Abstract:
To fully understand the heavy element content of our Galaxy it is essential that we understand the abundance
patterns in the cool main sequence stars, M dwarf and later, which make up the majority of its baryonic mass.
Because of the difficulties caused by molecular band absorption in low mass main sequence stars there have
been few measurements of metal abundances in their atmospheres. There have been estimates made based on
photometry and low-resolution spectra, but they have been based on theoretical models, not calibrated with
measurements in real stars. We have made use of new model atmospheres which have improved treatment of
molecular opacity to calculate Fe and Ti abundances from equivalent width measurements of atomic absorption
lines in more than 50 M and K dwarf stars. I will use these to calibrate a method to estimate metallicities
in cool dwarfs using molecular indices measured in low-resolution spectra.