Origin of the Blue Continuum Radiation in the Flare Spectra of dMe Stars

Calculations of the emission spectrum of a homogeneous plane layer of pure hydrogen plasma taking into account nonlinear effects (the influence of bremsstrahlung and recombination radiation of the layer itself on its Menzel factors) show that the Planck radiation (the blue component of the optical continuum) during the impulsive phase of large flares on dMe stars originates from the deep (nearphotospheric) layers of the atmosphere. Radiative cooling of the gas behind the front of a stationary shock propagating toward the photosphere of a red dwarf is not capable to create the Planck radiation observed at the peak brightness of the flares.