AlH lines in the blue spectrum of Proxima Centauri

Abstract

The recently-computed ExoMol line lists for isotopologues of AlH are used to analyse the blue spectrum (4000-4500 {\AA}) of Proxima Cen (M5.5 V). Comparison of the observed and computed spectra enables the identification of a large number of 27AlH lines of the A1{\Pi} - X1{\Sigma}+ band system: the spectral range covering 1-0, 0-0 and 1-1 bands is dominated by clearly resolved AlH lines. We reveal the diffuse nature of transitions close to the dissociation limit which appears in the form of increasingly wider(up to 5 {\AA}) and shallower (up to the continuum confusion limit) AlH line profiles. The predicted wavelengths of AlH diffuse lines are systematically displaced. The effect broadening by pre-dissociation states on the line profiles is included by increasing the radiative damping rate by up to 5 orders of magnitude. We determine empirical values of damping rates for a number of the clean 0-0 Q-branch transitions by comparing the observed and synthetic stellar spectra. We find excellent agreement between our damping rates and lifetimes available in the literature. A comparison of 27Al1H ExoMol and REALH spectra shows that the observed spectrum is better described by the ExoMol line list. A search for 26Al1H lines in the Proxima Cen spectrum does not reveal any notable features; giving an upper limit of 27Al1H/26Al1H {>} 100.