Time-resolved X-ray spectra of Proxima Centauri as seen by XMM-Newton

TL;DR

This study provides time-resolved X-ray and EUV spectra of Proxima Centauri, revealing significant short-term variability crucial for understanding its impact on exoplanet atmospheres, especially for planets in the habitable zone.

Contribution

We developed a new method for deriving time-resolved X-ray spectra of Proxima Centauri, including a novel pile-up correction and adaptive time-binning, to analyze stellar variability.

Findings

Proxima Centauri's X-ray flux varies by a factor of 20 over the observation period.

Significant wavelength-dependent variability affects flux estimates from limited snapshots.

Time variability should be incorporated into atmospheric models of Proxima Centauri b.

Abstract

Stellar soft X-ray ([1, 100] Angstrom) and Extreme Ultraviolet (also EUV, [100, 920] Angstrom; jointly, XUV) radiation affects the evolution and chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. It is however uncertain to what extent the radiation's short-term variability contributes to these effects. We are interested in what this variability might imply for planets around M dwarf stars, and focus on Proxima Centauri (Prox Cen) for three reasons: it is an active M dwarf with high levels of variability; it hosts a likely terrestrial exoplanet within its habitable zone (HZ) that will be a prime target for future direct imaging; its proximity has led to extensive observations. We set out to produce time-resolved XUV spectra of Prox Cen that will serve as input to atmospheric models, and to characterize the intrinsic variability of the star. We analyzed the entire dataset of archival XMM-Newton observations for Prox Cen. To derive the time-resolved X-ray spectra, we implemented a new pile-up correction, a new adaptive time-binning algorithm, and a time-dependent plasma model selection. The estimated EUV spectrum is based on a published template, that we scale with proposed relationships between X-ray and EUV fluxes. We produced spectra of Prox Cen from 1 to 920 Angstrom over ~260 ks of observations with unprecedented time resolution. The instantaneous X-ray flux of Prox Cen varies between about 20 times and one-fifth of the average value over the available baseline, with significant differences between wavelengths. We further quantify how variability affects the estimated average flux when a limited number of snapshots (each typically of 30 ks exposure) are available, as is common in X-ray surveys. Future investigations of the atmospheres of Prox Cen b should fold in the time variability and uncertainties described here.