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A potential new method for determining the temperature of cool stars |
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| Authors: | S Viti H R A Jones M J Richter R J Barber J Tennyson J H Lacy |
| Institution: | Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT;Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB;Physics Department, UC Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA;Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712, USA |
| Abstract: | We present high-resolution ( R = 90 000) mid-infrared spectra of M dwarfs. The mid-infrared region of the spectra of cool low-mass stars contains pure rotational water vapour transitions that may provide us with a new methodology in the determination of the effective temperatures for low-mass stars. We identify and assign water transitions in these spectra and determine how sensitive each pure rotational water transition is to small (25 K) changes in effective temperature. We find that, of the 36 confirmed and assigned pure rotational water transitions, at least 10 should be sensitive enough to be used as temperature indicators. |
| Keywords: | stars: atmospheres stars: fundamental parameters stars: low-mass brown dwarfs infrared: stars |