  Red Dwarfs (main-sequence / dwarf M or dM) stars are the most common stars in
the Galaxy. These cool, faint, low mass stars comprise over 75% of all stars.
Because of their low luminosities (~0.0008-0.06 of the Sun's luminosity), the
circumstellar habitable zones (HZs) of dM stars are located within ~0.05-0.4 AU
of the host star. Nevertheless, the prospect of life on a planet located within
the HZ of a red dwarf is moderately high, based on the longevity of these stars
(>50 Gyr), their constant luminosities and high space densities. Here we
describe the aims and early results of the "Living with a Red Dwarf" Program -
a study of dM stars that we have been carrying out over the last few years. The
primary focus of our research on dM stars is the study of their magnetic
dynamos and resulting star spots & coronal X-ray and chromospheric UV emissions
as a function of age, rotation and spectral type. This program will provide
datasets that can be used as inputs for the study of all aspects of dM stars,
along with the planets already discovered hosted by them and the probable
hundreds (thousands?) of planets expected to be uncovered in the near future by
missions such as Kepler & Darwin/TPF. These datasets will be invaluable to
those who model exo-planetary atmospheres, as well as exobiologists &
astrobiologists who are studying the possibilities of life elsewhere in the
universe. A significant element of our program is the determination of accurate
stellar magnetic-driven X-ray-UV (X-UV) irradiances that are generated by the
dM stars' vigorous magnetic dynamos. These X-UV irradiances (and flare
frequencies) are strongly dependent on rotation, and thus age, and diminish as
the stars lose angular momentum and spin-down over time via magnetic braking.
