CARMENES. II: Science case and M-dwarf sample

  Morales, Ribas et al.
  
  CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M-dwarfs with Exoearths with
  Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrograph) is an instrument to be built
  for the 3.5m telescope of the Calar Alto Observatory. This instrument consists
  of two separate spectrographs (R=85000) covering the optical and the
  near-infrared bands. It will achieve a radial velocity precision of 1 m/s and
  will monitor about 300 stars during 5 years. The main goal of this survey is
  the discovery of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of late-type stars,
  a kind of star-planet systems still almost unexplored. In order to achieve
  this goal, we are compiling all the known late-type stars from different
  surveys and catalogs (Palomar/Michigan State University Survey, RECONS,
  Bochanski et al. 2005, Lépine & Gaidos 2011, for example). At the moment, the
  CARMENES input list have more than 2000 targets. However, very few of these
  M-dwarfs have accurate known fundamental properties such as the spectral type.
  Therefore, in order to select the best possible targets to be monitored with
  this spectrograph, we are performing low-resolution spectroscopic
  observations. This observations are being used to derive the spectral type of
  the stars as well as to estimate their magnetic activity level through the
  analysis of activity indicators such as the Halpha emission line. This is very
  important because stellar activity is a source of radial velocity jitter that
  can mask the presence of exoplanets. In this poster we summarize the science
  case of CARMENES and the current status the input list, the properties of the
  targets and the results of our observations. A part from the CARMENES targets,
  this work will provide the largest sample of M-dwarf stars with properties
  accurately determined.