Proposal ID | 050355 |
Title | The Coolest X-ray Emitting White Dwarfs? |
Download Data Associated to the proposal | https://nxsa.esac.esa.int/nxsa-sl/servlet/data-action-aio?obsno=0503550201 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-g4lnep8 |
Principal Investigator, PI | Dr Marcel Agueros |
Abstract | Among the ~6000 new white dwarfs (WDs) spectroscopically confirmed by the SloanDigital Sky Survey (SDSS) are three cool DAs and two cool DBs within 1 ofsuper-soft ROSAT All Sky Survey (RASS) sources. WDs at these relatively lowtemperatures (<23,000K) are not expected to be X-ray emitters, but the SDSSphotometric and spectroscopic data fail to identify any other obvious opticalcounterparts to the RASS sources to the SDSS limits (g~23 mag in photometry). Wepropose 5 ksec XMM-Newton observations of these five SDSS WDs to obtain pinpointX-ray positions and improved flux measures for these objects. If XMM dataconfirm that the five WDs are X-ray sources, they will be of great interest; inparticular, theoretical work will be required to explain how such cool WDs can emit X rays. |
Publications |
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Instrument | EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2 |
Temporal Coverage | 2008-03-11T13:46:47Z/2008-03-11T17:55:44Z |
Version | 17.56_20190403_1200 |
Mission Description | The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis. |
Creator Contact | https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/xmm-newton-helpdesk |
Date Published | 2009-04-15T00:00:00Z |
Last Update | 2025-08-04 |
Keywords | "improved flux measures", "super soft rosat", "cool wds", "sdss limits", "relatively low temperatures", "optical counterparts", "cool dbs", "xmm data", "XMM", "sdss wds", "sdss photometric", "emit xray", "spectroscopic data fail", "xmm newton", "SDSS", "rass sources", "XMM-Newton", "cool das", "xray sources", "ROSAT", "xray emitters", "pinpoint xray positions" |
Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, Dr Marcel Agueros, 2009, 'The Coolest X-ray Emitting White Dwarfs?', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-g4lnep8 |