Role of non-thermal processes in the quiescent and active millimeter spectrum of a young M dwarf

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Mohan, Atul, Hauschildt, Peter H., Fuhrmeister, Birgit, Mondal, Surajit, Airapetian, Vladimir, Wedemeyer, Sven
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Mohan, Atul
Hauschildt, Peter H.
Fuhrmeister, Birgit
Mondal, Surajit
Airapetian, Vladimir
Wedemeyer, Sven
author_facet Mohan, Atul
Hauschildt, Peter H.
Fuhrmeister, Birgit
Mondal, Surajit
Airapetian, Vladimir
Wedemeyer, Sven
contents Millimeter (mm) emission from F - M dwarfs (cool stars) primarily traces chromospheric activity, with thermal emission thought to dominate in quiescence. Despite the high chromospheric activity, the quiescent mm spectral fluence (mm-S($ν$)) of young (< 1 Gyr) M dwarfs (dMs) remain largely unexplored. We present the quiescent mm-S($ν$) of a young dM, ADLeo, observed around 94 GHz using the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA). The observed quiescent mm-S($ν$) exceeds the thermal flux density from a 1D chromospheric model, constrained by optical-UV spectroscopic data, by up to a factor of 7. This indicates a quasi-steady non-thermal emission powered by supra-thermal electrons unlike in old (> 1 Gyr) cool stars, whose quiescent mm-S($ν$) generally agree with 1D thermal models. The mm-brightness temperature spectral index ($α_{mm}$; $T_B(ν)\propto ν^{- α_{mm}}$) of AD Leo deviates by a factor of 3 from the $α_{mm}$ - $T_{eff}$ scaling law for old sun-like stars (Mohan, A., et al., 2022), while UV Ceti, an older M6V star, follows the trend. Also, we report a double-hump flare with second-scale variability in flux density and spectral index, and a frequency-rising nature with brightness increasing with frequency. The flare resemble certain solar events, but is unlike the second-scale events reported in dMs. The non-thermal flare humps suggest multiple injections of accelerated electrons. The mean flare luminosity (2 - 5 $\times 10^{15} erg s^{-1} Hz^{-1}$) and duration ($18\pm 2$ s) are comparable to flares reported in AU Mic and Proxima Cen, but 100 - 1000 times weaker than the minutes-long dM flares observed by the South Pole Telescope.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_19779
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Role of non-thermal processes in the quiescent and active millimeter spectrum of a young M dwarf
Mohan, Atul
Hauschildt, Peter H.
Fuhrmeister, Birgit
Mondal, Surajit
Airapetian, Vladimir
Wedemeyer, Sven
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Millimeter (mm) emission from F - M dwarfs (cool stars) primarily traces chromospheric activity, with thermal emission thought to dominate in quiescence. Despite the high chromospheric activity, the quiescent mm spectral fluence (mm-S($ν$)) of young (< 1 Gyr) M dwarfs (dMs) remain largely unexplored. We present the quiescent mm-S($ν$) of a young dM, ADLeo, observed around 94 GHz using the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA). The observed quiescent mm-S($ν$) exceeds the thermal flux density from a 1D chromospheric model, constrained by optical-UV spectroscopic data, by up to a factor of 7. This indicates a quasi-steady non-thermal emission powered by supra-thermal electrons unlike in old (> 1 Gyr) cool stars, whose quiescent mm-S($ν$) generally agree with 1D thermal models. The mm-brightness temperature spectral index ($α_{mm}$; $T_B(ν)\propto ν^{- α_{mm}}$) of AD Leo deviates by a factor of 3 from the $α_{mm}$ - $T_{eff}$ scaling law for old sun-like stars (Mohan, A., et al., 2022), while UV Ceti, an older M6V star, follows the trend. Also, we report a double-hump flare with second-scale variability in flux density and spectral index, and a frequency-rising nature with brightness increasing with frequency. The flare resemble certain solar events, but is unlike the second-scale events reported in dMs. The non-thermal flare humps suggest multiple injections of accelerated electrons. The mean flare luminosity (2 - 5 $\times 10^{15} erg s^{-1} Hz^{-1}$) and duration ($18\pm 2$ s) are comparable to flares reported in AU Mic and Proxima Cen, but 100 - 1000 times weaker than the minutes-long dM flares observed by the South Pole Telescope.
title Role of non-thermal processes in the quiescent and active millimeter spectrum of a young M dwarf
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.19779