Scientific article
English

The x-ray spectra of the flaring and quiescent states of AT Microscopii observed by XMM-Newton

Published inAstronomy & astrophysics, vol. 411, no. 3, p. 509-515
Publication date2003
First online date2003-11-17
Abstract

The X-ray spectrum of the late-type M-dwarf binary AT Mic (dM4.5e+dM4.5e) is observed in the wavelength range 1 - 40 Angstrom by means of rgs and epic-mos on board XMM-Newton. During the exposure a flare occured. We have performed a 3-temperature fit and a DEM-modeling to the flaring and quiescent part of the spectrum. We report the coronal temperature distribution, emission measures, and abundances of the flaring and quiescent state of this bright X-ray source. The temperature range stretches from about 1 to 60 MK. The total volume emission measure in this temperature interval is ~12.2*10^51 cm^-3 for the quiescent state and ~19.5*10^51 cm^-3 for the flare state. This difference is due to the contribution of the hot temperature component. The high-resolution spectrum of AT Mic, obtained by rgs, is dominated by the H- and He-like transitions of C, N, O, and Ne and by Fe XVII lines, produced by the plasma with temperatures from 1 to 10 MK. The epic-mos spectrum below 10 Angstrom shows H- and He-like Ne, Si and the iron K-shell transitions. They are produced by the hot component (30 MK). The iron K-shell is more prominent in the flare state. The abundance pattern in the quiescent state of AT Mic shows the depletion of low-FIP elements relative to high-FIP elements, indicating the presence of an I(nverse)FIP effect in this active star. In the flare state, however, some flattening of this IFIP effect is present.

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Citation (ISO format)
RAASSEN, A.j.j. et al. The x-ray spectra of the flaring and quiescent states of AT Microscopii observed by XMM-Newton. In: Astronomy & astrophysics, 2003, vol. 411, n° 3, p. 509–515. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20031389
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Additional URL for this publicationhttp://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20031389
Journal ISSN0004-6361
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