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Examples of different flare morphologies we observed on mid-to-late M dwarfs during the TESS Mission. Black points denote points we used to measure the energies of these flares.

Flares on mid-to-late M Dwarfs with TESS

We searched for flares using a volume-complete sample of stars with masses between 0.1-0.3 solar masses and that reside with in 15 parsecs.

The rate of flares as a function of rotation period (right). The rate of flares as a function of Rossby number, Ro (left). Rossby number is defined as the rotation period/convective turnover time of the star.
Relationship between Flare Rate and Stellar Rotation

We find that the rate of flares as a function of rotation period/Rossby number shows saturated behavior above a critical value and then sharply declines below this value.

The flare rate as a function of the equivalent width of H-alpha, where more negative values of H-alpha mean more emission. The color of the point denotes the Rossby number. Small Ro values denote faster rotation periods.
Flare Rate and Emission of H-alpha

We find that measuring the equivalent width of H-alpha can yield an estimate for the flare rate of any given mid-to-late M dwarf. Determining the flare rate for these highly magnetically active stars is essential to understanding the radiation environments the planets orbiting them are subject to.