arXiv subjects

P. J. D. Mauas

Publications and source records attributed to P. J. D. Mauas.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Characterisation of magnetic activity of M dwarfs. Possible impact on the surface brightness

Context. M dwarfs are an ideal laboratory for hunting Earth-like planets, and the study of chromospheric activity is an important part of this task. On the one hand, its short-term activity show high levels of magnetic activity that can affect habitability and make it difficult to detect exoplanets orbiting around them. But on the other hand, long-term activity studies can show whether these stars exhibit cyclical behavior or not in their activity, facilitating the detection of planets in those periods of low magnetic activity. Aims. The long-term cyclical behavior of magnetic activity can be detected studying several spectral lines and explained by different stellar dynamo models. In this work, we studied the Mount Wilson $S$-index to search for evidence of activity cycles possibly driven by a solar-type dynamo. Methods. We studied a sample of 35 dM with spectral classes ranging from dM0 to dM6. To perform this, we used 2965 spectra in the optical range to build time series with extensions of up to 21 years. We have analysed thesm with different time-domain techniques to detect cyclical patterns. In addition, we have also studied the potential impact of chromospheric activity on the surface brightness. Results. Using the color index (V-Ks), we have computed the chromospheric emission levels and we found that the majority of the stars in the sample have low emission levels. In this work, we have detected 13 potential activity cycles with a duration between 3 and 19 years and with false alarm probabilities (FAPs) less than 0.1%. For stars with non-cyclic behaviour, we have found that the mean value of the $S$-Index varies between 0.350 and 1.765 and its mean variability and chromospheric emission level are around 12% and -5.110 dex, respectively. We do not find any impact of chromospheric activity on the surface brightness in the domain of -5.6 < log $R'_{HK}$ < -4.5.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

Correlation between activity indicators: H$α$ and Ca II lines in M-dwarf stars

Different approaches have been adopted to study short- and long-term stellar magnetic activity, and although the mechanisms by which low-mass stars generate large-scale magnetic fields are not well understood, it is known that stellar rotation plays a key role. There are stars that show a cyclical behaviour in their activity which can be explained by solar dynamo or $αΩ$ dynamo models. However, when studying late-type dwarf stars, it is necessary to implement other indicators to analyse their magnetic activity. In the present work, we perform a comparative study between the best-known activity indicators so far defined from the Ca II and H$α$ lines to analyse M-dwarf stars. We studied a sample of 29 M stars with different chromospheric activity levels and spectral classes ranging from dM0 to dM6. To do so, we employed 1796 wide range spectra from different instruments with a median time span of observations of 21 yr. In addition, we complemented our data with photometric observations from the TESS space mission for better stellar characterisation and short-term analysis. We obtained a good and significant correlation ($rho = 0.91$) between the indexes defined from the two lines for the whole set of stars in the sample. However, we found that there is a deviation for faster rotators (with $P_{rot} < 4$ days) and higher flare activity (at least one flare per day). There is an overall positive correlation between Ca II and H$α$ emission in dM stars, except during flare events. In particular, we found that low-energy high-frequency flares could be responsible for the deviation in the linear trend in fast-rotator M dwarfs. This implies that the rotation period could be a fundamental parameter to study the stellar activity and that the rotation could drive the magnetic dynamo in low-mass active stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2021

Activity cycles in RS CVn type stars

We compile a list of 121 RS CVn type stars from the bibliography in southern hemisphere, to search for activity cycles, covering a large range of luminosities and rotation periods. For each system of the list, we obtain photometric data from the All Sky Automated Survey (ASAS), and we complement it with our own photometry, obtained with the Optical Robotic Observatory (ORO). We analyze this data with the Generalized Lomb-Scargle periodogram to determine the rotation period and possible activity cycles for each system. We found rotation periods for 102 systems and activity cycles for 91 systems. From the statistical analysis of the results, we found that giant stars behave differently than subgiants and main-sequence stars, and that there is a good correlation between rotation periods and luminosities.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2020

Activity-rotation in the dM4 star Gl 729. A possible chromospheric cycle

Recently, new debates about the role of layers of strong shear have emerged in stellar dynamo theory. Further information on the long-term magnetic activity of fully convective stars could help determine whether their underlying dynamo could sustain activity cycles similar to the solar one. We performed a thorough study of the short- and long-term magnetic activity of the young active dM4 star Gl 729. First, we analyzed long-cadence $K2$ photometry to characterize its transient events (e.g., flares) and global and surface differential rotation. Then, from the Mount Wilson $S$-indexes derived from CASLEO spectra and other public observations, we analyzed its long-term activity between 1998 and 2020 with four different time-domain techniques to detect cyclic patterns. Finally, we explored the chromospheric activity at different heights with simultaneous measurements of the H$α$ and the Na I D indexes, and we analyzed their relations with the $S$-Index. We found that the cumulative flare frequency follows a power-law distribution with slope $\sim- 0.73$ for the range $10^{32}$ to $10^{34}$ erg. We obtained $P_{rot} = (2.848 \pm 0.001)$ days, and we found no evidence of differential rotation. We also found that this young active star presents a long-term activity cycle with a length of $\text{about four}$ years; there is less significant evidence of a shorter cycle of $0.8$ year. The star also shows a broad activity minimum between 1998 and 2004. We found a correlation between the S index, on the one hand, and the H$α$ the Na I D indexes, on the other hand, although the saturation level of these last two indexes is not observed in the Ca lines. Because the maximum-entropy spot model does not reflect migration between active longitudes, this activity cycle cannot be explained by a solar-type dynamo. It is probably caused by an $α^2$-dynamo.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

The active RS CVn-type system SZ Pictoris

We study the short and long-term variability of the spectroscopic binary SZ Pictoris, a southern RS CVn-type system. We used mid-resolution echelle spectra obtained at CASLEO spanning 18 years, and photometric data from the ASAS database V-band and from the Optical Robotic Observatory (BVRI-bands) for similar time lapses. We separated the composite spectra into those corresponding to both components, and we were able to determine accurate orbital parameters, in particular an orbital period of 4.95 days. We also observed a photometric modulation with half the orbital period, due to the ellipticity of the stars. We also found cyclic activity with a period of ~ 2030 days, both in the photometry and in the Ca II flux of the secondary star of the system.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

First long-term activity study of AU Microscopii: a possible chromospheric cycle

M stars are ideal targets to search for Earth-like planets. However, they usually have high levels of magnetic activity, which could affect their habitability and make difficult the detection of exoplanets orbiting around them. Unfortunately, long-term variability of dM stars has not been extensively studied, due to their low intrinsic brightness. For this reason, in 1999 we started the HKalpha project, which systematically observes the spectra of a large number of stars, in particular dM stars, at the Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito (CASLEO). In this work, we study the long-term activity of the young active dM1 star AU Microscopii. We analyze the Mount Wilson index S derived from CASLEO spectra obtained between 2004 and 2016, which we complement with the S-index derived from HARPS, FEROS and UVES public spectra. We also analyze the simultaneous photometric counterpart provided by the ASAS public database for this star between 2000 and 2009, and our own photometry. In both totally independent time series, we detect a possible activity cycle of period around 5 years. We also derived a precise rotation period for this star P rot = 4.85 days, consistent with the literature. This activity cycle reflects that an alphaOmega dynamo could be operating in this star.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

Solar activity forcing of terrestrial hydrological phenomena

Recently, the study of the influence of solar activity on the Earth's climate received strong attention, mainly due to the possibility, proposed by several authors, that global warming is not anthropogenic, but is due to an increase in solar activity. Although this possibility has been ruled out, there are strong evidences that solar variability has an influence on Earth's climate, in regional scales. Here we review some of these evidences, focusing in a particular aspect of climate: atmospheric moisture and related quantities like precipitation. In particular, we studied the influence of activity on South American precipitations during centuries. First, we analyzed the stream flow of the Paraná and other rivers of the region, and found a very strong correlation with Sunspot Number in decadal time scales. We found a similar correlation between Sunspot Number and tree-ring chronologies, which allows us to extend our study to cover the last two centuries.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2013

No Transit Timing Variations in WASP-4

We present 6 new transits of the system WASP-4. Together with 28 light curves published in the literature, we perform an homogeneous study of its parameters and search for variations in the transit's central times. The final values agree with those previously reported, except for a slightly lower inclination. We find no significant long-term variations in $i$ or $R_{P}/R_{\star}$. The $O-C$ mid-transit times do not show signs of TTVs greater than 54 s.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic Activity Cycles in the Exoplanet Host Star epsilon Eridani

The active K2 dwarf epsilon Eri has been extensively characterized, both as a young solar analog and more recently as an exoplanet host star. As one of the nearest and brightest stars in the sky, it provides an unparalleled opportunity to constrain stellar dynamo theory beyond the Sun. We confirm and document the 3 year magnetic activity cycle in epsilon Eri originally reported by Hatzes and coworkers, and we examine the archival data from previous observations spanning 45 years. The data show coexisting 3 year and 13 year periods leading into a broad activity minimum that resembles a Maunder minimum-like state, followed by the resurgence of a coherent 3 year cycle. The nearly continuous activity record suggests the simultaneous operation of two stellar dynamos with cycle periods of 2.95+/-0.03 years and 12.7+/-0.3 years, which by analogy with the solar case suggests a revised identification of the dynamo mechanisms that are responsible for the so-called "active" and "inactive" sequences as proposed by Bohm-Vitense. Finally, based on the observed properties of epsilon Eri we argue that the rotational history of the Sun is what makes it an outlier in the context of magnetic cycles observed in other stars (as also suggested by its Li depletion), and that a Jovian-mass companion cannot be the universal explanation for the solar peculiarities.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

A Simple Laser-Based Device for Simultaneous Microbial Culture and Absorbance Measurement

In this work we present a device specifically designed to study microbial growth with several applications related to environmental microbiology and other areas of research as astrobiology. The Automated Measuring and Cultivation device (AMC-d) enables semi-continuous absorbance measurements directly during cultivation. It can measure simultaneously up to 16 samples. Growth curves using low and fast growing microorganism were plotted, including: Escherichia coli, and Haloferax volcanii, an halophilic archaeon.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2011

Archaea-based Microbial Fuel Cell Operating at High Ionic Strength Conditions

In this work two archaea microorganisms (Haloferax volcanii and Natrialba magadii) used as biocatalyst at a microbial fuel cell (MFC) anode were evaluated. Both archaea are able to grow at high salt concentrations. By increasing the media conductivity, the internal resistance was diminished, improving the MFCs performance. Without any added redox mediator, maximum power (Pmax) and current at Pmax were 11.87 / 4.57 / 0.12 μW cm-2 and 49.67 / 22.03 / 0.59 μA cm-2 for H. volcanii, N. magadii and E. coli, respectively. When neutral red was used as redox mediator, Pmax was 50.98 and 5.39 μW cm-2 for H. volcanii and N. magadii respectively. In this paper an archaea MFC is described and compared with other MFC systems; the high salt concentration assayed here, comparable with that used in Pt-catalyzed alkaline hydrogen fuel cells will open new options when MFC scaling-up is the objective, necessary for practical applications.

q-bio.BM↗

arXiv2006

Modelling Chromospheric Line Profiles in NGC2808: Evidence of Mass Loss from RGB Stars

In this study we test the possibility that the asymmetry in the profiles of the H-alpha and Ca II K lines in red giant stars is due to the presence of an active chromosphere rather than to mass loss. To this end, we compare line profiles computed using relevant model chromospheres to profiles of the H-alpha and Ca II K lines observed in five red giant stars of the globular cluster NGC 2808. The spectra were taken with FLAMES during Science Verification, using the UVES mode at high resolution (R=43,000) for the H-alpha line, and GIRAFFE in MEDUSA mode (R=20,000) for the Ca II K line. We find that the observed profiles are better described if a negative (outward) velocity field is included in the model chromospheres. This leads to mass loss rates of a few 10**(-9) solar masses per year, very close to the requirements of the stellar evolution theory.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Helium line formation and abundance in a solar active region

An observing campaign (SOHO JOP 139), coordinated between ground based and SOHO instruments, has been planned to obtain simultaneous spectroheliograms of the same active region in several spectral lines. The chromospheric lines CaII K, Halpha and Na D as well as HeI 10830, 5876, 584 and HeII 304 AA lines have been observed.These simultaneous observations allow us to build semi-empirical models of the chromosphere and low transition region of an active region, taking into account the estimated total number of photoionizing photons impinging on the target active region and their spectral distribution. We obtained a model that matches very well all the observed line profiles, using a standard value for the He abundance ([He]=0.1) and a modified distribution of microturbulence. For this model we study the influence of the coronal radiation on the computed helium lines. We find that, even in an active region, the incident coronal radiation has a limited effect on the UV He lines, while it results of fundamental importance for the 5876 and 10830 lines. Finally we build two more models assuming values of He abundance [He]= 0.07 and 1.5, only in the region where temperatures are larger than 1.* 10^4 K. This region, between the chromosphere and transition region, has been indicated as a good candidate for processes that might be responsible for strong variations of [He]. The set of our observables can still be well reproduced in both cases changing the atmospheric structure mainly in the low transition region. This implies that,to choose between different values of [He], it is necessary to constrain the transition region with different observables, independent on the He lines.

astro-ph↗