Living with a Red Dwarf: X-ray, UV, and Ca II Activity-Age Relationships of M Dwarfs

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the magnetic activity of M dwarfs, observable through X-ray, UV, and Ca II emissions, declines with age, providing insights into stellar evolution and exoplanet habitability.

Contribution

It presents new activity-age relationships for M dwarfs based on recent calibrated age-rotation data, enhancing understanding of their magnetic evolution.

Findings

Magnetic activity declines with stellar age in M dwarfs.

The activity-age relationships aid in assessing exoplanet habitability.

Results improve understanding of stellar dynamo mechanisms.

Abstract

The vast majority of stars in the nearby stellar neighborhood are M dwarfs. Their low masses and luminosities result in slow rates of nuclear evolution and minimal changes to the star's observable properties, even along astronomical timescales. However, they possess relatively powerful magnetic dynamos and resulting X-ray to UV activity, compared to their bolometric luminosities. This magnetic activity does undergo an observable decline over time, making it an important potential age determinant for M dwarfs. Observing this activity is important for studying the outer atmospheres of these stars, but also for comparing the behaviors of different spectral type subsets of M dwarfs, e.g., those with partially vs. fully convective interiors. Beyond stellar astrophysics, understanding the X-ray to UV activity of M dwarfs over time is also important for studying the atmospheres and habitability of any hosted exoplanets. Earth-sized exoplanets, in particular, are more commonly found orbiting M dwarfs than any other stellar type, and thermal escape (driven by the M dwarf X-ray to UV activity) is believed to be the dominant atmospheric loss mechanism for these planets. Utilizing recently calibrated M dwarf age-rotation relationships, also constructed as part of the $\textit{Living with a Red Dwarf}$ program (Engle & Guinan 2023), we have analyzed the evolution of M dwarf activity over time, in terms of coronal (X-ray), chromospheric (Lyman-$\alpha$, and Ca II), and overall X--UV (5--1700 Angstrom) emissions. The activity-age relationships presented here will be useful for studying exoplanet habitability and atmospheric loss, but also for studying the different dynamo and outer atmospheric heating mechanisms at work in M dwarfs.