A Flare of AE Aquarii Observed with XMM-Newton

We present the results of analyzing the XMM-Newton data obtained in 2001 November 7-8. A flare is observed simultaneously in X-ray and UV together with a quiescence. We find that during the flare event X-ray flux varies with UV with no significant time lag, indicating a close correlation of flux variation for X-ray and UV flares. An upper limit of the lag is estimated to be ~1 minute. From a timing analysis for X-ray data, we find that both pulsed and unpulsed flux increase clearly as the flare advances in the entire energy band 0.15-10 keV. The net increase of pulsed flux to the quiescence is, however, small and corresponds to about 3%-4% of the increase in unpulsed flux, confirming that a flux variation of flare in AE Aqr is dominated by unpulsed X-rays. A spectral analysis reveals that the energy spectrum is similar to that of the quiescence at the beginning of the flare, but the spectrum becomes harder as the flare advances. Based on these results, we discuss the current issues that need to be clarified, e.g., the possible flaring site and the mass accretion problem of the white dwarf. We also discuss the flare properties obtained in this study.

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