Simultaneous Multi-Wavelength Observations of Magnetic Activity in Ultracool Dwarfs. II. Mixed Trends in VB10 and LSR1835+32 and the Possible Role of Rotation

TL;DR

This study presents multi-wavelength observations of ultracool dwarfs, revealing diverse magnetic activity patterns and suggesting a transition in atmospheric heating mechanisms, with rotation influencing magnetic field generation.

Contribution

It provides new simultaneous multi-wavelength data on ultracool dwarfs, highlighting mixed activity behaviors and the potential role of rotation in magnetic field generation.

Findings

LSR1835+32 shows persistent radio emission but no X-ray detection.

VB10 exhibits correlated X-ray and UV flaring activity.

Rotation velocity correlates with radio activity, indicating a role in magnetic field generation.

Abstract

[Abridged] As part of our on-going investigation of magnetic activity in ultracool dwarfs we present simultaneous radio, X-ray, UV, and optical observations of LSR1835+32 (M8.5), and simultaneous X-ray and UV observations of VB10 (M8), both with a duration of about 9 hours. LSR1835+32 exhibits persistent radio emission and H-alpha variability on timescales of ~0.5-2 hr. The detected UV flux is consistent with photospheric emission, and no X-ray emission is detected to a deep limit of L_X/L_bol<10^-5.7. The H-alpha and radio emission are temporally uncorrelated, and the ratio of radio to X-ray luminosity exceeds the correlation seen in F-M6 stars by >2x10^4. Similarly, L_Halpha/L_X>10 is at least 30 times larger than in early M dwarfs, and eliminates coronal emission as the source of chromospheric heating. The lack of radio variability during four rotations of LSR1835+32 requires a uniform stellar-scale field of ~10 G, and indicates that the H-alpha variability is dominated by much smaller scales, <10% of the chromospheric volume. VB10, on the other hand, shows correlated flaring and quiescent X-ray and UV emission, similar to the behavior of early M dwarfs. Delayed and densely-sampled optical spectra exhibit a similar range of variability amplitudes and timescales to those seen in the X-rays and UV, with L_Halpha/L_X~1. Along with our previous observations of the M8.5 dwarf TVLM513-46546 we conclude that late M dwarfs exhibit a mix of activity patterns, which points to a transition in the structure and heating of the outer atmosphere by large-scale magnetic fields. We find that rotation may play a role in generating the fields as evidenced by a tentative correlation between radio activity and rotation velocity. The X-ray emission, however, shows evidence for super-saturation at vsini>25 km/s.