Inferring Coronal Structure from X-Ray Light Curves and Doppler Shifts: A Chandra Study of AB Doradus

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory continuously monitored the single cool star AB Dor for a period lasting 88 ks (1.98Prot) in 2002 December with the Low-Energy Transmission Grating HRC-S. The X-ray light curve shows rotational modulation with three peaks that repeat in two consecutive rotation cycles. These peaks may indicate the presence of compact emitting regions in the quiescent corona. Centroid shifts as a function of phase in the strongest line profile, O VIII λ18.97, indicate Doppler rotational velocities with a semiamplitude of 30 ± 10 km s-1. By taking these diagnostics into account along with constraints on the rotational broadening of line profiles (provided by archival Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating Fe XVII and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Fe XVIII profiles), we can construct a simple model of the X-ray corona that requires two components. One of these components is responsible for 80% of the X-ray emission and arises from the pole and/or a homogeneously distributed corona. The second component consists of two or three compact active regions that cause modulation in the light curve and contribute to the O VIII centroid shifts. These compact regions account for 16% of the emission and are located near the stellar surface with heights of less than 0.3R*. At least one of the compact active regions is located in the partially obscured hemisphere of the inclined star, while another of the active regions may be located at 40°. High-quality X-ray data such as these can test the models of the coronal magnetic field configuration as inferred from magnetic Zeeman Doppler imaging.

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