arXiv subjects

B. Fuhrmeister

Publications and source records attributed to B. Fuhrmeister.

42 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Multiwavelength observations of a giant flare on CN Leonis I. The chromosphere as seen in the optical spectra

Flares on dM stars contain plasmas at very different temperatures and thus affect a wide wavelength range in the electromagnetic spectrum. While the coronal properties of flares are studied best in X-rays, the chromosphere of the star is observed best in the optical and ultraviolet ranges. Therefore, multiwavelength observations are essential to study flare properties throughout the atmosphere of a star. We analysed simultaneous observations with UVES/VLT and XMM-Newton of the active M5.5 dwarf CN Leo (Gl 406) exhibiting a major flare. The optical data cover the wavelength range from 3000 to 10000 Angstrom. From our optical data, we find an enormous wealth of chromospheric emission lines occurring throughout the spectrum. We identify a total of 1143 emission lines, out of which 154 are located in the red arm, increasing the number of observed emission lines in this red wavelength range by about a factor of 10. Here we present an emission line list and a spectral atlas. We also find line asymmetries for H I, He I, and Ca II lines. For the last, this is the first observation of asymmetries due to a stellar flare. During the flare onset, there is additional flux found in the blue wing, while in the decay phase, additional flux is found in the red wing. We interpret both features as caused by mass motions. In addition to the lines, the flare manifests itself in the enhancement of the continuum throughout the whole spectrum, inverting the normal slope for the net flare spectrum.

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arXiv2008

A coronal explosion on the flare star CN Leonis

We present simultaneous high-temporal and high-spectral resolution observations at optical and soft X-ray wavelengths of the nearby flare star CN Leo. During our observing campaign a major flare occurred, raising the star's instantaneous energy output by almost three orders of magnitude. The flare shows the often observed impulsive behavior, with a rapid rise and slow decay in the optical and a broad soft X-ray maximum about 200 seconds after the optical flare peak. However, in addition to this usually encountered flare phenomenology we find an extremely short (~2 sec) soft X-ray peak, which is very likely of thermal, rather than non-thermal nature and temporally coincides with the optical flare peak. While at hard X-ray energies non-thermal bursts are routinely observed on the Sun at flare onset, thermal soft X-ray bursts on time scales of seconds have never been observed in a solar nor stellar context. Time-dependent, one-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling of this event requires an extremely short energy deposition time scale of a few seconds to reconcile theory with observations, thus suggesting that we are witnessing the results of a coronal explosion on CN Leo. Thus the flare on CN Leo provides the opportunity to observationally study the physics of the long-sought "micro-flares" thought to be responsible for coronal heating.

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arXiv2005

PHOENIX model chromospheres of mid- to late-type M dwarfs

We present semi-empirical model chromospheres computed with the atmosphere code PHOENIX. The models are designed to fit the observed spectra of five mid- to late-type M dwarfs. Next to hydrogen lines from the Balmer series we used various metal lines, e. g. from Fe {\sc i}, for the comparison between data and models. Our computations show that an NLTE treatment of C, N, O impacts on the hydrogen line formation, while NLTE treatment of less abundant metals such as nickel influences the lines of the considered species itself. For our coolest models we investigated also the influence of dust on the chromospheres and found that dust increases the emission line flux. Moreover we present an (electronically published) emission line list for the spectral range of 3100 to 3900 and 4700 to 6800 Åfor a set of 21 M dwarfs and brown dwarfs. The line list includes the detection of the Na {\sc i} D lines in emission for a L3 dwarf.

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arXiv2004

Detection and high-resolution spectroscopy of a huge flare on the old M9 dwarf DENIS 104814.7-395606.1

We report a flare on the M9 dwarf DENIS 104814.7-395606.1, whose mass places it directly at the hydrogen burning limit. The event was observed in a spectral sequence during 1.3 hours. Line shifts to bluer wavelengths were detected in H alpha, H beta, and in the Na D lines, indicating mass motions. In addition we detect a flux enhancement on the blue side of the two Balmer lines in the last spectrum of our series. We interpret this as rising gas cloud with a projected velocity of about 100 km/s which may lead to mass ejection. The higher Balmer lines H gamma to H 8 are not seen due to our instrumental setup, but in the last spectrum there is strong evidence for H 9 being in emission.

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arXiv2004

Fe XIII coronal line emission in cool M dwarfs

We report on a search for the Fe xiii forbidden coronal line at 3388.1 Åin a sample of 15 M-type dwarf stars covering the whole spectral class as well as different levels of activity. A clear detection was achieved for LHS 2076 during a major flare and for CN Leo, where the line had been discovered before. For some other stars the situation is not quite clear. For CN Leo we investigated the timing behaviour of the Fe xiii line and report a high level of variability on a timescale of hours which we ascribe to microflare heating.

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arXiv2003

A Systematic Study Of X-Ray Variability In The ROSAT All-Sky Survey

We present a systematic search for variability among the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) X-ray sources. We generated lightcurves for about 30000 X-ray point sources detected sufficiently high above background. For our variability study different search algorithms were developed in order to recognize flares, periods and trends, respectively. The variable X-ray sources were optically identified with counterparts in the SIMBAD, the USNO-A2.0 and NED data bases, but a significant part of the X-ray sources remains without cataloged optical counterparts. Out of the 1207 sources classified as variable 767 (63.5 %) were identified with stars, 118 (9.8 %) are of extragalactic origin, 10 (0.8 %) are identified with other sources and 312 (25.8 %) could not uniquely be identified with entries in optical catalogs. We give a statistical analysis of the variable X-ray population and present some outstanding examples of X-ray variability detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey. Most prominent among these sources are white dwarfs, apparently single, yet nevertheless showing periodic variability. Many flares from hitherto unrecognised flare stars have been detected as well as long term variability in the BL Lac 1E1757.7+7034.

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