Short Duration Stellar Flares in GALEX Data

TL;DR

This study identifies and characterizes a large population of short-duration near-ultraviolet stellar flares using GALEX data, revealing their properties, energies, and frequency distribution, and comparing them with solar and optical flares.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive analysis of short-duration NUV flares in stars, highlighting a previously undetected set of small flares distinct from prior Kepler flare surveys.

Findings

94.5% of flares last less than five minutes

Flare energies range from 1.8×10^32 to 8.9×10^37 erg

Flare frequency distribution follows a power-law with index 1.72

Abstract

We report on a population of short duration near-ultraviolet (NUV) flares in stars observed by the Kepler and GALEX missions. We analyzed NUV light curves of 34,276 stars observed from 2009-2013 by both the GALEX (NUV) and Kepler (optical) space missions with the eventual goal of investigating multi-wavelength flares. From the GALEX data we constructed light curves with a 10 second cadence, and ultimately detected 1,904 short duration flares on 1,021 stars. The vast majority (94.5\%) of these flares have durations less than five minutes, with flare flux enhancements above the quiescent flux level ranging from 1.5 to 1700. The flaring stars are primarily solar-like, with T$_{\rm eff}$ ranging from 3,000-11,000 K and radii between 0.5-15 R$_{\odot}$. This set of flaring stars is almost entirely distinct from that of previous flare surveys of Kepler data and indicates a previously undetected collection of small flares contained within the Kepler sample. The range in flare energies spans 1.8$\times$10$^{32}$-8.9$\times$10$^{37}$ erg, with associated relative errors spanning 2-87\%. The flare frequency distribution by energy follows a power-law with index $\alpha=1.72\pm0.05$, consistent with results of other solar and stellar flare studies at a range of wavelengths. This supports the idea that the NUV flares we observe are governed by the same physical processes present in solar and optical flares. The relationship between flare duration and associated flare energy extends results found for solar and stellar white-light flares, and suggests that these flares originate in regions with magnetic field strengths of several hundred Gauss, and length scales of order 10$^{10}$ cm.