Chandra observations of the planetary nebula IC4593

J. A. Toalá, M. A. Guerrero, L. Bianchi, Y. H. Chu, O. De Marco

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-S) camera on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been used to discover a hot bubble in the planetary nebula (PN) IC 4593, the most distant PN detected by Chandra so far. The data are used to study the distribution of the X-ray-emitting gas in IC 4593 and to estimate its physical properties. The hot bubble has a radius of ~2 arcsec and is found to be confined inside the optically bright innermost cavity of IC 4593. The X-ray emission is mostly consistent with that of an optically thin plasma with temperature kT ~0.15 keV (or TX ~1.7 × 106 K), electron density ne ~15 cm-3, and intrinsic X-ray luminosity in the 0.3-1.5 keV energy range LX = 3.4 × 1030 erg s-1. A careful analysis of the distribution of hard (E >0.8 keV) photons in IC 4593 suggests the presence of X-ray emission from a point source likely associated with its central star (CSPN). If this was the case, its estimated X-ray luminosity would be LX, CSPN = 7 × 1029 erg s-1, fulfilling the log(LX, CSPN/Lbol)~-7 relation for self-shocking winds in hot stars. The X-ray detection of the CSPN helps explain the presence of high-ionization species detected in the ultraviolet spectra as predicted by stellar atmosphere models.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3784-3789
Number of pages6
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume494
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Planetary nebulae: IC 4593 -X-rays: general
  • Planetary nebulae: general
  • Stars: low-mass
  • Stars: winds, outflows

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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