Further evidence of the link between activity and metallicity using the flaring properties of stars in the Kepler field

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that stellar magnetic activity, as indicated by flaring properties, is positively correlated with metallicity in stars from the Kepler field, supporting the idea that metallicity influences magnetic field generation.

Contribution

It provides new evidence linking metallicity to magnetic activity by analyzing flaring properties, expanding understanding beyond traditional activity proxies.

Findings

Flaring activity is stronger in more metal-rich stars.

Magnetic activity correlates positively with metallicity.

Supports metallicity's role in magnetic field generation.

Abstract

The magnetic activity level of low-mass stars is known to vary as a function of the physical properties of the star. Many studies have shown that the stellar mass and rotation are both important parameters that determine magnetic activity levels. In contrast, the impact of a star's chemical composition on magnetic activity has received comparatively little attention. Data sets for traditional activity proxies, e.g. X-ray emission or calcium emission, are not large enough to search for metallicity trends in a statistically meaningful way. Recently, studies have used the photometric variability amplitude as a proxy for magnetic activity to investigate the role of metallicity because it can be relatively easily measured for large samples of stars. These studies find that magnetic activity and metallicity are positively correlated. In this work, we investigate the link between activity and metallicity further by studying the flaring properties of stars in the Kepler field. Similar to the photometric variability, we find that flaring activity is stronger in more metal-rich stars for a fixed mass and rotation period. This result adds to a growing body of evidence that magnetic field generation is correlated with metallicity.