Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-07-22
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
12 pages, 2 figures; to appear in Astrophysical Journal (Letters)
Scientific paper
BP Psc is a remarkable emission-line field star that is orbited by a dusty disk and drives a parsec-scale system of jets. We report the detection by the Chandra X-ray Observatory of a weak X-ray point source coincident with the centroids of optical/IR and submillimeter continuum emission at BP Psc. As the star's photosphere is obscured throughout the visible and near-infrared, the Chandra X-ray source likely represents the first detection of BP Psc itself. The X-rays most likely originate with magnetic activity at BP Psc and hence can be attributed either to a stellar corona or to star-disk interactions. The log of the ratio of X-ray to bolometric luminosity (log(L_X/L_{bol}) lies in the range -5.8 to -4.2. This is smaller than log(L_X/L_{bol}) ratios typical of low-mass, pre-main sequence stars, but is well within the log(L_X/L_{bol}) range observed for rapidly-rotating (FK Com-type) G giant stars. Hence, the Chandra results favor an exotic model wherein the disk/jet system of BP Psc is the result of its very recently engulfing a companion star or giant planet, as the primary star ascended the giant branch.
Rodolfo Montez Jr.
Forveille Thierry
Graham James R.
Grosso Nicolas
Kastner Joel H.
No associations
LandOfFree
Chandra X-ray Detection of the Enigmatic Field Star BP Psc does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Chandra X-ray Detection of the Enigmatic Field Star BP Psc, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Chandra X-ray Detection of the Enigmatic Field Star BP Psc will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-614052