Detection of a Cool, Accretion Shock-Generated X-ray Plasma in EX Lupi During the 2008 Optical Eruption

TL;DR

This study detected a cool, accretion shock-generated X-ray plasma in EX Lupi during its 2008 optical eruption, linking X-ray and optical flux declines to decreasing accretion rates and identifying a plasma component consistent with accretion shocks.

Contribution

First detection of a cool accretion shock plasma in EX Lupi during an optical outburst, providing direct evidence of accretion-related X-ray emission in young stars.

Findings

Strong correlation between optical and X-ray flux declines post-outburst.

Identification of a ~0.4 keV plasma component indicative of accretion shocks.

The X-ray flux increase was small compared to other erupting young stars.

Abstract

EX Lupi is the prototype for a class of young, pre-main sequence stars which are observed to undergo irregular, presumably accretion-generated, optical outbursts that result in a several magnitude rise of the optical flux. EX Lupi was observed to optically erupt in 2008 January, triggering Chandra ACIS ToO observations shortly thereafter. We find very strong evidence that most of the X-ray emission in the first few months after the optical outburst is generated by accretion of circumstellar material onto the stellar photosphere. Specifically, we find a strong correlation between the decreasing optical and X-ray fluxes following the peak of the outburst in the optical, which suggests that these observed declines in both the optical and X-ray fluxes are the result of declining accretion rate. In addition, in our models of the X-ray spectrum, we find strong evidence for a ~0.4 keV plasma component, as expected for accretion shocks on low-mass, pre-main sequence stars. From 2008 March through October, this cool plasma component appears to fade as EX Lupi returns to its quiescent level in the optical, consistent with a decrease in the overall emission measure of accretion shock-generated plasma. The overall small increase of the X-ray flux during the optical outburst of EX Lupi is similar to what was observed in previous X-ray observations of the 2005 optical outburst of the EX Lupi-type star V1118 Ori but contrasts with the large increase of the X-ray flux from the erupting young star V1647 Ori during its 2003 and 2008 optical outbursts.