The Intrinsic Extreme Ultraviolet Fluxes of F5 V TO M5 V Stars
Abstract
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiations (10-117 nm) from host stars play important roles in the ionization, heating, and mass loss from exoplanet atmospheres. Together with the host star's Lyα and far-UV (117-170 nm) radiation, EUV radiation photodissociates important molecules, thereby changing the chemistry in exoplanet atmospheres. Since stellar EUV fluxes cannot now be measured and interstellar neutral hydrogen completely obscures stellar radiation between 40 and 91.2 nm, even for the nearest stars, we must estimate the unobservable EUV flux by indirect methods. New non-LTE semiempirical models of the solar chromosphere and corona and solar irradiance measurements show that the ratio of EUV flux in a variety of wavelength bands to the Lyα flux varies slowly with the Lyα flux and thus with the magnetic heating rate. This suggests and we confirm that solar EUV/Lyα flux ratios based on the models and observations are similar to the available 10-40 nm flux ratios observed with the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite and the 91.2-117 nm flux observed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite for F5 V-M5 V stars. We provide formulae for predicting EUV flux ratios based on the EUVE and FUSE stellar data and on the solar models, which are essential input for modeling the atmospheres of exoplanets.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- January 2014
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1310.1360
- Bibcode:
- 2014ApJ...780...61L
- Keywords:
-
- planet-star interactions;
- planets and satellites: atmospheres;
- stars: chromospheres;
- stars: low-mass;
- Sun: UV radiation;
- ultraviolet: stars;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- To appear in the Astrophysical Journal, 37 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables