Comparison of Chromospheric and Coronal Activity in the Hyades and Pleiades

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Session 43 -- Searching for Brown Dwarfs
Display presentation, Wednesday, 1, 1994, 9:20-6:30

[43.05] Comparison of Chromospheric and Coronal Activity in the Hyades and Pleiades

S.L.Hawley (Michigan State University), I.N.Reid (Caltech)

We present results from our extensive survey of chromospheric and coronal activity in lower main-sequence members of the Hyades open cluster. We have obtained $H \alpha$ spectroscopy of ninety-one probable cluster members, twenty-three of which lie within three fields for which we have deep ROSAT X-ray observations. Twenty of the twenty-three stars are detected. Combining these observations with data from the literature, we find that the mean ratio log ($L_\alpha / L_{bol}$) is roughly constant for $M_{bol} > 8$, with a substantial dispersion. The X-ray-to-bolometric luminosity ratio increases with decreasing $M_{bol}$, although the relation may flatten for $M_{bol} > 9$. Comparing this behaviour with stars in the Pleiades cluster, there are significant differences: first, the log ($L_\alpha / L_{bol}$) relation in the Pleiades increases for $M_{bol} < 10$, but appears to turn over sharply at fainter magnitudes, with the lower luminosity stars having nearly an order of magnitude lower $H \alpha$ luminosity; second, we find no evidence for saturation in the log ($L_X / L_{bol}$) ratio. However, none of the lower luminosity Pleiades stars with low $H \alpha$ luminosity have X-ray observations.

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