HR 5110 superflare: an interbinary flare identified?
Abstract
A 73-ks pointed ROSAT observation revealed the RS CVn system HR 5110 to be in an outburst lasting over 3d. Although the rise to outburst was not observed, over this 3-d period the PSPC count rate decayed to one-half of its initial value, which itself was some 4-5 times larger than the all-sky survey value. The count rate for the simultaneous WFC observations remained virtually constant throughout the pointing but was about a factor of 3.6 higher than its value during the all-sky survey. Calculations based on the spectral parameters show that a simple flare mechanism and standard two-ribbon flare models cannot explain the observations satisfactorily. This is the first time that such departures from a two-ribbon flare model have been identified unambiguously, and instead an interbinary flare is suggested as the cause of the outburst.
- Publication:
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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- July 1995
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/275.1.129
- Bibcode:
- 1995MNRAS.275..129G
- Keywords:
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- BINARIES: SPECTROSCOPIC;
- STARS: FLARE;
- STARS: INDIVIDUAL: HR 5110;
- X-RAYS: STARS