2008ApJ...675L..97T -
Astrophys. J., 675, L97-L100 (2008/March-2)
Geometry diagnostics of a stellar flare from fluorescent X-rays.
TESTA P., DRAKE J.J., ERCOLANO B., REALE F., HUENEMOERDER D.P., AFFER L., MICELA G. and GARCIA-ALVAREZ D.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present evidence of Fe fluorescent emission in the Chandra HETGS spectrum of the single G-type giant HR 9024 during a large flare. In analogy to solar X-ray observations, we interpret the observed Fe Kα line as being produced by illumination of the photosphere by ionizing coronal X-rays, in which case, for a given Fe photospheric abundance, its intensity depends on the height of the X-ray source. The HETGS observations, together with three-dimensional Monte Carlo calculations to model the fluorescence emission, are used to obtain a direct geometric constraint on the scale height of the flaring coronal plasma. We compute the Fe fluorescent emission induced by the emission of a single flaring coronal loop that well reproduces the observed X-ray temporal and spectral properties according to a detailed hydrodynamic modeling. The predicted Fe fluorescent emission is in good agreement with the observed value within observational uncertainties, pointing to a scale height ≲0.3R*. Comparison of the HR 9024 flare with that recently observed on II Peg by Swift indicates the latter is consistent with excitation by X-ray photoionization.
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Journal keyword(s):
Hydrodynamics - Plasmas - Stars: Coronae - X-Rays: Stars
Simbad objects:
4
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