167 research outputs found
Line absorption of He-like triplet lines by Li-like ions. Caveats of using line ratios of triplets for plasma diagnostics
He-like ions produce distinctive series of triplet lines under various
astrophysical conditions. However, this emission can be affected by line
absorption from Li-like ions in the same medium. We investigate this absorption
of He-like triplets and present the implications for diagnostics of plasmas in
photoionisation equilibrium using the line ratios of the triplets. Our
computations were carried out for the O VI and Fe XXIV absorption of the O VII
and Fe XXV triplet emission lines, respectively. The fluorescent emission by
the Li-like ions and continuum absorption of the He-like ion triplet lines are
also investigated. We determine the absorption of the triplet lines as a
function of Li-like ion column density and velocity dispersion of the emitting
and absorbing medium. We find O VI line absorption can significantly alter the
O VII triplet line ratios in optically-thin plasmas, by primarily absorbing the
intercombination lines, and to a lesser extent, the forbidden line. Because of
intrinsic line absorption by O VI inside a photoionised plasma, the predicted
ratio of forbidden to intercombination line intensity for the O VII triplet
increases from 4 up to an upper limit of 16. This process can explain the
triplet line ratios that are higher than expected and that are seen in some
X-ray observations of photoionised plasmas. For the Fe XXV triplet, line
absorption by Fe XXIV becomes less apparent owing to significant fluorescent
emission by Fe XXIV. Without taking the associated Li-like ion line absorption
into account, the density diagnosis of photoionised plasmas using the observed
line ratios of the He-like ion triplet emission lines can be unreliable,
especially for low-Z ions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 6 pages, 4
figure
The X-ray spectra of the flaring and quiescent states of YZ CMi observed by XMM-Newton
We analyse the X-ray spectrum of the active late-type star YZ CMi (M4.5V); for quiescent as well as active stages, we derive emission measure (EM) distributions, elemental abundances, and electron temperatures and densities, which are in turn used to estimate flare loop lengths as well as coronal magnetic field strengths. YZ CMi was observed in the wavelength range 1-40 Å by the X-ray detectors RGS, EPIC-MOS and EPIC-pn onboard XMM-Newton. Some flares occurred during the observation. We perform a multi-temperature fit and model the differential EM of both the flaring and the quiescent parts of the spectrum and derive the coronal temperature distribution, EMs, and elemental abundances of the flaring and quiescent states. The observed temperature covers a range from about 1.3 to 42 MK. The total volume EM in this temperature interval is 13.7 ± .8 × 1050 cm−3 for the quiescent state and 21.7 ± 1.4 × 1050 cm−3 for the active state. The abundance pattern in the quiescent state shows some depletion of low first ionization potential (FIP) elements relative to high-FIP elements, indicating the presence of an I(nverse)FIP effect in this active star. No abundance differences between the quiescent and the active states are established. Based on the X-ray light curves in combination with the temperature, density and EM, the coronal magnetic field strength at flare-site is found to be between 50 and 100 G and the flaring loop lengths are estimated to be in the range of 5 -13 × 109 c
Estimating turbulent velocities in the elliptical galaxies NGC 5044 and NGC 5813
The interstellar and intra-cluster medium in giant elliptical galaxies and
clusters of galaxies is often assumed to be in hydrostatic equilibrium.
Numerical simulations, however, show that about 5-30% of the pressure in a
cluster is provided by turbulence induced by, for example, the central AGN and
merger activity. We aim to put constraints on the turbulent velocities and
turbulent pressure in the ICM of the giant elliptical galaxies NGC 5044 and NGC
5813 using XMM-Newton RGS observations. The magnitude of the turbulence is
estimated using the Fe XVII lines at 15.01 A, 17.05 A, and 17.10 A in the RGS
spectra. At low turbulent velocities, the gas becomes optically thick in the
15.01 A line due to resonant scattering, while the 17 A lines remain optically
thin. By comparing the (I(17.05)+I(17.10))/I(15.01) line ratio from RGS with
simulated line ratios for different Mach numbers, the level of turbulence is
constrained. The measurement is limited by systematic uncertainties in the
atomic data, which are at the 20-30% level. We find that the line ratio in NGC
5813 is significantly higher than in NGC 5044. This difference can be explained
by a higher level of turbulence in NGC 5044. The high turbulent velocities and
the fraction of the turbulent pressure support of >40% in NGC 5044, assuming
isotropic turbulence, confirm that it is a highly disturbed system, probably
due to an off-axis merger. The turbulent pressure support in NGC 5813 is more
modest at 15-45%. The (I(17.05)+I(17.10))/I(15.01) line ratio in an optically
thin plasma, calculated using AtomDB v2.0.1, is 2 sigma above the ratio
measured in NGC 5044, which cannot be explained by resonant scattering. This
shows that the discrepancies between theoretical, laboratory, and astrophysical
data on Fe XVII lines need to be reduced to improve the accuracy of the
determination of turbulent velocities using resonant scattering.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Line ratios for Helium-like ions: Applications to collision-dominated plasmas
The line ratios R and G of the three main lines of He-like ions (triplet: resonance, intercombination, forbidden lines) are calculated for CV, NVI, OVII, NeIX, MgXI, and SiXIII. These ratios can be used to derive electron density n_e and temperature T_e of hot late-type stellar coronae and O, B stars from high-resolution spectra obtained with Chandra (LETGS, HETGS) and XMM-Newton (RGS). All excitation and radiative processes between the levels and the effect of upper-level cascades from collisional electronic excitation and from dielectronic and radiative recombination have been considered. When possible the best experimental values for radiative transition probabilities are used. For the higher-Z ions (i.e. NeIX, MgXI, SiXIII) possible contributions from blended dielectronic satellite lines to each line of the triplets were included in the calculations of the line ratios R and G for four specific spectral resolutions: RGS, LETGS, HETGS-MEG, HETGS-HEG. The influence of an external stellar radiation field on the coupling of the 2^3S (upper level of the forbidden line) and 2^3P levels (upper levels of the intercombination lines) is taken into account. This process is mainly important for the lower-Z ions (i.e. CV, NVI, OVII) at moderate radiation temperature (T_rad). These improved calculations were done for plasmas in collisional ionization equilibrium, but will be later extended to photo-ionized plasmas and to transient ionization plasmas. The values for R and G are given in extensive tables, for a large range of parameters, which could be used directly to compare to the observations
A Study of the Coronal Plasma in RS CVn binary systems
XMM-Newton has been performing comprehensive studies of X-ray bright RS CVn
binaries in its Calibration and Guaranteed Time programs. We present results
from ongoing investigations in the context of a systematic study of coronal
emission from RS CVns. We concentrate in this paper on coronal abundances and
investigate the abundance pattern in RS CVn binaries as a function of activity
and average temperature. A transition from an Inverse First Ionization
Potential (FIP) effect towards an absence of a clear trend is found in
intermediately active RS CVn systems. This scheme corresponds well into the
long-term evolution from an IFIP to a FIP effect found in solar analogs. We
further study variations in the elemental abundances during a large flare.Comment: to appear in The Twelfth Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun,
eds. A. Brown, T.R. Ayres, G.M. Harper, (Boulder: Univ. of Colorado), in
pres
Coronal density diagnostics with Helium-like triplets: CHANDRA--LETGS observations of Algol, Capella, Procyon, Eps Eri, Alpha Cen A&B, UX Ari, AD Leo, YY Gem, and HR1099
We present an analysis of ten cool stars (Algol, Capella, Procyon, Eps Eri,
Alpha Cen A&B, UX Ari, AD Leo, YY Gem, and HR1099) observed with the Low Energy
Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) on board the Chandra X-ray
Observatory. This sample contains all cools stars observed with the LETGS
presently available to us with integration times sufficiently long to warrant a
meaningful spectral analysis. Our sample comprises inactive, moderately active,
and hyperactive stars and samples the bulk part of activity levels encountered
in coronal X-ray sources. We use the LETGS spectra to carry out density and
temperature diagnostics with an emphasis on the H-like and the He-like ions. We
find a correlation between line flux ratios of the Lyman-Alpha and He-like
resonance lines with the mean X-ray surface flux. We determine densities using
the He-like triplets. For active stars we find no significant deviations from
the low-density limit for the ions of Ne, Mg, and Si, while the measured line
ratios for the ions of C, N, and O do show evidence for departures from the
low-density limit in the active stars, but not in the inactive stars. Best
measurements can be made for the OVII triplet where we find significant
deviations from the low-density limit for the stars Algol, Procyon, YY Gem, Eps
Eri, and HR1099. We discuss the influence of radiation fields on the
interpretation of the He-like triplet line ratios in the low-Z ions, which is
relevant for Algol, and the influence of dielectronic satellite lines, which is
relevant for Procyon. For the active stars YY Gem, Eps Eri, and HR1099 the low
f/i ratios can unambiguously be attributed to high densties in the range 1--3
10^10 cm^-3 at OVII temperatures. We find our LETGS spectra to be an extremely
useful tool for plasma diagnostics of stellar coronae.Comment: 17 pages, Latex2e, 12 figures. accepted for A&A under MS262
Helium-like ions as powerful X-ray plasma diagnostics
We revisited the calculations of the ratios of the Helium-like ion
``triplet'' (resonance, intercombination, and forbidden lines) for Z=6 to 14 (C
V, N VI, O VII, Ne IX, Mg XI, Si XIII) in order to provide temperature, density
and ionization diagnostics for the new high-resolution spectroscopic data of
Chandra and XMM-Newton. Comparing to earlier computations, collisional rates
are updated and the best experimental values for radiative transition
probabilities are used. The influence of an external radiation field
(photo-excitation) and the contribution from unresolved dielectronic satellite
lines to the line ratios are discussed. Collision-dominated plasmas (e.g.
stellar coronae), photo-ionized plasmas (e.g. AGNs) or transient plasmas (e.g.
SNRs) are considered.Comment: To appear in Proc. of "X-ray astronomy 2000",(Palermo Sep. 2000),
Eds. R. Giacconi, L. Stella, S. Serio, ASP Conf. Series, in press (6 pages, 1
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