Coronal properties of pre-main sequence stars in the Orion Trapezium Cluster

Most of the young stars in the Orion Trapezium Cluster are much more peculiar in X-rays than expected, considering their structure, environment, and age. Highly resolved X-ray spectra provide many more details in order to study these peculiarities, specifically with respect to abundances and accretion signatures. We analyzed the high resolution X-ray spectra of six young stars in Orion using data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. We fit plasma models to the spectra, calculated temperature-insensitive elemental abundances from individual spectral line fits, determined common elemental abundances to refit the data, and computed confidence maps for pairs of model parameters. These results may provide insights into the physical properties and processes that cause certain stars to exhibit high temperatures in X-rays. This may lead to a better understanding of stellar structure and evolution in young stars.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Shen, Nancy

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Norbert Schulz.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78488

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/78488