The Fe i lines and the chromospheric activity

TL;DR

This paper develops an updated model of neutral Fe lines to study their formation in stellar atmospheres, revealing spectral ranges sensitive to chromospheric activity that impact stellar parameter measurements.

Contribution

An updated Fe I atom model enabling detailed analysis of 1715 lines across various stellar chromospheric activity levels.

Findings

Spectral ranges more sensitive to chromospheric heating identified

Lines with greater variations should be excluded in stellar parameter analysis

Preliminary results highlight the impact of magnetic activity on spectral line formation

Abstract

Neutral Fe lines are the most abundant in the spectrum of late stars. They are used to obtain different basic stellar parameters such as relative abundances, surface gravity, and effective temperature. However, the centers of many of these lines are formed in the stellar chromosphere, being affected by the changes produced by magnetic activity. Calculating non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) semi-empirical models of the stellar atmosphere, it is possible to study the formation of these lines in detail. We present a new updated model of the Fe i atom, which allows us to calculate 1715 lines of Fe i between 3000 and 7000 A in stars with different levels of chromospheric activity. Preliminary results show the presence of spectral ranges more sensitive to chromospheric heating, suggesting that the lines with greater variations must be taken into account, and should even be excluded, when be used for the purposes described above.