Quiescent and flaring states of three active stars: V834 Tau, LQ Hya, and BY Dra

TL;DR

This study analyzes the X-ray properties and superflares of three active K-type stars, revealing their coronal temperatures, elemental abundances, and magnetic activity, including recurrent superflares indicating complex magnetic fields.

Contribution

It provides detailed X-ray spectral analysis and flare characterization of V834 Tau, LQ Hya, and BY Dra, highlighting recurrent superflares and coronal composition differences.

Findings

Coronal temperatures are 0.26-1.01 keV with similar overall abundances.

Six superflares with peak temperatures up to 133 MK and energies up to 4.2×10^33 erg.

Recurrent superflares on LQ Hya suggest a long-lived magnetic structure.

Abstract

We present a detailed X-ray study of the quiescent and flaring coronae of three active main-sequence K-type stars, V834 Tau, LQ Hya, and BY Dra, using \textit{XMM-Newton} observations. The quiescent coronae are well described by two-temperature thermal plasma models, with cool and hot components at 0.26-0.30 keV and 0.93-1.01 keV, respectively. Despite similar coronal temperatures, X-ray luminosities (10$^{29.18\mbox{--}29.75}$ erg s$^{-1}$) and overall abundances, the relative emission measures of the cool and hot components differ among the stars. High-resolution spectroscopy reveals significant iron depletion by factors of 5-10 relative to photospheric values, and an inverse first-ionisation-potential effect in all three stellar coronae. Six energetic flares are detected, with peak temperatures of 30 -- 133 MK and released energies of $0.6\mbox{--}4.2\times$10$^ {33}$ erg, classifying them as superflares. Most flares exhibit decay times roughly twice their rise times, although one event shows a decay phase nearly twenty times longer than its rise. Time-resolved spectroscopy and loop scaling laws yield flare parameters consistent with previous studies of active stars. LQ Hya displays recurrent superflares at the same rotational phase across observations separated by six months, suggesting a long-lived, complex magnetic field structure. These results provide insights into the magnetic activity and flare energetics in active stars, and their implications for stellar and exoplanetary environments.