6,138 research outputs found
Quiescent X-ray emission from an evolved brown dwarf ?
I report on the X-ray detection of Gl569Bab. During a 25ksec Chandra
observation the binary brown dwarf is for the first time spatially separated in
X-rays from the flare star primary Gl569A. Companionship to Gl569A constrains
the age of the brown dwarf pair to ~300-800 Myr. The observation presented here
is only the second X-ray detection of an evolved brown dwarf. About half of the
observing time is dominated by a large flare on Gl569Bab, the remainder is
characterized by weak and non-variable emission just above the detection limit.
This emission -- if not related to the afterglow of the flare -- represents the
first detection of a quiescent corona on a brown dwarf, representing an
important piece in the puzzle of dynamos in the sub-stellar regime.Comment: to appear in ApJ
X-rays from accretion shocks in T Tauri stars: The case of BP Tau
We present an XMM-Newton observation of the classical T Tauri star BP Tau. In
the XMM-Newton RGS spectrum the O {\sc vii} triplet is clearly detected with a
very weak forbidden line indicating high plasma densities and/or a high UV flux
environment. At the same time concurrent UV data point to a small hot spot
filling factor suggesting an accretion funnel shock as the site of the X-ray
and UV emission. Together with the X-ray data on TW Hya these new observations
suggest such funnels to be a general feature in classical T Tauri stars.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted by A&
The Multiple Young Stellar Objects of HBC 515: An X-ray and Millimeter-wave Imaging Study in (Pre-main Sequence) Diversity
We present Chandra X-ray Observatory and Submillimeter Array (SMA) imaging of
HBC 515, a system consisting of multiple young stellar objects (YSOs). The five
members of HBC 515 represent a remarkably diverse array of YSOs, ranging from
the low-mass Class I/II protostar HBC 515B, through Class II and transition
disk objects (HBC 515D and C, respectively), to the "diskless", intermediate-
mass, pre-main sequence binary HBC 515A. Our Chandra/ACIS imaging establishes
that all five components are X-ray sources, with HBC 515A - a
subarcsecond-separation binary that is partially resolved by Chandra - being
the dominant X-ray source. We detect an X-ray flare associated with HBC 515B.
In the SMA imaging, HBC 515B is detected as a strong 1.3 mm continuum emission
source; a second, weaker mm continuum source is coincident with the position of
the transition disk object HBC 515C. These results strongly support the
protostellar nature of HBC 515B, and firmly establish HBC 515A as a member of
the rare class of relatively massive, X-ray luminous "weak-lined T Tauri stars"
that are binaries and have shed their disks at very early stages of pre-MS
evolution. The coexistence of two such disparate objects within a single,
presumably coeval multiple YSO system highlights the influence of pre- MS star
mass, binarity, and X-ray luminosity in regulating the lifetimes of
circumstellar, planet-forming disks and the timescales of star-disk
interactions.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 11 pages, 5 figure
The GALATEA Test-Facility for High Purity Germanium Detectors
GALATEA is a test facility designed to investigate bulk and surface effects
in high purity germanium detectors. A vacuum tank houses an infrared screened
volume with a cooled detector inside. A system of three stages allows an almost
complete scan of the detector. The main feature of GALATEA is that there is no
material between source and detector. This allows the usage of alpha and beta
sources as well as of a laser beam to study surface effects. A 19-fold
segmented true-coaxial germanium detector was used for commissioning
Molecules in the Circumstellar Disk Orbiting BP Piscium
BP Psc is a puzzling late-type, emission-line field star with large infrared
excess. The star is encircled and enshrouded by a nearly edge-on, dust
circumstellar disk, and displays an extensive jet system similar to those
associated with pre-main sequence (pre-MS) stars. We conducted a mm-wave
molecular line survey of BP Psc with the 30 m telescope of the Institut de
Radio Astronomie Millimetrique (IRAM). We detected lines of 12CO and 13CO and,
possibly, very weak emission from HCO+ and CN; HCN, H2CO, and SiO are not
detected. The CO line profiles of BP Psc are well fit by a model invoking a
disk in Keplerian rotation. The mimumum disk gas mass, inferred from the 12CO
line intensity and 13CO/12CO line ratio, is ~0.1 Jupiter masses. The weakness
of HCO+ and CN (relative to 13CO) stands in sharp contrast to the strong HCO+
and CN emission that characterizes most low-mass, pre-main sequence stars that
have been the subjects of molecular emission-line surveys, and is suggestive of
a very low level of X-ray-induced molecular ionization within the BP Psc disk.
These results lend some support to the notion that BP Psc is an evolved star
whose circumstellar disk has its origins in a catastrophic interaction with a
close companion.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The ultracool dwarf DENIS-P J104814.7-395606. Chromospheres and coronae at the low-mass end of the main-sequence
We have obtained an XMM-Newton observation and a broad-band spectrum from the
ultraviolet to the near infrared with X-Shooter for one of the nearest M9
dwarfs, DENIS-P J1048-3956 (4pc). We integrate these data by a compilation of
activity parameters for ultracool dwarfs from the literature with the aim to
advance our understanding of these objects by comparing them to early-M type
dwarf stars and the Sun.
Our deep XMM-Newton observation has led to the first X-ray detection of
DENIS-P J1048-3956 (log Lx = 25.1) as well as the first measurement of its V
band brightness (V = 17.35mag). Flux-flux relations between X-ray and
chromospheric activity indicators are here for the first time extended into the
regime of the ultracool dwarfs. The approximate agreement of DENIS-P J1048-3956
and other ultracool dwarfs with flux-flux relations for early-M dwarfs suggests
that the same heating mechanisms work in the atmospheres of ultracool dwarfs,
albeit weaker as judged from their lower fluxes. The observed Balmer decrements
of DENIS-P J1048-3956 are compatible with optically thick plasma in LTE at low,
nearly photospheric temperature or optically thin LTE plasma at 20000K.
Describing the decrements with CaseB recombination requires different emitting
regions for Halpha and the higher Balmer lines. The high observed Halpha/Hbeta
flux ratio is also poorly fitted by the optically thin models. We derive a
similarly high value for the Halpha/Hbeta ratio of vB10 and LHS2065 and
conclude that this may be a characteristic of ultracool dwarfs. We add DENIS-P
J1048-3956 to the list of ultracool dwarfs detected in both the radio and the
X-ray band. The Benz-Guedel relation between radio and X-ray luminosity of
late-type stars is well-known to be violated by ultracool dwarfs. We speculate
on the presence of two types of ultracool dwarfs with distinct radio and X-ray
behavior.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Increased Yield of ttbb at Hadron Colliders in Low-Energy Supersymmetry
Light bottom squarks and gluinos have been invoked to explain the b quark
pair production excess at the Tevatron. We investigate the associated
production of ttbb at hadron colliders in this scenario, and find that the
rates for this process are enhanced over the Standard Model prediction. If
light gluinos exist, it may be possible to detect them at the Tevatron, and
they could easily be observed at the LHC.Comment: 5p, references added, version accepted to PR
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