Understanding the surface and atmospheric conditions of Earth-size, rocky planets in the habitable zones (HZs) of low-mass stars is currently one of the greatest astronomical endeavors. Knowledge of the planetary effective surface temperature alone i
s insufficient to accurately interpret biosignature gases when they are observed in the coming decades. The UV stellar spectrum drives and regulates the upper atmospheric heating and chemistry on Earth-like planets, is critical to the definition and interpretation of biosignature gases, and may even produce false-positives in our search for biologic activity. This white paper briefly describes the scientific motivation for panchromatic observations of exoplanetary systems as a whole (star and planet), argues that a future NASA UV/Vis/near-IR space observatory is well-suited to carry out this work, and describes technology development goals that can be achieved in the next decade to support the development of a UV/Vis/near-IR flagship mission in the 2020s.
We have completed a high-resolution (R=60,000) optical spectroscopic survey of 185 nearby M dwarfs identified using ROSAT data to select active, young objects with fractional X-ray luminosities comparable to or greater than Pleiades members. Our targ
ets are drawn from the NStars 20-pc census and the Moving-M sample with distances determined from parallaxes or spectrophotometric relations. Nearly half of the resulting M dwarfs are not present in the Gliese catalog and have no previously published spectral types. We identified 30 spectroscopic binaries (SBs) from the sample, which have strong X-ray emission due to tidal spin-up rather than youth. This is equivalent to a 16% spectroscopic binary fraction, with at most a handful of undiscovered SBs. We estimate upper limits on the age of the remaining M dwarfs using spectroscopic youth indicators such as surface gravity-sensitive indices (CaH and K I). We find that for a sample of field stars with no metallicity measurements, a single CaH gravity index may not be sufficient, as higher metallicities mimic lower gravity. This is demonstrated in a sub-sample of metal-rich RV standards, which appear to have low surface gravity as measured by the CaH index, yet show no other evidence of youth. We also use additional youth diagnostics such as lithium absorption and strong H-alpha emission to set more stringent age limits. Eleven M dwarfs with no H-alpha emission or absorption are likely old (>400 Myr) and were caught during an X-ray flare. We estimate that our final sample of the 144 youngest and nearest low-mass objects in the field is less than 300 Myr old, with 30% of them being younger than 150 Myr and 4 very young (<10 Myr), representing a generally untapped and well-characterized resource of M dwarfs for intensive planet and disk searches.
We report the discovery of a young, 0.16 binary, 2M2234+4041AB, found as the result of a Keck laser guide star adaptive optics imaging survey of young field ultracool dwarfs. Spatially resolved near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy indicate that
the luminosity and temperature ratios of the system are near unity. From optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, we determine a composite spectral type of M6 for the system. Gravity-sensitive spectral features in the spectra of 2M2234+4041AB are best matched to those of young objects (~1 Myr old). A comparison of the Teff and age of 2M2234+4041AB to evolutionary models indicates the mass of each component is 0.10 (+0.075-0.04) Msun. Emission lines of H alpha in the composite optical spectrum of the system and Br gamma in spatially resolved near-IR spectra of the two components indicate that the system is actively accreting. Both components of the system have IR excesses, indicating that they both harbor circumstellar disks. Though 2M2234+4041AB was originally identified as a young field dwarf, it lies 1.5 from the well-studied Herbig Ae/Be star, LkHa 233. The distance to LkHa 233 is typically assumed to be 880 pc. It is unlikely 2M2234+4041AB could be this distant, as it would then be more luminous than any known Taurus objects of similar spectral type. We re-evaluate the distance to the LkHa 233 group and find a value of 325 (+72-50) pc, based on the Hipparcos distance to a nearby B3-type group member (HD 213976). 2M2234+4041AB is the first low-mass star to be potentially associated with the LkHa 233 group. At a distance of 325 pc, its projected physical separation is 51 AU, making it one of a growing number of wide, low-mass binaries found in young star-forming regions.
Much effort has been invested in recent years, both observationally and theoretically, to understand the interacting processes taking place in planetary systems consisting of a hot Jupiter orbiting its star within 10 stellar radii. Several independen
t studies have converged on the same scenario: that a short-period planet can induce activity on the photosphere and upper atmosphere of its host star. The growing body of evidence for such magnetic star-planet interactions includes a diverse array of photometric, spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric studies. The nature of which is modeled to be strongly affected by both the stellar and planetary magnetic fields, possibly influencing the magnetic activity of both bodies, as well as affecting irradiation and non-thermal and dynamical processes. Tidal interactions are responsible for the circularization of the planet orbit, for the synchronization of the planet rotation with the orbital period, and may also synchronize the outer convective envelope of the star with the planet. Studying such star-planet interactions (SPI) aids our understanding of the formation, migration and evolution of hot Jupiters.
We report our discovery of an extremely rare, low mass, quadruple-lined spectroscopic binary BD-22 5866 (=NLTT 53279, integrated spectral type = M0 V), found during an ongoing search for the youngest M dwarfs in the solar neighborhood. From the cross
-correlation function, we are able to measure relative flux levels, estimate the spectral types of the components, and set upper limits on the orbital periods and separations. The resulting system is hierarchical composed of K7 + K7 binary and a M1 + M2 binary with semi-major axes of asini_{A}<=0.06 AU and asini_{B}<=0.30 AU. A subsequent search of the SuperWASP photometric database revealed that the K7 + K7 binary is eclipsing with a period of 2.21 days and at an inclination angle of 85 degrees. Within uncertainties of 5%, the masses and radii of both components appear to be equal (0.59 Msun, 0.61 Rsun). These two tightly orbiting stars (a = 0.035 AU) are in synchronous rotation causing the observed excess Ca II, Halpha, X-ray and UV emission. The fact that the system was unresolved with published adaptive optics imaging, limits the projected physical separation of the two binaries at the time of the observation to d_{AB} < 4.1 AU at the photometric distance of 51 pc. The maximum observed radial velocity difference between the A and B binaries limits the orbit to asini_{AB}<=6.1 AU. As this tight configuration is difficult to reproduce with current formation models of multiple systems, we speculate that an early dynamical process reduced the size of the system such as the interaction of the two binaries with a circumquadruple disk. Intensive photometric, spectroscopic and interferometric monitoring as well as a parallax measurement of this rare quadruple system is certainly warranted.
Evidence suggesting an observable magnetic interaction between a star and its hot Jupiter appears as a cyclic variation of stellar activity synchronized to the planets orbit. In this study, we monitored the chromospheric activity of 7 stars with hot
Jupiters using new high-resolution echelle spectra collected with ESPaDOnS over a few nights in 2005 and 2006 from the CFHT. We searched for variability in several stellar activity indicators (Ca II H, K, the Ca II infrared triplet, Halpha, and He I). HD 179949 has been observed almost every year since 2001. Synchronicity of the Ca II H & K emission with the orbit is clearly seen in four out of six epochs, while rotational modulation with P_rot=7 days is apparent in the other two seasons. We observe a similar phenomenon on upsilon And, which displays rotational modulation (P_rot=12 days) in September 2005, in 2002 and 2003 variations appear to correlate with the planets orbital period. This on/off nature of star-planet interaction (SPI) in the two systems is likely a function of the changing stellar magnetic field structure throughout its activity cycle. Variability in the transiting system HD 189733 is likely associated with an active region rotating with the star, however, the flaring in excess of the rotational modulation may be associated with its hot Jupiter. As for HD 179949, the peak variability as measured by the mean absolute deviation for both HD 189733 and tau Boo leads the sub-planetary longitude by 70 degrees. The tentative correlation between this activity and the ratio of Mpsini to the planets rotation period, a quantity proportional to the hot Jupiters magnetic moment, first presented in Shkolnik et al. 2005 remains viable. This work furthers the characterization of SPI, improving its potential as a probe of extrasolar planetary magnetic fields.
