XMM-Newton observations of the symbiotic recurrent nova T CrB: evolution of X-ray emission during the active phase

TL;DR

This study analyzes XMM-Newton observations of T CrB during its active phase, revealing evolving X-ray components, stochastic flickering, and a newly detected periodicity linked to the white dwarf's rotation.

Contribution

It provides the first detection of periodic variability in soft X-ray emission and details the evolution of X-ray spectral components during the active phase.

Findings

Soft X-ray component decreases over time during active phase.

Hard X-ray component remains strong and is present in both active and quiescent phases.

First detection of 6000-6500 s periodic variability in soft X-ray emission.

Abstract

We present an analysis of the XMM-Newton observations of the symbiotic recurrent nova T CrB, obtained during its active phase that started in 2015. The XMM-Newton spectra of T CrB have two prominent components: a soft one (0.2 - 0.6 keV), well represented by black-body emission, and a heavily absorbed hard component (2 - 10 keV), well matched by optically-thin plasma emission with high temperature (kT ~ 8 keV). The XMM-Newton observations reveal evolution of the X-ray emission from T CrB in its active phase. Namely, the soft component in its spectrum is decreasing with time while the opposite is true for the hard component. Comparison with data obtained in the quiescent phase shows that the soft component is typical only for the active phase, while the hard component is present in both phases but it is considerably stronger in the quiescent phase. Presence of stochastic variability (flickering) on time-scales of minutes and hours is confirmed both in X-rays and UV (UVM2 filter of the XMM-Newton optical monitor). On the other hand, periodic variability of 6000-6500 s is found for the first time in the soft X-ray emission (0.2 - 0.6 keV) from T CrB. We associate this periodic variability with the rotational period of the white dwarf in this symbiotic binary.