The MUSCLES Treasury Survey. V. FUV Flares on Active and Inactive M Dwarfs
R. O. Parke Loyd, Kevin France, Allison Youngblood, Christian, Schneider, Alexander Brown, Renyu Hu, Ant\'igona Segura, Jeffrey Linsky, Seth, Redfield, Feng Tian, Sarah Rugheimer, Yamila Miguel, Cynthia S. Froning

TL;DR
This study characterizes FUV flares on active and inactive M dwarfs, revealing similar normalized flare distributions and assessing their potential impact on exoplanet atmospheres through modeling.
Contribution
It provides the first comparative analysis of FUV flare energies on active versus inactive M dwarfs and develops a flare model for atmospheric photochemical simulations.
Findings
Active M dwarf flares are about 10 times more energetic than inactive ones.
Normalized flare distributions are identical for active and inactive M dwarfs.
Rare, energetic flares could significantly deplete exoplanet ozone layers.
Abstract
M dwarf stars are known for their vigorous flaring. This flaring could impact the climate of orbiting planets, making it important to characterize M dwarf flares at the short wavelengths that drive atmospheric chemistry and escape. We conducted a far-ultraviolet flare survey of 6 M dwarfs from the recent MUSCLES (Measurements of the Ultraviolet Spectral Characteristics of Low-mass Exoplanetary Systems) observations, as well as 4 highly-active M dwarfs with archival data. When comparing absolute flare energies, we found the active-M-star flares to be about 10 more energetic than inactive-M-star flares. However, when flare energies were normalized by the star's quiescent flux, the active and inactive samples exhibited identical flare distributions, with a power-law index of - (cumulative distribution). The rate and distribution of flares are such that they…
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