Observation of a possible superflare on Proxima Centauri
Article
Article Title | Observation of a possible superflare on Proxima Centauri |
---|---|
ERA Journal ID | 1074 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Kielkopf, John F. (Author), Hart, Rhodes (Author), Carter, Bradley D. (Author) and Marsden, Stephen C. (Author) |
Journal Title | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Journal Citation | 486 (1), pp. L31-L35 |
Number of Pages | 5 |
Year | 2019 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0035-8711 |
1365-2966 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slz054 |
Web Address (URL) | https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/486/1/L31/5472906 |
Abstract | We report the observation on UT 2017 July 1 of an unusually powerful flare detected in near-infrared continuum photometry of Proxima Centauri. During a campaign monitoring the star for possible exoplanet transits, we identified an increase in Sloan i' flux leading to an observed peak at BJD 2457935.996 that was at least 10 per cent over pre-flare flux in this band. It was followed by a two-component rapid decline in the first 100 s that became a slower exponential decay with time constant of 1350 s. A smaller flare event 1300 s after the first added an incremental peak flux increase of 1 per cent of pre-flare flux. Since the onset of the flare was not fully time resolved at a cadence of 62 s, its actual peak value is unknown but greater than the time average over a single exposure of 20 s. The i' band is representative of broad optical and near-IR continuum flux over which the integrated energy of the flare is 100 times the stellar luminosity. This meets the criteria that established the concept of superflares on similar stars. The resulting implied ultraviolet flux and space weather could have had an extreme effect on the atmospheres of planets within the star's otherwise habitable zone. |
Keywords | planets and satellites: detection – stars: flare – stars: low-mass |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
Public Notes | This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2019 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. |
Byline Affiliations | University of Louisville, United States |
Centre for Astrophysics | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q5723/observation-of-a-possible-superflare-on-proxima-centauri
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