Chromaticity of stellar activity in radial velocities : Anti-correlated families of lines on the M dwarf EV Lac with SPIRou and SOPHIE
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2025
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| author | Larue, Pierre Delfosse, Xavier Carmona, Andres Meunier, Nadège Artigau, Étienne Bellotti, Stefano Charpentier, Paul Moutou, Claire Donati, Jean-François Boisse, Isabelle Forveille, Thierry Arnold, Luc Bourrier, Vincent Bonfils, Xavier Cadieux, Charles Chomez, Antoine Cook, Neil Zuleta, Pia Cortes Cristofari, Paul Diaz, Rodrigo Doyon, René Grouffal, Salomé Hara, Nathan Heidari, Neida Hébrard, Guillaume Kiefer, Flavien Mignon, Lucile Maurel, Alice Morin, Julien Petit, Antoine Petit, Pascal Santerne, Alexandre Santos, Nuno Segransan, Damien Bell, Juan Serrano Vivien, H. G. |
| author_facet | Larue, Pierre Delfosse, Xavier Carmona, Andres Meunier, Nadège Artigau, Étienne Bellotti, Stefano Charpentier, Paul Moutou, Claire Donati, Jean-François Boisse, Isabelle Forveille, Thierry Arnold, Luc Bourrier, Vincent Bonfils, Xavier Cadieux, Charles Chomez, Antoine Cook, Neil Zuleta, Pia Cortes Cristofari, Paul Diaz, Rodrigo Doyon, René Grouffal, Salomé Hara, Nathan Heidari, Neida Hébrard, Guillaume Kiefer, Flavien Mignon, Lucile Maurel, Alice Morin, Julien Petit, Antoine Petit, Pascal Santerne, Alexandre Santos, Nuno Segransan, Damien Bell, Juan Serrano Vivien, H. G. |
| contents | Context. In the search for exoplanets using radial velocities (RV), stellar activity has become one of the main limiting factors for detectability. Fortunately, activity-induced RV signals are wavelength-dependent or chromatic, unlike planetary signals. This study exploits the broad spectral coverage provided by the combined use of SOPHIE and SPIRou velocimeters to investigate the chromatic nature of the activity signal of the highly active M dwarf EV Lac.
Aims. We aim to understand the origin of the strong wavelength dependence (chromaticity) observed in the RV signal of EV Lac by selecting spectral lines based on physical properties. In particular, we explore the impact of starspots by defining the contrast effect at the level of individual lines. The Zeeman effect is also considered in this study.
Methods. SPIRou and SOPHIE spectra were reduced using the line-by-line (LBL) method. We performed custom RV calculations, using groups of spectral lines selected for their sensitivity to either the spot-to-photosphere contrast or the Zeeman effect. The sensi- tivity of each line to the spot is defined using a two-temperature model based on PHOENIX spectra, while Landé factors were used to quantify Zeeman sensitivity.
Results. We find that the spectral lines are distributed in two distinct families of contrasts, producing anti-correlated RV signals. This leads to a partial cancellation of the total RV signal, especially at longer wavelengths and provides a natural explanation for the strong chromaticity observed in EV Lac. This sign-reversal effect is demonstrated here, for the first time, on empirical data. Building on this discovery, we propose a new approach to constraining spot temperatures and to mitigating stellar activity. This will open up promising avenues for improving activity corrections and enhancing the detection of exoplanets around active M dwarfs. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_17911 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Chromaticity of stellar activity in radial velocities : Anti-correlated families of lines on the M dwarf EV Lac with SPIRou and SOPHIE Larue, Pierre Delfosse, Xavier Carmona, Andres Meunier, Nadège Artigau, Étienne Bellotti, Stefano Charpentier, Paul Moutou, Claire Donati, Jean-François Boisse, Isabelle Forveille, Thierry Arnold, Luc Bourrier, Vincent Bonfils, Xavier Cadieux, Charles Chomez, Antoine Cook, Neil Zuleta, Pia Cortes Cristofari, Paul Diaz, Rodrigo Doyon, René Grouffal, Salomé Hara, Nathan Heidari, Neida Hébrard, Guillaume Kiefer, Flavien Mignon, Lucile Maurel, Alice Morin, Julien Petit, Antoine Petit, Pascal Santerne, Alexandre Santos, Nuno Segransan, Damien Bell, Juan Serrano Vivien, H. G. Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Context. In the search for exoplanets using radial velocities (RV), stellar activity has become one of the main limiting factors for detectability. Fortunately, activity-induced RV signals are wavelength-dependent or chromatic, unlike planetary signals. This study exploits the broad spectral coverage provided by the combined use of SOPHIE and SPIRou velocimeters to investigate the chromatic nature of the activity signal of the highly active M dwarf EV Lac. Aims. We aim to understand the origin of the strong wavelength dependence (chromaticity) observed in the RV signal of EV Lac by selecting spectral lines based on physical properties. In particular, we explore the impact of starspots by defining the contrast effect at the level of individual lines. The Zeeman effect is also considered in this study. Methods. SPIRou and SOPHIE spectra were reduced using the line-by-line (LBL) method. We performed custom RV calculations, using groups of spectral lines selected for their sensitivity to either the spot-to-photosphere contrast or the Zeeman effect. The sensi- tivity of each line to the spot is defined using a two-temperature model based on PHOENIX spectra, while Landé factors were used to quantify Zeeman sensitivity. Results. We find that the spectral lines are distributed in two distinct families of contrasts, producing anti-correlated RV signals. This leads to a partial cancellation of the total RV signal, especially at longer wavelengths and provides a natural explanation for the strong chromaticity observed in EV Lac. This sign-reversal effect is demonstrated here, for the first time, on empirical data. Building on this discovery, we propose a new approach to constraining spot temperatures and to mitigating stellar activity. This will open up promising avenues for improving activity corrections and enhancing the detection of exoplanets around active M dwarfs. |
| title | Chromaticity of stellar activity in radial velocities : Anti-correlated families of lines on the M dwarf EV Lac with SPIRou and SOPHIE |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.17911 |