New Star Observations with NuSTAR: Flares from Young Stellar Objects in the ρ Ophiuchi Cloud Complex in Hard X-rays
Abstract
Young stellar objects (YSOs), which tend to flare more frequently and at higher temperatures than what is typically observed on Sun-like stars, are excellent targets for studying the physical processes behind extreme flaring events. In the hard X-ray regime, radiation can penetrate through dense circumstellar material, and it is possible to measure thermal emission from hot plasma and to search for nonthermal emission from accelerated particles, which are key components for understanding the nature of energy release in these flares. To investigate hard X-ray emission from YSOs, three 50ks observations of a star-forming region called ρ Ophiuchi have been taken with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). Through use of direct focusing optics, NuSTAR provides unprecedented sensitivity in the hard X-ray regime above 10 keV, making these YSO observations the first of their kind. Multiple stellar flares have been identified in the data set; here we present spectral and timing analyses of the brightest of the these events, exploring the way energy is released as well as the effects of these large flares on the surrounding environment.
- Publication:
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AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division
- Pub Date:
- March 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019HEAD...1730502V