The reason why the Herbig Ae/Be stars emit X-rays is not understood. A popularscenario is that the Herbig Ae/Be stars are not the sources of this emission,but rather the X-rays come from unresolved low-mass companion stars (T-Tauristars). However, our archival study shows that the most luminous Herbig Ae/Bestars can emit X-rays much above what is seen from T-Tauri stars, suggestingthat -- at least for the most luminous L>10^3\,L_{\odot} Herbig Ae/Be stars --some other mechanism must be responsible for the X-ray emission. Only 8 HerbigAe/Be stars in this key luminosity range have been observed in X-rays, and thuswe propose a survey for XMM-Newton to measure the X-ray luminosities of a sampleof 24 additional luminous Herbig Ae/Be stars.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2021-07-28T22:32:10Z/2022-02-19T14:55:20Z
Version
19.17_20220121_1250
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.
European Space Agency, Dr Jari Kajava, 2023, 'XMM-Newton survey of luminous Herbig AeBe stars', 19.17_20220121_1250, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-qinnhpf
