Search for bright nearby M dwarfs with Virtual Observatory tools

TL;DR

This study used Virtual Observatory tools to identify and spectroscopically confirm bright nearby M dwarfs, discovering new members and a binary system, and providing spectral classifications and activity indicators.

Contribution

It introduces a new spectral index for classifying M dwarfs and demonstrates the effectiveness of Virtual Observatory tools in identifying nearby stellar objects.

Findings

27 bright M dwarfs identified, 16 new in the Northern hemisphere

7 stars located within 15 parsecs of Earth

Discovery of a new wide M-dwarf binary system

Abstract

Using Virtual Observatory tools, we cross-matched the Carlsberg Meridian 14 and the 2MASS Point Source catalogs to select candidate nearby bright M dwarfs distributed over ~ 25,000 deg^2. Here, we present reconnaissance low-resolution optical spectra for 27 candidates that were observed with the Intermediate Dispersion Spectrograph at the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope (R ~ 1600). We derived spectral types from a new spectral index, R, which measures the ratio of fluxes at 7485-7015 A and 7120-7150 A. We also used VOSA, a Virtual Observatory tool for spectral energy distribution fitting, to derive effective temperatures and surface gravities for each candidate. The resulting 27 targets were M dwarfs brighter than J = 10.5 mag, 16 of which were completely new in the Northern hemisphere and 7 of which were located at less than 15 pc. For all of them, we also measured H{\alpha} and Na I pseudo-equivalent widths, determined photometric distances, and identified the most active stars. The targets with the weakest sodium absorption, namely J0422+2439 (with X-ray and strong H{\alpha} emissions, J0435+2523, and J0439+2333, are new members in the young Taurus-Auriga star-forming region based on proper motion, spatial distribution, and location in the color-magnitude diagram, which reopens the discussion on the deficit of M2-4 Taurus stars. Finally, based on proper motion diagrams, we report on a new wide M-dwarf binary system in the field, LSPM J0326+3929EW.