Cool Stars 14 - Submitted Abstract # 140
This version created on 05 October 2006

Local Galactic Structure and Dynamics:  M Dwarfs as Tracers of
Galactic Populations


John Bochanski, University of Washington
Suzanne Hawley, University of Washington
Jeff Munn, US Naval Observatory
Kevin Covey, Center For Astrophysics
Andrew West, University of California, Berkeley
Lucianne Walkowicz, University of Washington

We present Sloan Digital Sky Survey observations of low-mass dwarfs
residing in the Southern Galaxy (b ~ -60).  This dataset combines
medium resolution (R ~ 1,800) spectroscopy, proper motions and five
band (ugriz) photometry of over 8,000  K and M dwarfs, offering a
powerful tool for exploring the structure and dynamics of the thin and
thick disks.  We examine the activity (as measured by H alpha
luminosity) and kinematic characteristics of these low-mass dwarfs as
a function of distance from the Galactic Plane.  In addition, we
explore the mean structural and kinematic properties of the Galactic
thin and thick disk populations.

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