On a connection between Herbig-Haro objects and flare stars in the neighborhood of the sun

The origin of the K-M-dwarf flare stars observed with widely ranging spatial velocities in the solar neighborhood is investigated theoretically. It is proposed that these objects are Herbig-Haro objects (HHOs) which have lost their diffuse envelopes as they emerged from dark clouds. The number of HHOs in the Galaxy and their average lifetime are estimated as 150,000 and 3,000 yr, respectively, corresponding to a total of 5 x 10 to the 11th HHOs created in the Galaxy over 10 Gyr and in rough agreement with the number of low-mass flare stars (5 x 10 to the 10th) if some of them have ages of 1 Gyr or more.