The Mouse that Roared: A Superflare from the dMe Flare Star EV Lac detected by Swift and Konus-Wind

TL;DR

This paper reports the first Swift-triggered large stellar flare from the dMe star EV Lac, analyzing its properties, plasma parameters, and iron Kalpha emission to understand flare mechanisms and loop structures.

Contribution

It provides detailed multi-instrument observations and modeling of a superflare from EV Lac, including plasma diagnostics and iron fluorescence analysis, which are novel for this star type.

Findings

Peak X-ray flux was nearly 7000 times the quiescent level.

Derived a flare loop semi-length of approximately 0.37 times the stellar radius.

Detected variable iron Kalpha emission, suggesting complex excitation mechanisms.

Abstract

We report on a large stellar flare from the nearby dMe flare star EV Lac observed by the Swift and Konus-Wind satellites and the Liverpool Telescope. It is the first large stellar flare from a dMe flare star to result in a Swift trigger based on its hard X-ray intensity. Its peak f_X from 0.3--100 keV of 5.3x10^-8 erg/cm2/s is nearly 7000 times larger than the star's quiescent coronal flux, and the change in magnitude in the white filter is >4.7. This flare also caused a transient increase in EV Lac's bolometric luminosity (L_bol) during the early stages of the flare, with a peak estimated L_X/L_bol ~3.1. We apply flare loop hydrodynamic modeling to the plasma parameter temporal changes to derive a loop semi-length of l/Rstar =0.37 +/-0.07. The soft X-ray spectrum of the flare reveals evidence of iron Kalpha emission at 6.4 keV. We model the Kalpha emission as fluorescence from the hot flare source irradiating the photospheric iron, and derive loop heights of h/Rstar=0.1, consistent within factors of a few with the heights inferred from hydrodynamic modeling. The Kalpha emission feature shows variability on time scales of ~200 s which is difficult to interpret using the pure fluorescence hypothesis. We examine Kalpha emission produced by collisional ionization from accelerated particles, and find parameter values for the spectrum of accelerated particles which can accommodate the increased amount of Kalpha flux and the lack of observed nonthermal emission in the 20-50 keV spectral region.