Catching A Symbiotic Star's Pulsed Jet in the Act: X-Ray Observations of MWC560

Although jets are ubiquitous and important components in many different astrophysical systems, their formation remains very poorly understood. The pole-on jet in the symbiotic system MWC 560 serves as a Rosetta Stone for understanding pulsed, highly collimated, jets. We propose to use XMM for X-ray observations of the symbiotic star MWC 560. It provides us with a unique opportunity to observe the launch site of the jet, the shock-induced propagation of the jet, and its end point, where the ejecta merge into the jet head. We detected with XMM a hard component from the accretion site and a soft component associated with the jet. Further observations are required for solving questions concerning the accretion process and for characterizing the soft component.