In young Sun-like stars and field M-dwarf stars, chromospheric and coronal magnetic activity indicators such as H{alpha}, X-ray, and radio emission are known to saturate with low Rossby number (Ro<~0.1), defined as the ratio of rotation period to convective turnover time. The mechanism for the saturation is unclear. In this paper, we use photospheric TiI and CaI absorption lines in the Y band to investigate magnetic field strength in M dwarfs for Rossby numbers between 0.01 and 1.0. The equivalent widths of the lines are magnetically enhanced by photospheric spots, a global field, or a combination of the two. The equivalent widths behave qualitatively similar to the chromospheric and coronal indicators: we see increasing equivalent widths (increasing absorption) with decreasing Ro and saturation of the equivalent widths for Ro<~0.1. The majority of M dwarfs in this study are fully convective. The results add to mounting evidence that the magnetic saturation mechanism occurs at or beneath the stellar photosphere.

Cone search capability for table J/AJ/159/52/table1 (Details on M dwarf stars in this work)