The Canis Major OB1 association has an intriguing scenario of star formation, especially in the region called Canis Major R1 (CMa R1) traditionally assigned to a reflection nebula, but in reality an ionized region. This work is focussed on the young stellar population associated with CMa R1, for which our previous results from ROSAT, optical, and near-infrared data had revealed two stellar groups with different ages, suggesting a possible mixing of populations originated from distinct star formation episodes. The X-ray data allow the detected sources to be characterized according to hardness ratios, light curves, and spectra. Estimates of mass and age were obtained from the 2MASS catalogue and used to define a complete subsample of stellar counterparts for statistical purposes. A catalogue of 387 XMM-Newton sources is provided, of which 78% are confirmed as members or probable members of the CMa R1 association. Flares (or similar events) were observed for 13 sources and the spectra of 21 bright sources could be fitted by a thermal plasma model. Mean values of fits parameters were used to estimate X-ray luminosities. We found a minimum value of log(L_X_[erg/s])=29.43, indicating that our sample of low-mass stars (M*<=0.5 M_{sun}_), which are faint X-ray emitters, is incomplete. Among the 250 objects selected as our complete subsample (defining our "best sample"), 171 are found to the east of the cloud, near Z CMa and dense molecular gas, of which 50% of them are young (<5Myr) and 30% are older (>10Myr). The opposite happens to the west, near GU CMa, in areas lacking molecular gas: among 79 objects, 30% are young and 50% are older. These findings confirm that a first episode of distributed star formation occurred in the whole studied region ~10Myr ago and dispersed the molecular gas, while a second, localized episode (<5Myr) took place in the regions where molecular gas is still present.
We present a catalogue of 1696 X-ray sources detected in the massive star forming region (SFR) Cygnus OB2 and extracted from two archival Chandra observations of the center of the region. A deep source extraction routine, exploiting the low background rates of Chandra observations was employed to maximize the number of sources extracted. Observations at other wavelengths were used to identify low count-rate sources and remove likely spurious sources. Monte Carlo simulations were also used to assess the authenticity of these sources. X-ray spectra were fitted with thermal plasma models to characterize the objects and X-ray light curves were analyzed to determine their variability. We used a Bayesian technique to identify optical or near-IR counterparts for 1501 (89%) of our sources, using deep observations from the INT Photometric H-alpha Survey, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey-Galactic plane Survey. 755 (45%) of these objects have six-band r', H-alpha, i', J, H, and K optical and near-IR photometry. From an analysis of the Poisson false-source probabilities for each source we estimate that our X-ray catalogue includes <1% of false sources, and an even lower fraction when only sources with optical or near-IR associations are considered. A Monte Carlo simulation of the Bayesian matching scheme allows this method to be compared to more simplified matching techniques and enables the various sources of error to be quantified. The catalogue of 1696 objects presented here includes X-ray broad band fluxes, model fits, and optical and near-IR photometry in what is one of the largest X-ray catalogue of a single SFR to date. The high number of stellar X-ray sources detected from relatively shallow observations confirms the status and importance of Cygnus OB2 as one of our Galaxy's most massive SFRs.
We present a comprehensive study of the local environments of four elliptical+spiral (E+S) galaxy pairs with the main goal of investigating their formation/evolution histories. We obtained new XMM-Newton data for two pairs (RR 143 and RR 242) that complement existing ROSAT data for the other two (RR 210 and RR 216).
The IC 1396N cometary globule (CG) within the large nearby HII region IC 1396 has been observed with the ACIS detector on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. We detect 117 X-ray sources, of which ~50-60 are likely members of the young open cluster Trumpler 37 dispersed throughout the HII region, and 25 are associated with young stars formed within the globule. Infrared photometry (2MASS and Spitzer) shows that the X-ray population is very young: 3 older Class III stars, 16 classical T Tauri stars, and 6 protostars including a Class 0/I system.
While observational evidence shows that most of the decline in a star's X-ray activity occurs between the age of the Hyades (~8x10^8yr) and that of the Sun, very little is known about the evolution of stellar activity between these ages. To gain information on the typical level of coronal activity at a star's intermediate age, we studied the X-ray emission from stars in the 1.9Gyr old open cluster NGC 752. We analysed a ~140ks Chandraobservation of NGC 752 and a ~50ks XMM-Newtonobservation of the same cluster. We detected 262 X-ray sources in the Chandra data and 145 sources in the XMM-Newton observation. Around 90% of the catalogued cluster members within Chandra's field-of-view are detected in the X-ray. The X-ray luminosity of all observed cluster members (28 stars) and of 11 cluster member candidates was derived.
We investigate the nature of the X-ray point source population within the Young Massive Cluster Westerlund 1. Chandra observations of 18 ks and 42 ks were used to determine the X-ray properties of emitters within Wd 1, while a comprehensive multiwavelength dataset was employed to constrain their nature. We find X-ray emission from a multitude of different stellar sources within Wd 1, including both evolved high mass and low mass pre-MS stars.
X-ray bursts have recently been discovered in the Cepheids {delta}Cep and {beta}Dor modulated by the pulsation cycle. We have obtained an observation of the Cepheid {eta}Aql with the XMM-Newton satellite at the phase of maximum radius; the phase at which there is a burst of X-rays in {delta}Cep. No X-rays were seen from the Cepheid {eta}Aql at this phase, and the implications for Cepheid upper atmospheres are discussed. We have also used the combination of X-ray sources, as well as Gaia and 2MASS data, to search for a possible grouping around the young intermediate mass Cepheid. No indication of such a group was found.
Rich young stellar clusters produce HII regions whose expansion into the nearby molecular cloud is thought to trigger the formation of new stars. However, the importance of this mode of star formation is uncertain. This investigation seeks to quantify triggered star formation (TSF) in IC 1396A (aka the Elephant Trunk Nebula), a bright-rimmed cloud (BRC) on the periphery of the nearby giant HII region IC 1396 produced by the Trumpler 37 cluster. X-ray selection of young stars from Chandra X-ray Observatory data is combined with existing optical and infrared surveys to give a more complete census of the TSF population. Over 250 young stars in and around IC 1396A are identified; this doubles the previously known population. A spatio-temporal gradient of stars from the IC 1396A cloud towards the primary ionizing star HD 206267 is found.
We present an X-ray stacking analysis of ~75000 star-forming galaxies between 0.1<z<5.0 using the Chandra COSMOS-Legacy survey to study the X-ray emission of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGN) and its connection to host galaxy properties. The stacks at z<0.9 have luminosity limits as low as 10^40^-10^41^erg/s, a regime in which X-ray binaries (XRBs) can dominate the X-ray emission. Comparing the measured luminosities to established XRB scaling relations, we find that the redshift evolution of the luminosity per star formation rate (SFR) of XRBs depends sensitively on the assumed obscuration and may be weaker than previously found. The XRB scaling relation based on stacks from the Chandra Deep Field South overestimates the XRB contribution to the COSMOS high specific SFR stacks, possibly due to a bias affecting the CDF-S stacks because of their small galaxy samples. After subtracting the estimated XRB contribution from the stacks, we find that most stacks at z>1.3 exhibit a significant X-ray excess indicating nuclear emission. The AGN emission is strongly correlated with stellar mass but does not exhibit an additional correlation with SFR. The hardness ratios of the high-redshift stacks indicate that the AGN are substantially obscured (N_H_~10^23^cm^-2^). These obscured AGN are not identified by IRAC color selection and have L_X_~10^41^-10^43^erg/s, consistent with accretion at an Eddington rate of ~10^-3^ onto 10^7^-10^8^M_{sun}_ black holes. Combining our results with other X-ray studies suggests that AGN obscuration depends on stellar mass and an additional variable, possibly the Eddington rate.
We present the first high spatial resolution X-ray study of the massive star-forming region NGC 6357, obtained in a 38ks Chandra/ACIS observation. Inside the brightest constituent of this large HII region complex is the massive open cluster Pismis 24. It contains two of the brightest and bluest stars known, yet remains poorly studied; only a handful of optically bright stellar members have been identified. We investigate the cluster extent and initial mass function and detect ~800 X-ray sources with a limiting sensitivity of ~10^30^ergs/s; this provides the first reliable probe of the rich intermediate-mass and low-mass population of this massive cluster, increasing the number of known members from optical study by a factor of ~50.
