New and Improved Lyα Reconstructions for M and K Dwarfs

Abstract

The Lyα emission line is the brightest UV emission line in M and K dwarf spectra and serves as an important tool for studies of stellar chromospheres, the interstellar medium, and exoplanet atmospheres. However, Lyα observations have proven difficult due to the strong absorption by the interstellar medium, necessitating a reconstruction of the intrinsic stellar line from the observed spectrum. We have performed new Lyα reconstructions on the MUSCLES Treasury Survey stars, incorporating improved parameterizations for the intrinsic line wings and line core. We present an analysis of how the updated Lyα fluxes could impact photochemical and atmospheric escape studies and flux–flux scaling relations with other chromospheric emission lines such as Ca ii H and K. We find the overall intrinsic Lyα flux of our star sample decreases by as little as 10% to as much as ∼5× fainter compared to previous findings. The exception to this flux decrease is the M dwarf GJ 581, whose Lyα flux increased by 4%. These results will likely have a limited impact on the aforementioned studies that rely on Lyα fluxes.