Short duration high amplitude flares detected on the M dwarf star KIC 5474065

TL;DR

This paper reports the detection and analysis of short, high-amplitude optical flares on the M dwarf star KIC 5474065, highlighting their characteristics and potential impact on orbiting exoplanets.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed characterization of short-duration, high-amplitude flares on KIC 5474065 using Kepler and ground-based data, comparing them with other M dwarf flares.

Findings

KIC 5474065 exhibits flares with durations as short as 10 minutes.

Flares have large amplitudes with deltaF/F>0.4.

Implications for exoplanet atmospheres in habitable zones are discussed.

Abstract

Using data obtained during the RATS-Kepler project we identified one short duration flare in a 1 hour sequence of ground based photometry of the dwarf star KIC 5474065. Observations made using GTC show it is a star with a M4 V spectral type. Kepler observations made using 1 min sampling show that KIC 5474065 exhibits large amplitude (deltaF/F>0.4) optical flares which have a duration as short as 10 mins. We compare the energy distribution of flares from KIC 5474065 with that of KIC 9726699, which has also been observed using 1 min sampling, and ground based observations of other M dwarf stars in the literature. We discuss the possible implications of these short duration, relatively low energy flares would have on the atmosphere of exo-planets orbiting in the habitable zone of these flare stars.