Issue |
A&A
Volume 676, August 2023
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A14 | |
Number of page(s) | 11 | |
Section | Stellar atmospheres | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202346470 | |
Published online | 27 July 2023 |
Complete X-ray census of M dwarfs in the solar neighborhood
I. GJ 745 AB: Coronal-hole stars in the 10 pc sample
1
Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen,
Sand 1,
72076
Tübingen, Germany
e-mail: caramazza@astro.uni-tuebingen.de
2
INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo,
Piazza del Parlamento 1,
90134
Palermo, Italy
3
University of Vienna, Department of Astrophysics,
Türkenschanzstrasse 17,
1180
Vienna, Austria
4
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP),
An der Sternwarte 16,
14482
Potsdam, Germany
5
Universität Potsdam, Institut für Physik und Astronomie,
Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24/25,
14476
Potsdam, Germany
Received:
21
March
2023
Accepted:
24
May
2023
Context. X-ray emission is the most sensitive diagnostic of magnetic activity in M dwarfs and, hence, of the dynamo in low-mass stars. Moreover it is crucial for quantifying the influence of the stellar irradiation on the evolution of planet atmospheres.
Aims. We have embarked in a systematic study of the X-ray emission in a volume-limited sample of M dwarf stars to explore the full range of activity levels present in their coronae. We look to obtain a better understanding of the conditions in their outer atmospheres and their possible impact on the circumstellar environment.
Methods. Based on a recent catalog of Gaia objects within 10 pc from the Sun, we identified all its stars with spectral types between M0 and M4 and we carried out a systematic search for X-ray measurements of this sample. To this end, we used both archival data from ROSAT, XMM-Newton, and the ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) on board the Russian Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission, as well as our own dedicated XMM-Newton observations. To make inferences on the properties of the M dwarf corona, we compared the range of their observed X-ray emission levels to the flux radiated by the Sun from different types of magnetic structures: coronal holes, background corona, active regions, and cores of active regions. In this work, we focus on the properties of stars with the faintest X-ray emission.
Results. At the current state of our project, with more than 90% of the 10 pc M dwarf sample observed in the X-ray, there is only one star that has had no detections: GJ 745 A. With an upper limit luminosity of log Lx (erg s−1) < 25.4 and an X-ray surface flux of log FX,SURF (erg cm−2 s−1) < 3.6, GJ 745 A defines the lower boundary of the X-ray emission level for M dwarfs. Together with its proper motion companion (GJ 745 B), it is the only star in this volume-complete sample located in the range of X-ray surface flux that corresponds to the faintest solar coronal structures, namely: coronal holes. The fact that the ultra-low X-ray emission level of GJ 745 B (log Lx (erg s−1) = 25.6 and log FX,SURF (erg cm−2 s−1) = 3.8) is entirely attributed to flaring activity indicates that while its corona is dominated by “holes,” at least one magnetically active structure is present. This structure determines the total X-ray brightness and the coronal temperature of the star.
Key words: X-rays: stars / stars: activity / stars: coronae / stars: low-mass
© The Authors 2023
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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