MUSCLES Treasury Survey. IV. M dwarf UV fluxes

Characterizing the UV spectral energy distribution (SED) of an exoplanet host star is critically important for assessing its planet's potential habitability, particularly for M dwarfs, as they are prime targets for current and near-term exoplanet characterization efforts and atmospheric models predict that their UV radiation can produce photochemistry on habitable zone planets different from that on Earth. To derive ground-based proxies for UV emission for use when Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations are unavailable, we have assembled a sample of 15 early to mid-M dwarfs observed by HST and compared their nonsimultaneous UV and optical spectra.

We find that the equivalent width of the chromospheric Ca II K line at 3933{AA}, when corrected for spectral type, can be used to estimate the stellar surface flux in ultraviolet emission lines, including HI Ly{alpha}. In addition, we address another potential driver of habitability: energetic particle fluxes associated with flares. We present a new technique for estimating soft X-ray and >10MeV proton flux during far-UV emission line flares (Si IV and He II) by assuming solar-like energy partitions.