THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY DATA RELEASE 7 SPECTROSCOPIC M DWARF CATALOG. III. THE SPATIAL DEPENDENCE OF MAGNETIC ACTIVITY IN THE GALAXY
- Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041 (United States)
We analyze the magnetic activity of 59,318 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. This analysis explores the spatial distribution of M dwarf activity as a function of both vertical distance from the Galactic plane (Z) and planar distance from the Galactic center (R). We confirm the established trends of decreasing magnetic activity (as measured by H{alpha} emission) with increasing distance from the mid-plane of the disk and find evidence of a trend in Galactocentric radii. We measure a non-zero radial gradient in the activity fraction in our analysis of stars with spectral types dM3 and dM4. The activity fraction increases with R and can be explained by a decreasing mean stellar age with increasing distance from the Galactic center.
- OSTI ID:
- 22136598
- Journal Information:
- Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 146, Issue 3; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-3881
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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