The narrow ultraviolet emission lines of the red dwarf AU Microscopii(dM1.6e).

Abstract

It is pointed out that the red dwarfs are the smallest, coolest, faintest, least massive, but most common of normal main-sequence stars. The dMe (H-alpha emission) subclass of the red dwarfs exhibits the largest median soft X-ray to bolometric luminosity ratio of any group of late-type stars. In connection with the present investigation, attention is given to the first high-dispersion spectra of the chromospheric (6000 K) and higher temperature (up to 100,000 K) emissions of a dMe star, AU Microscopii in the far-ultraviolet (1150-2000 A) and middle-ultraviolet (2000-3000 A) bands accessible to the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). AU Mic is one of the most luminous of lower main-sequence stars in C IV and soft X-ray emission.