars are poorly understood at present. To address this issue, we have executed a panchromatic (X-ray to mid-IR) study of the SEDs of 11 nearby planet-hosting stars, the Measurements of the Ultraviolet Spectral Characteristics of Low-mass Exoplanetary Systems (MUSCLES) Treasury Survey. The MUSCLES program consists visible observations from Hubble and ground-based observatories. Infrared and astrophysically inaccessible wavelengths (EUV and Lyalpha) are reconstructed using stellar model spectra to fill in gaps in the observational data. In this overview and the companion papers describing the MUSCLES survey, we show that energetic radiation (X-ray and ultraviolet) is present from magnetically active stellar atmospheres at all times for stars as late as M6. The emission line luminosities of C IV and Mg II are strongly correlated with band-integrated luminosities and we present empirical relations that can be used to estimate broadband FUV and XUV (is equivalent to X-ray + EUV) fluxes from individual stellar emission line measurements. We find that while the slope of the SED, FUV/NUV, increases by approximately two orders of magnitude form early K to late M dwarfs (approximately equal 0.01-1), the absolute FUV and XUV flux levels at their corresponding HZ distances are constant to within factors of a few, spanning the range 10-70 erg per (sq cm) s in the HZ. Despite the lack of strong stellar activity indicators in their optical spectra, several of the M dwarfs in our sample show spectacular UV flare emission in their light curves. We present an example with flare/quiescent ultraviolet flux ratios of the order of 100:1 where the transition region energy output during the flare is comparable to the total quiescent luminosity of the star E(sub flare)(UV) approximately 0.3 L(sub *) delta (t) (delta t = 1 s). Finally, we interpret enhanced L(line)/L(sub Bol) ratios for C IV and N V as tentative observational evidence for the interaction of planets with large planetary mass-to-orbital distance ratios (M(sub plan)/A(sub plan)) with the transition regions of their host stars.

Stellar parameters and chemical abundances of 223 evolved stars with and without planets

Aims. We present fundamental stellar parameters, chemical abundances, and rotational velocities for a sample of 86 evolved stars with planets (56 giants; 30 subgiants), and for a control sample of 137 stars (101 giants; 36 subgiants) without planets. The analysis was based on both high signal-to-noise and resolution echelle spectra. The main goals of this work are i) to investigate chemical differences between evolved stars that host planets and those of the control sample without planets; ii) to explore potential differences between the properties of the planets around giants and subgiants; and iii) to search for possible correlations between these properties and the chemical abundances of their host stars. Implications for the scenarios of planet formation and evolution are also discussed. Methods. The fundamental stellar parameters (Teff ,l ogg ,[ Fe/H], ξt) were computed homogeneously using the FUNDPAR code. The chemical abundances of 14 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, and Ba) were obtained using the MOOG code. Rotational velocities were derived from the full width at half maximum of iron isolated lines. Results. In agreement with previous studies, we find that subgiants with planets are, on average, more metal-rich than subgiants without planets by ∼0.16 dex. The [Fe/H] distribution of giants with planets is centered at slightly subsolar metallicities and there is no metallicity enhancement relative to the [Fe/H] distribution of giants without planets. Furthermore, contrary to recent results, we do not find any clear difference between the metallicity distributions of stars with and without planets for giants with M� > 1.5 M� . With regard to the other chemical elements, the analysis of the [X/Fe] distributions shows differences between giants with and without planets for some elements, particularly V, Co, and Ba. Subgiants with and without planets exhibit similar behavior for most of the elements. On the other hand, we find no evidence of rapid rotation among the giants with planets or among the giants without planets. Finally, analyzing the planet properties, some interesting trends might be emerging: i) multi-planet systems around evolved stars show a slight metallicity enhancement compared with single-planet systems; ii) planets with a 0.5 AU orbit subgiants with [Fe/H] > 0 and giants hosting planets with a 1A U have [Fe/H] < 0; iii) higher-mass planets tend to orbit more metal-poor giants with M� ≤ 1.5 M� , whereas planets around subgiants seem to follow the planet-mass metallicity trend observed on dwarf hosts; iv) [X/Fe] ratios for Na, Si, and Al seem to increase with the mass of planets around giants; v) planets orbiting giants show lower orbital eccentricities than those orbiting subgiants and dwarfs, suggesting a more efficient tidal circularization or the result of the engulfment of close-in planets with larger eccentricities.

Ultraviolet radiation constraints around the circumstellar habitable zones

Ultraviolet radiation is known to inhibit photosynthesis, induce DNA destruction and cause damage to a wide variety of proteins and lipids. In particular, UV radiation between 200 and 300 nm becomes energetically very damaging to most of the terrestrial biological systems. On the other hand, UV radiation is usually considered one of the most important energy source on the primitive Earth for the synthesis of many biochemical compounds and, therefore, essential for several biogenesis processes. In this work, we use these properties of the UV radiation to define the boundaries of an ultraviolet habitable zone. We also analyze the evolution of the UV habitable zone during the main sequence stage of the star. We apply these criteria to study the UV habitable zone for those extrasolar planetary systems that were observed by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). We analyze the possibility that extrasolar planets and moons could be suitable for life, according to the UV constrains presented in this work and other accepted criteria of habitability (liquid water, orbital stability, etc.).

UV habitable zones around M stars

Abstract During the last decade there was a change in paradigm, which led to consider that terrestrial-type planets within liquid-water habitable zones (LW-HZ) around M stars can also be suitable places for the emergence and evolution of life. Since many dMe stars emit large amount of UV radiation during flares, in this work we analyze the UV constrains for living systems on Earth-like planets around dM stars. We apply our model of UV habitable zone (UV-HZ; Buccino, A.P., Lemarchand, G.A., Mauas, P.J.D., 2006. Icarus 183, 491–503) to the three planetary systems around dM stars (HIP 74995, HIP 109388 and HIP 113020) observed by IUE and to two M-flare stars (AD Leo and EV Lac). In particular, HIP 74995 hosts a terrestrial planet in the LW-HZ, which is the exoplanet that most resembles our own Earth. We show, in general, that during the quiescent state there would not be enough UV radiation within the LW-HZ to trigger the biogenic processes and that this energy could be provided by flares of moderate intensity, while strong flares do not necessarily rule-out the possibility of life-bearing planets.

The white-light flare of 1982 June 15 : models

Models are presented for the two continuum-emitting kernels observed in the white-light flare (WLF) of June 15, 1982. They are the first semiempirical models of a WLF which are consistent not only with observations of the continuum emission level but also with a set of spectral lines having heights of formation which span the chromosphere and upper photosphere. It is shown that the models are not compatible with the hypothesis that the continuum emission is caused by enhanced Balmer and Paschen hydrogen continua, and they present strong evidence instead that the emission is of photospheric origin and that its source is due to H(-). The observation and the models derived from them show that white-light emission can occur in areas of the active region where there is no chromospheric emission and in particular no H-alpha emission. This fact seems to rule out the viability of downward transport mechanisms as the source of the energy required for the WLF. 31 refs.

Solar Forcing of the Stream Flow of a Continental Scale South American River

Solar forcing on climate has been reported in several studies although the evidence so far remains inconclusive. Here, we analyze the stream flow of one of the largest rivers in the world, the Paraná in southeastern South America. For the last century, we find a strong correlation with the sunspot number, in multidecadal time scales, and with larger solar activity corresponding to larger stream flow. The correlation coefficient is r=0.78, significant to a 99% level. In shorter time scales we find a strong correlation with El Niño. These results are a step toward flood prediction, which might have great social and economic impacts.