Well Defined Areas of Doubt and Uncertainty in M Dwarf Astrophysics
Abstract
Although M dwarfs comprise some 80% of the stars in the Galaxy, many of their properties remain unexplained. I will concentrate on three well-defined, unsolved problems in these stars, to wit: 1) the response of the M dwarf atmosphere to flare heating, a classic problem in stellar atmospheric physics; 2) the appearance of a break in the HR diagram in the mid-M dwarfs; and 3) the changes in surface magnetic activity through the M dwarf temperature sequence. I will show conclusively that, while our understanding of this ubiquitous population is far from complete, M dwarfs are an excellent testbed for stellar astrophysics.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002AAS...201.0201H