Attacking the X-ray emission properties of young stars with the Sword of Orion
Kevin Briggs (Paul Scherrer Institut
5232 Villigen-PSI
Switzerland)
M. Guedel (1), M. Audard (2) ((1) PSI, Switzerland; (2) Columbia Astrophysics Lab., USA )
K. Smith (3); R. Mewe (4); A.J.F. den Boggende (4) ((3) Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Germany; (4) SRON, Netherlands)
A young star grows within a complex environment, accreting from a circumstellar disk and driving jet outflows out through a surrounding envelope of dust and molecular gas. Fast rotation and a fully-convective structure further distance the emerging star from the familiar Sun. The impact of these circumstances upon a stellar magnetic dynamo, the structure of magnetic field on the star and in its immediate environment, and resultantly the amount, location and temperature of X-ray-emitting hot plasma within the system is an issue of intense current interest.
We use XMM-Newton to examine the X-ray emission properties of young stars in the Sword of Orion, and their dependencies on fundamental stellar parameters and environmental features. We find evidence for, and investigate possible causes of, reduced X-ray emission from systems in which active accretion is taking place.
http://www.astro.phys.ethz.ch/staff/briggs/briggs_nf.html