APO & SMARTS flare star campaign observations I. Blue wing asymmetries in chromospheric lines during mid M dwarf flares from simultaneous spectroscopic and photometric observation data

TL;DR

This study presents simultaneous spectroscopic and photometric observations of mid M dwarf flares, revealing blue wing asymmetries in chromospheric lines that suggest prominence eruptions potentially evolving into CMEs.

Contribution

First detailed analysis of blue wing asymmetries in M dwarf flares with multi-wavelength data, linking flare properties to prominence eruptions and CME-like phenomena.

Findings

Blue wing asymmetries observed in 7 out of 41 flares.

Blue-shifted velocities range from -73 to -122 km/s.

Estimated erupting plasma mass up to 10^19 g.

Abstract

We conducted the time-resolved simultaneous optical spectroscopic and photometric observations of mid M dwarf flare stars YZ CMi, EV Lac, and AD Leo. Spectroscopic observations were obtained using Apache Point Observatory 3.5m and Small \& Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System 1.5m telescopes during 31 nights. Among the 41 detected flares, seven flares showed clear blue wing asymmetries in the H$\alpha$ line, with various correspondences in flare properties. The duration of the blue wing asymmetries range from 20 min to 2.5 hours, including a flare showing the shift from blue to red wing asymmetry. Blue wing asymmetries can be observed during both white-light and candidate non white-light flares. All of the seven flares showed blue wing asymmetries also in the H$\beta$ line, but there are large varieties on which other chromospheric lines showed blue wing asymmetries. One among the 7 flares was also observed with soft X-ray spectroscopy, which enabled us to estimate the flare magnetic field and length of the flare loop. The line-of-sight velocities of the blue-shifted components range from -73 to -122 km s$^{-1}$. Assuming that the blue-shifts were caused by prominence eruptions, the mass of upward moving plasma was estimated to be 10$^{15}$ -- 10$^{19}$ g, which are roughly on the relation between flare energy and erupting mass expected from solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Although further investigations are necessary for understanding the observed various properties, these possible prominence eruptions on M-dwarfs could evolve into CMEs, assuming the similar acceleration mechanism with solar eruptions.