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Diffuse X-ray emission in the Cygnus OB2 association
TL;DR: In this paper, a large-scale study of diffuse X-ray emission in the nearby massive stellar association Cygnus OB2 is presented, which reveals the first observational evidence of Xray haloes around some evolved massive stars.
Abstract: We present a large-scale study of diffuse X-ray emission in the nearby massive stellar association Cygnus OB2 as part of the Chandra Cygnus OB2 Legacy Program. We used 40 Chandra X-ray ACIS-I observations covering $\sim$1.0 deg$^2$. After removing 7924 point-like sources detected in our survey, background-corrected X-ray emission, the adaptive smoothing reveals large-scale diffuse X-ray emission. Diffuse emission was detected in the sub-bands Soft [0.5 : 1.2] and Medium [1.2 : 2.5], and marginally in the Hard [2.5 : 7.0] keV band. From X-ray spectral analysis of stacked spectra we compute a total [0.5 : 7.0 keV] diffuse X-ray luminosity of L$_{\rm x}^{\rm diff}\approx$4.2$\times$10$^{\rm 34}$ erg s$^{-1}$, characterized with plasma temperature components at kT$\approx$ 0.11, 0.40 and 1.18 keV, respectively. The HI absorption column density corresponding to these temperatures has a distribution consistent with N$_{\rm H}$ = 0.43, 0.80 and 1.39 $\times$10$^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$. The extended medium band energy emission likely arises from O-type stellar winds thermalized by wind-wind collisions in the most populated regions of the association, while the soft band emission probably arises from less energetic termination shocks against the surrounding Interstellar-Medium. Super-soft and Soft diffuse emission appears more widely dispersed and intense than the medium band emission. The diffuse X-ray emission is generally spatially coincident with low-extinction regions that we attribute to the ubiquitous influence of powerful stellar winds from massive stars and their interaction with the local Interstellar-Medium. Diffuse X-ray emission is volume-filling, rather than edge-brightened, oppositely to other star-forming regions. We reveal the first observational evidence of X-ray haloes around some evolved massive stars.
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01 Dec 2019
TL;DR: The Chandra X-ray Observatory has completed a remarkable twenty years in orbit and a large part of the science program of Chandra during this time has involved the study of stars and their planetary systems as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Chandra X-ray Observatory has completed a remarkable twenty years in orbit. A large part of the science program of Chandra during this time has involved the study of stars and their planetary systems. This primer aims to give the reader a taste of the enormous range of stellar and planetary astrophysics that Chandra has enabled. Beginning with a tour of the X-ray solar system zoo, including the stunning pulsating X-ray aurorae of Jupiter, we then move on to the hot million-degree outer atmospheres of stars like our own Sun, whose X-ray emission is driven by an internal magnetic dynamo. The same emission processes are also vigorously present in the youngest stars, and we highlight some Chandra observations and results on nascent stellar and planetary systems. Chandra surveys and high-resolution spectroscopy of massive stars have provided a new window on the means by which they scavenge X-ray emission from their radiatively-driven winds, sometimes modulating this output by strong underlying stellar magnetic fields. We touch upon the evanescent X-radiation from intermediate-mass stars before arriving at the inevitable evolutionary endpoints of all but massive stars, first in energized X-ray emitting planetary nebulae, then in the slowly cooling, soft-X-ray emitting photospheres of white dwarfs. We conclude with white dwarfs in close binary systems, rejuvenated by interaction with a companion and where accretion gives play to a new range of energetic behavior even more spectacular and cataclysmic than the coruscant astrophysical road down which they have travelled.
1 citations
TL;DR: The Chandra X-ray Observatory has completed a remarkable twenty years in orbit and a large part of the science program of Chandra during this time has involved the study of stars and their planetary systems as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Chandra X-ray Observatory has completed a remarkable twenty years in orbit. A large part of the science program of Chandra during this time has involved the study of stars and their planetary systems. This primer aims to give the reader a taste of the enormous range of stellar and planetary astrophysics that Chandra has enabled. Beginning with a tour of the X-ray solar system zoo, including the stunning pulsating X-ray aurorae of Jupiter, we then move on to the hot million-degree outer atmospheres of stars like our own Sun, whose X-ray emission is driven by an internal magnetic dynamo. The same emission processes are also vigorously present in the youngest stars, and we highlight some Chandra observations and results on nascent stellar and planetary systems. Chandra surveys and high-resolution spectroscopy of massive stars have provided a new window on the means by which they scavenge X-ray emission from their radiatively-driven winds, sometimes modulating this output by strong underlying stellar magnetic fields. We touch upon the evanescent X-radiation from intermediate-mass stars before arriving at the inevitable evolutionary endpoints of all but massive stars, first in energized X-ray emitting planetary nebulae, then in the slowly cooling, soft-X-ray emitting photospheres of white dwarfs. We conclude with white dwarfs in close binary systems, rejuvenated by interaction with a companion and where accretion gives play to a new range of energetic behavior even more spectacular and cataclysmic than the coruscant astrophysical road down which they have travelled.
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01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: A rechargeable lithium aluminum/iron sulfide battery has been built and tested at SAFT under a U.S. government grant as discussed by the authors, which has been shown to work well with a rechargeable battery.
Abstract: A rechargeable lithium aluminum/iron sulfide battery has been built and tested at SAFT under a U.S.
158 citations