An X-ray flare from 47 Cas

TL;DR

This paper analyzes an X-ray flare from the active star system 47 Cas using XMM-Newton data, revealing detailed plasma properties, flare dynamics, and loop characteristics through spectral analysis and modeling.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed plasma diagnostics and loop modeling of a flare from 47 Cas, enhancing understanding of stellar flare mechanisms in active stars.

Findings

Peak flare luminosity was 3.54x10^30 erg/s.

Maximum plasma temperature during the flare was 72.8 MK.

Flaring loop length estimated at 3.3x10^10 cm.

Abstract

Using XMM-Newton observation, we investigate properties of a flare from the very active and poorly known stellar system 47 Cas. The luminosity at the peak of the flare was found to be 3.54x10^30 erg/s, which is ~2 times more than that at a quiescent state. The quiescent state corona of 47 Cas was represented by two temperature plasma: 3.7 and 11.0 MK. The time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy of the flare showed the variable nature of the temperature, the emission measure, and the abundance. The maximum temperature during the flare was found to be 72.8 MK. We inferred the length of a flaring loop to be 3.3x10^10 cm using a hydrodynamic loop model. Using the RGS spectra, the density during the flare was found to be 4.0x10^10 cm^-3. The loop scaling laws were also applied when deriving physical parameters of the flaring plasma.