2005/11/09 by D. Paulson, Diane B. Paulson, J. Allred +9 · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/499497
Accepted for publication in PASP
arxiv created 2005/11/09 · openalex publication_date 2006/02/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We present optical spectra of a flare on Barnard's star. Several photospheric and chromospheric species were enhanced by the flare heating. An analysis of the Balmer lines shows that their shapes are best explained by Stark broadening rather than chromospheric mass motions. We estimate the temperature of the flaring region in the lower atmosphere to be ≥8000 K and the electron density to be ∼10 14 cm −3 , similar to values observed in other dM flares. Because Barnard's star is considered to be one of our oldest neighbors, a flare of this magnitude is probably quite rare.