Metallicity determination of M dwarfs - Expanded parameter range in metallicity and effective temperature

Abstract

Context. Reliable metallicity values for M dwarfs are important for studies of the chemical evolution and advancement of planet formation theory in low-mass environments. Historically the determination of stellar parameters of low-mass stars has been challenging due to the low surface temperature, causing several molecules to form in the photospheric layers. In our work we use the fact that infrared high-resolution spectrographs have opened up a new window for investigating M dwarfs. Aims. Metallicity determination using high-resolution spectra is more accurate than the use of low-resolution spectra, but rather time-consuming. In this paper we expand our sample analyzed with this precise method both in metallicity and effective temperature in order to build up a calibration sample for a future revised empirical calibration. Methods. Because of the relatively few molecular lines in the J-band, continuum rectification is possible for high-resolution spectra, allowing the stellar parameters to be determined with greater accuracy than using optical spectra. The metallicity was determined using synthetic spectral fitting of several atomic species. Results. We have analyzed sixteen targets, with a range of effective temperature from 3350-4550 K. The resulting metallicities lie between -0.5 < [M/H] < +0.4. A few targets have previously been analyzed using low-resolution spectra, and we find a rather good agreement with our values. A comparison with available photometric calibrations shows varying agreement, and the spread within all empirical calibrations is large. Conclusions. Including the targets from our previous paper, we have analyzed 28 M dwarfs using high-resolution infrared spectra. The targets spread approximately one dex in metallicity and 1400 K in effective temperature. For individual M dwarfs we achieve uncertainties of 0.05 dex and 100 K on average.

13 pages

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