AN ALL-SKY CATALOG OF BRIGHT M DWARFS

We present an all-sky catalog of M dwarf stars with apparent infrared magnitude J 40 mas yr{sup -1}, supplemented on the bright end with the Tycho-2 catalog. Completeness tests which account for kinematic (proper motion) bias suggest that our catalog represents {approx}75% of the estimated {approx}11, 900 M dwarfs with J < 10 expected to populate the entire sky. Our catalog is, however, significantly more complete for the northern sky ({approx}90%) than it is for the south ({approx}60%). Stars are identified as cool, red M dwarfs from a combination of optical and infrared color cuts, and are distinguished from background M giants and highly reddened stars using either existing parallax measurements or, if such measurements are lacking, using their location in an optical-to-infrared reduced proper motion diagram. These bright M dwarfs are all prime targets for exoplanet surveys using the Doppler radial velocity or transit methods; the combination of low-mass and bright apparent magnitude should make possible the detection of Earth-size planets on short-period orbits using currently available techniques. Parallax measurements, when available, and photometric distance estimates are provided for allmore » stars, and these place most systems within 60 pc of the Sun. Spectral type estimated from V - J color shows that most of the stars range from K7 to M4, with only a few late M dwarfs, all within 20 pc. Proximity to the Sun also makes these stars good targets for high-resolution exoplanet imaging searches, especially if younger objects can be identified on the basis of X-ray or UV excess. For that purpose, we include X-ray flux from ROSAT and FUV/NUV ultraviolet magnitudes from GALEX for all stars for which a counterpart can be identified in those catalogs. Additional photometric data include optical magnitudes from Digitized Sky Survey plates and infrared magnitudes from the Two Micron All Sky Survey.« less