We present a survey of far-ultraviolet (FUV; 1150 -1450Å) emission line spectra from 71 planethosting and 33 non-planet-hosting F, G, K, and M dwarfs with the goals of characterizing their range of FUV activity levels, calibrating the FUV activity level to the 90 -360Å extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) stellar flux, and investigating the potential for FUV emission lines to probe star-planet interactions (SPIs). We build this emission line sample from a combination of new and archival observations with the Hubble Space Telescope-COS and -STIS instruments, targeting the chromospheric and transition region emission lines of Si III, N V, C II, and Si IV.We find that the exoplanet host stars, on average, display factors of 5 -10 lower UV activity levels compared with the non-planet hosting sample; this is explained by a combination of observational and astrophysical biases in the selection of stars for radial-velocity planet searches. We demonstrate that UV activity-rotation relation in the full F -M star sample is characterized by a power-law decline (with index α ≈ −1.1), starting at rotation periods 3.5 days. Using N V or Si IV spectra and a knowledge of the star's bolometric flux, we present a new analytic relationship to estimate the intrinsic stellar EUV irradiance in the 90 -360Å band with an accuracy of roughly a factor of ≈ 2. Finally, we study the correlation between SPI strength and UV activity in the context of a principal component analysis that controls for the sample biases. We find that SPIs are not a statistically significant contributor to the observed UV activity levels.

The mass accretion rate is a crucial parameter for the study of the evolution of accretion discs around young lowmass stellar and substellar objects (YSOs). We revisit the case of MY Lup, an object where VLT/X-Shooter data suggested a negligible mass accretion rate, and show it to be accreting on a level similar to other Class II YSOs in Lupus based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. In our HST-Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (HST-COS) and -Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST-STIS) spectra, we find many emission lines, as well as substantial far-ultraviolet (FUV) continuum excess emission, which can be ascribed to active accretion. The total luminosity of the C iv λ1549Å doublet is 4.1×10 −4 L . Using scalings between accretion luminosity, Lacc, and C iv luminosity from the literature, we derive Lacc∼2×10 −1 L , which is more than an order of magnitude higher than the upper limit estimated from the X-Shooter observations. We discuss possible reasons for the X-Shooter-HST discrepancy, the most plausible being that the low contrast between the continuum excess emission and the photospheric+chromospheric emission at optical wavelengths in MY Lup hampered detection of excess emission. The luminosity of the FUV continuum and C iv lines, strong H2 fluorescence, and a "1600 A Bump" place MY Lup in the class of accreting objects with gas-rich discs. So far, MY Lup is the only peculiar case in which a significant difference between the HST and X-ShooterṀacc estimates exists that is not ascribable to variability. The mass accretion rate inferred from the revisited Lacc estimate isṀacc ∼ 1( +1.5 −0.5 )×10 −8 M yr −1 . This value is consistent with the typical value derived for accreting YSOs of similar mass in Lupus and points to less clearing of the inner disc than indicated by near-and mid-infrared observations. This is confirmed by Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) data, which show that the gaps and rings seen in the sub-millimetre are relatively shallow.

The evolution of young stars and disks is driven by the interplay of several processes, notably the accretion and ejection of material. These processes, critical to correctly describe the conditions of planet formation, are best probed spectroscopically. Between 2020 and 2022, about 500orbits of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are being devoted in to the ULLYSES public survey of about 70 low-mass (M⋆ ≤ 2 M⊙) young (age < 10 Myr) stars at UV wavelengths. Here, we present the PENELLOPE Large Program carried out with the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) with the aim of acquiring, contemporaneously to the HST, optical ESPRESSO/UVES high-resolution spectra for the purpose of investigating the kinematics of the emitting gas, along with UV-to-NIR X-shooter medium-resolution flux-calibrated spectra to provide the fundamental parameters that HST data alone cannot provide, such as extinction and stellar properties. The data obtained by PENELLOPE have no proprietary time and the fully reduced spectra are being made available to the whole community. Here, we describe the data and the first scientific analysis of the accretion properties for the sample of 13 targets located in the Orion OB1 association and in the σ-Orionis cluster, observed in November–December 2020. We find that the accretion rates are in line with those observed previously in similarly young star-forming regions, with a variability on a timescale of days (≲3). The comparison of the fits to the continuum excess emission obtained with a slab model on the X-shooter spectra and the HST/STIS spectra shows a shortcoming in the X-shooter estimates of ≲10%, which is well within the assumed uncertainty. Its origin can be either due to an erroneous UV extinction curve or to the simplicity of the modeling and, thus, this question will form the basis of the investigation undertaken over the course of the PENELLOPE program. The combined ULLYSES and PENELLOPE data will be key in attaining a better understanding of the accretion and ejection mechanisms in young stars.

M dwarf stars are excellent candidates around which to search for exoplanets, including temperate, Earth-sized planets. To evaluate the photochemistry of the planetary atmosphere, it is essential to characterize the UV spectral energy distribution of the planet’s host star. This wavelength regime is important because molecules in the planetary atmosphere such as oxygen and ozone have highly wavelength-dependent absorption cross sections that peak in the UV (900–3200 Å). We seek to provide a broadly applicable method of estimating the UV emission of an M dwarf, without direct UV data, by identifying a relationship between noncontemporaneous optical and UV observations. Our work uses the largest sample of M dwarf star far- and near-UV observations yet assembled. We evaluate three commonly observed optical chromospheric activity indices—Hα equivalent widths and log10 L Hα /L bol, and the Mount Wilson Ca ii H&K S and indices—using optical spectra from the HARPS, UVES, and HIRES archives and new HIRES spectra. Archival and new Hubble Space Telescope COS and STIS spectra are used to measure line fluxes for the brightest chromospheric and transition region emission lines between 1200 and 2800 Å. Our results show a correlation between UV emission-line luminosity normalized to the stellar bolometric luminosity and Ca ii with standard deviations of 0.31–0.61 dex (factors of ∼2–4) about the best-fit lines. We also find correlations between normalized UV line luminosity and Hα log10 L Hα /L bol and the S index. These relationships allow one to estimate the average UV emission from M0 to M9 dwarfs when UV data are not available.

We present a study of molecular gas in the inner disk r 20 au < ( ) around RY Lupi, with spectra from HST-COS, HST-STIS, and VLT-CRIRES. We model the radial distribution of flux from hot gas in a surface layer between r=0