Main Sequence Star Super-flare Frequency based on Entire Kepler Data

We wrote and used an automated flare detection Python script to search for super-flares on main sequence stars of types A,F,G,K and M in Kepler's long-cadence data from Q0 to Q17.We studied the statistical properties of the occurrence rate of super-flares.For the G-type data set,we compared our results with the previous results of Okamoto et al.by splitting the data set into four rotational bands.We found similar power-law indices for the flare frequency distribution.Hence,we show that inclusion of a high-pass filter,sample biases,gyrochronology and completeness of flare detection is of no significance,as our results are similar to those of Okamoto et al.We estimated that a super-flare on G-type dwarfs with energy of 10^(35) erg occurs on a star once every 4360 yr.We found 4637 super-flares on 1896 G-type dwarfs.Moreover,we identified 321,1125,4538 and 5445 super-flares on 136,522,770 and 312 dwarfs of types A,F,K and M,respectively.We ascertained that the occurrence rate(dN/dE)of super-flares versus flare energy,E,shows a power-law distribution with dN/dE∝E^(-α),whereα■2.0 to 2.1 for the spectral types from F-type to M-type stars.In contrast,the obtainedα■1.3 for A-type stars suggests that the flare conditions differ from those of the other spectral-type stars.We note an increase in flare incidence rate in F-type to M-type stars and a decrease in A-type to F-type stars.