Characterizing stellar parameters from high-resolution spectra of main sequence cool stars. I. The G2V–K2V stars

Abstract The goal of the present study is to construct, test, and validate a high-resolution synthetic spectral library using PHOENIX model atmospheres and develop a reliable tool to estimate stellar parameters from high-resolution optical and/or near-infrared spectra of M dwarfs. We report here the preliminary results of tests characterizing main sequence G–K stars from high-resolution spectra. We anchored the atomic line-list using the stellar standards Sun, ξ Boo A, and ϵ Eri to ensure the synthetic spectra computed with PHOENIX reproduce their observed counterparts. These stars were chosen because their parameters are very well characterized, and on which the absolute accuracy of our method depends on. We successfully estimated the stellar parameters with associated error bars for 17 stars. Using a pseudo Monte Carlo statistical analysis, we present overall improved uncertainties on the stellar parameters compared to those in the literature (on average 9 K, 0.014 dex, and 0.008 dex for the effective temperature, the surface gravity, and the metallicity, respectively). Our estimated stellar parameters are also in good agreement with values found in the literature.