Discovery of x-ray emission from young suns in the small magellanic cloud
We report the discovery of extended X-ray emission within the young star cluster NGC602a in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) based on observations obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. X-ray emission is detected from the cluster core area with the highest stellar density and from...
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Publication Date: | 2013 |
| Country: | México |
| Institution: | Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica |
| Repository: | Repositorio Institucional del INAOE |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:inaoe.repositorioinstitucional.mx:1009/2256 |
| Online Access: | http://inaoe.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle/1009/2256 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/Magellanic Clouds info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/ISM: bubbles info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/HII regions info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/Stars: winds, outflows info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/Stars: pre-main sequence info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/X-rays: stars info:eu-repo/classification/cti/1 info:eu-repo/classification/cti/21 |
| Summary: | We report the discovery of extended X-ray emission within the young star cluster NGC602a in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) based on observations obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. X-ray emission is detected from the cluster core area with the highest stellar density and from a dusty ridge surrounding the HII region. We use a census of massive stars in the cluster to demonstrate that a cluster wind or wind-blown bubble is unlikely to provide a significant contribution to the X-ray emission detected from the central area of the cluster. We therefore suggest that X-ray emission at the cluster core originates from an ensemble of low- and solar-mass pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars, each of which would be too weak in X-rays to be detected individually. We attribute the X-ray emission from the dusty ridge to the embedded tight cluster of the new-born stars known in this area from infrared studies. Assuming that the levels of X-ray activity in young stars in the low-metallicity environment of NGC 602a are comparable to their Galactic counterparts, then the detected spatial distribution, spectral properties, and level of X-ray emission are largely consistent with those expected from low- and solar-mass PMS stars and young stellar objects (YSOs). This is the first discovery of X-ray emission attributable to PMS stars and YSOs in the SMC, which suggests that the accretion and dynamo processes in young, low-mass objects in the SMC resemble those in the Galaxy. |
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