A catalogue of bright (K < 9) M dwarfs

TL;DR

This paper compiles the most comprehensive catalog of bright M dwarfs (K<9) by utilizing PPMXL data, optical and infrared color cuts, and proper motion analysis, aiding future exoplanet research.

Contribution

It introduces a new, extensive catalog of bright M dwarfs combining proper motion data with optical and infrared colors, surpassing previous catalogs in completeness.

Findings

Catalog contains 8,479 K<9 M dwarfs.

Spectral types range from K7 to M4V.

The catalog is the most complete of its kind.

Abstract

Using the Position and Proper Motion Extended-L (PPMXL) catalogue, we have used optical and near-infrared colour cuts together with a reduced proper motion cut to find bright M dwarfs for future exoplanet transit studies. PPMXL's low proper motion uncertainties allow us to probe down to smaller proper motions than previous similar studies. We have combined unique objects found with this method to that of previous work to produce 8479 K<9 M dwarfs. Low resolution spectroscopy was obtained of a sample of the objects found using this selection method to gain statistics on their spectral type and physical properties. Results show a spectral type range of K7-M4V. This catalogue is the most complete collection of K<9 M dwarfs currently available and is made available here.