THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY DATA RELEASE 7 SPECTROSCOPIC M DWARF CATALOG. III. THE SPATIAL DEPENDENCE OF MAGNETIC ACTIVITY IN THE GALAXY

We analyze the magnetic activity of 59,318 M dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. This analysis explores the spatial distribution of M dwarf activity as a function of both vertical distance from the Galactic plane (Z) and planar distance from the Galactic center (R). We confirm the established trends of decreasing magnetic activity (as measured by Ha emission) with increasing distance from the mid-plane of the disk and find evidence of a trend in Galactocentric radii. We measure a non-zero radial gradient in the activity fraction in our analysis of stars with spectral types dM3 and dM4. The activity fraction increases with R and can be explained by a decreasing mean stellar age with increasing distance from the Galactic center.