Abstract
The All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) is the only project in
existence to scan the entire sky in optical light every $\sim$day, reaching a
depth of $g\sim18$ mag. Over the course of its first four years of transient
alerts (2013-2016), ASAS-SN observed 53 events classified as likely M dwarf
flares. We present follow-up photometry and spectroscopy of all 53 candidates,
confirming flare events on 47 M dwarfs, one K dwarf, and one L dwarf. The
remaining four objects include a previously identified TT Tauri star, a young
star with outbursts, and two objects too faint to confirm. A detailed
examination of the 49 flare star light curves revealed an additional six flares
on five stars, resulting in a total of 55 flares on 49 objects ranging in
$V$-band contrast from $\Delta V = -1$ to $-10.2$ mags. Using an empirical
flare model to estimate the unobserved portions of the flare light curve, we
obtain lower limits on the $V$-band energy emitted during each flare, spanning
$łog(E_V/ergs)=32$ to $35$, which are among the most energetic flares
detected on M dwarfs. The ASAS-SN M-dwarf flare stars show a higher fraction of
H$\alpha$ emission as well as stronger H$\alpha$ emission compared to M dwarfs
selected without reference to activity, consistent with belonging to a
population of more magnetically active stars. We also examined the distribution
of tangential velocities, finding that the ASAS-SN flaring M dwarfs are likely
to be members of the thin disk and are neither particularly young nor old.
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