M dwarf stars (which are cooler and less massive than the Sun, but are the most common stars in the universe) are thought to be the most likely to harbor planetary systems. The potential habitability of these planets is likely to depend on the magnetic activity of their host star. Habitable planets are likely to lie close to their host star, and M dwarf stars flare more frequently and more energetically than the Sun. The space weather associated with these flares might be the deciding factor that determines whether these planets can harbor life. Planetary habitability is a subject of broad interest among the general public, and it crosses many scientific disciplines. The detection of space weather among other stars would open the door to studies that could advance our understanding of space weather in our solar system as well as the origins of life on Earth. This project will involve the training of a graduate student, who will not only learn radio observing techniques but will also learn how to coordinate international observing campaigns. The PI is the US representative commissioning a new facility in The Netherlands (LOFAR) for low-frequency radio observations.
The PI and her graduate student will use the JVLA and the LOFAR radio telescopes to observe flares from a small sample of nearby M dwarf stars. They will also arrange for simultaneous observations at other wavelengths. Their primary goal is to detect and characterize events analogous to solar coronal mass ejections, which have never been observed in other stellar systems. The PI has an excellent track record conducting multiwavelength observations of stellar flares, with a particular specialty in radio observations. By analogy with space weather in our solar system, it is the radio observations that hold the most potential for detecting CME?s from other stars.
