X-ray and UV radiation in the planet-forming T-Tauri system PDS 70. Signs of accretion and coronal activity

Planet formation takes place in protoplanetary discs around young T-Tauri stars. PDS 70 is one of the first confirmed examples of a system where the planets are currently forming in gaps in the disc, and can be directly imaged. One of the main early influences on planet formation is the lifetime of the protoplanetary disc, which is limited by the intense stellar X-ray and UV radiation. Stellar coronal activity and accretion of material onto the star are both potential sources of XUV radiation. Previous Swift observations detected UV emission, which were consistent with a low rate of accretion. We present follow up observations with the XMM-Newton observatory, which observed PDS 70 simultaneously in X-ray and UV in order to determine intensity of XUV radiation in the system, and identify if the source is coronal, accretion, or both. We detect a strong source in both X-ray and UV, with an average X-ray 0.2-12 keV luminosity of 1.37 × 10³⁰ erg s^-1, and a possible flare which increased the luminosity to 2.8 × 10³⁰ erg s^-1. The UV flux density is in excess of what would be expected from chromospheric emission, and supports the interpretation that PDS 70 has continuing weak accretion less than ~10^-10 M_⊙ yr^-1. The implications of the detected X-ray and UV radiation are that the disc is likely to be in the final stages of dispersal, and will be completely evaporated in the next million years, bringing an end to the primary planet formation process.