Observations of the 3.3—6.1 Â X-ray line and continuous spectrum during four long-duration flares with the RESIK crystal spectrometer on the Coronas-F spacecraft have been analyzed to get the absolute abundances of potassium, argon, and sulphur. A differential emission measure of the form DEM ∝ exp(—Te/T0) was found to give the most consistent results of three models including an isothermal model. We obtained K/H = (3.7 ± 1.0) x 10—7, a factor 3 times photospheric; Ar/H = (2.8 ± 0.2) x 10—6, slightly lower than photospheric; and S/H = (2.2±0.4) x 10—5, approximately equal to photospheric. These measurements are consistent with a pattern in which elements with low (< 10 eV) first ionization potential are enriched in the corona by a factor of about 3 and elements of high first ionization potential have abundances approximately equal to photospheric.

Periodicities of radio flaring activity from the Algol systems β Per and δ Lib and the RS CVn systems V711 Tau and UX Ari were determined from a continuous 5-year survey. The radio continuum fluxes at 2.3 GHz and 8.3 GHz were monitored with the NRAO—Green Bank Interferometer for 2096 days from 1995 January to 2000 October. The maximum detected flare strengths at 8.3 GHz were 1.17 Jy for β Per, 0.034 Jy for δ Lib, 1.44 Jy for V711 Tau, and 0.82 Jy for UX Ari. Power Spectrum Analysis and Phase Dispersion Minimization were used to determine the periodicity of flaring activity in each binary. The strongest periodicities found were 48.9 days for β Per, 120.7 days for V711 Tau, and 141.4 days for UX Ari. No significant periodicities were found for δ Lib. The continuous survey has demonstrated that there are active and quiescent flaring cycles in V711 Tau and β Per.

During the last two decades a new field in stellar astrophysics emerged: Stellar X-ray astronomy. With the advent of soft X-ray imagery X-ray emission was found from many thousands of solar-like stars. I will summarize the most important X-ray properties of cool stars and how they compare to the Sun.

Stellar coronae in binary star systems offer both a puzzle and an opportunity. We might expect that large magnetic loop structures on close binaries, such as RS CVn systems and contact binaries, would show evidence for interactions between the stars. While some radio studies support this scenario, there is surprisingly little evidence from EUV and X-ray observations for differences between binary and single star systems. Meanwhile, the binary systems offer observational opportunities through rotational modulation and eclipses of flaring and non-flaring regions. Localizing the sources of coronal emission is key to making the magnetic connection to the underlying photosphere. We discuss the structure of stellar coronae from the perspective of studies of binary systems.

I review here recent advances in our understanding of magnetic activity in pre-main sequence (PMS) protostars and T Tauri stars. Results are based on recent imaging, spectroscopic and temporal studies of nearby star forming regions from the Chandra X — ray Observatory and XMM — Newton, including a first look at an ultradeep Chandra exposure of the Orion Nebula Cluster.

Pre-main sequence stars exhibit a high level of X-ray emission dominated by a bewildering variety of magnetic reconnection flares. Activity is linked to bulk stellar properties — Lbol, mass, surface area or volume — rather than rotation. This suggests that dynamo processes in deeply convective PMS stars may fundamentally differ from the tachocline dynamo operating in main sequence stars.

X-rays and MeV particles from magnetic flares will affect the circumstellar environment in PMS systems, particularly the protoplanetary disk. X-ray emission may influence: disk ionization, turbulence and viscosity; Jovian planet formation and migration; the production of meteoritic isotopes and melting of meteoritic chondrules; the heating and chemistry of the disk. X-ray surveys are also effective in locating post-T Tauri stars for disk evolution studies.

We present recent X-ray and optical observations of five M-type giants which were detected as strong X-ray sources. One of these stars, HR 5512, shows short-term variations in both X-ray flux as well as in the shape of the Hα and Ca ii H+K lines, and it rotates much faster than M-type giants usually do. No indication of binarity has been found for this star. We propose that the X-ray emission of HR 5512 is related to a large degree of stellar activity. For two other stars (15 Tri, HR 7547) radial velocity observations seem to indicate spectroscopic binarity.

X-ray emission from > 100 pre-main sequence (PMS) stars in the Orion star-forming complex is studied in a 20-ks observation by XMM-Newton. No relation between the ratio of X-ray and bolometric luminosities, LX/Lbol, and rotation period or Rossby number is exhibited, though the action of a solar-like dynamo is not excluded because all stars would appear to be in the “saturated regime” of such a dynamo. Low-mass stars showing a strong U — V excess have lower median X-ray luminosity, suggesting that accretion suppresses magnetic activity.

The K2V-DA binary V471 Tau has an extended atmosphere. By using the DA white dwarf as a probe, we can probe the atmosphere along the line of sight to the white dwarf with a spatial resolution of order 10,000 km. We observe absorption lines from C II through N V in absorption against the DA photospheric continuum. The velocities are those of gas in co-rotation with the K star.

Spectroscopy with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) provides details on X-ray emission and activity from young and cool stars through resolution of emission lines from a variety of ions. We are beginning to see trends in activity regarding abundances, emission measures, and variability. Here we contrast spectra of TV Crt, a weak-lined T Tauri star (WTT), with TW Hya, a Classical T Tauri star (CTT). TV Crt has a spectrum more like magnetic activity driven coronae, relative to the TW Hya spectrum, which we have interpreted as due to accretion-produced X-rays. We have also observed the long period system, IM Pegasi to search for rotational modulation, and to compare activity in a long period active binary to shorter period systems and to the pre-main sequence stars. We detected no rotational modulation, but did see long-duration flares.

We present preliminary results of grating observations of YY Mensae and V824 Arae by Chandra and XMM-Newton. Spectral features are presented in the context of the emission measure distributions, the coronal abundances, and plasma electron densities. In particular, we observe a coronal N/C enhancement in YY Men believed to reflect the photospheric composition (CN cycle). Finally, we interpret line broadening in YY Men as Doppler thermal broadening in its very hot corona.

We report on a large, multi-wavelength campaign to observe variability across the electromagnetic spectrum in the M dwarf flare star EV Lacertae, in 2001 September. The campaign involved X-ray (Chandra ACIS-S+HETG), UV (HST/STIS), and optical (McDonald) spectra, as well as optical photometry and multi-frequency radio (VLA) observations. EV Lac demonstrated both frequent and extreme variability during the course of the two day intensive recordings. Dispersed X-ray spectra confirm the metal underabundance seen in other active stars. The increase in continuum fluxes at short X-ray wavelengths during flare intervals compared to quiescent intervals signals the creation of high temperature plasma, a signature of the flare process. Multi-wavelength comparisons reveal interesting trends: X-ray flare frequencies are within the range predicted by optical observations, yet there is no correspondence between X-ray flares and optical flares in our data. Two UV flares occur during the rise stages of X-ray flares; a major radio flare is accompanied by a large optical flare, which has no apparent counterpart in the X-ray. The results give conflicting evidence for the applicability of the Neupert effect interpretation in stellar coronae.

We present results from our study of the active dwarf ∊ Eri (K2 V) based on ultraviolet spectra recorded with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. A combination of simple theoretical arguments and observational constraints derived from measured line fluxes are used to deduce new information about the structure of the upper transition region/corona. The area filling factor of emitting material is determined in the upper atmosphere as a function of temperature. This provides new constraints on how the magnetic field might spread out in the atmosphere of an active main sequence star. Measured emission line widths are used, together with a new semi-empirical model of the atmosphere, to place limits on the energy fluxes carried by MHD waves. These are compared with estimates of the energy input required to support the combined radiative/conductive losses in the upper atmosphere. It is shown that, in principle, waves which propagate at the Alfvén speed could provide sufficient energy to heat the corona.

Photospheric parameters and abundances of 13 chemical species are presented for a sample of single-lined chromospherically active binaries from a differential LTE analysis of high-resolution spectra. Our results indicate that the X-ray active binaries studied are not as metal poor as previously claimed, but are at most mildly iron-depleted relative to the Sun (—0.41 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ +0.11). A significant overabundance of several elements (e.g., Na, Mg, Al, Ca) is observed. The temperatures derived from the (V — R) and (V — I) colours are found to be significantly affected by activity processes.

We have combined observations of about 30 sunlike stars from Mount Wilson, Lowell, and Fairborn Observatories to extend our joint time series from 12 to 17 years. The full range of variation on the decadal timescale has probably now been observed for most of our program stars. Statistical relationships between chromospheric and brightness variability derived earlier by us are confirmed. Young active stars become fainter as their chromospheric Ca II HK emission increases, while older less active stars such as the Sun become brighter as their HK emission increases. The Sun's photometric variation still appears somewhat small in amplitude compared to the other stars in this sample with similar mean chromospheric activity.

We summarize photometric, spectrophotometric, and spectroscopic results for a sample of nearly 350 nearby late-F to early-K dwarfs and subgiants of various ages. The sun's position in this stellar sample is examined.

The characteristics of stars of very low mass are reviewed with emphasis on signatures of and consequences of magnetic activity.

During the last few years, X-ray emission has been detected from numerous brown dwarfs. Most of the X-ray detected brown dwarfs are very young objects with ages of at most 107 years, and all are still relatively warm, with late M spectral types. Their typical fractional X-ray luminosities are (LX/Lbol) ∼ 10—4 — 10—3, i.e. very similar to the values observed for active very-low mass stars. Their X-ray lightcurves show low-level variability, but in most cases no large flares; this implies that the young brown dwarfs are able to produce quiescent X-ray emission, not only occasional flares. An analysis of the Chandra X-ray spectra of several brown dwarfs yields surprisingly low plasma temperatures between 3 MK and 10 MK for some of the M8-9 dwarfs and indicates a decline in plasma temperature with decreasing effective temperature (or increasing age). The lack of X-ray detections for dwarfs cooler than spectral type M9 is consistent with the strong drop of activity observed in Hα at spectral types around M9. The observed X-ray emission from the young brown dwarfs with late M spectral type can be understood as a consequence of the fact that these objects are still warm enough to maintain partially ionized atmospheres which are capable of sustaining electrical currents. In the cooler, essentially neutral atmospheres of the older L and T dwarfs such currents are probably shut off, preventing the buildup of magnetic free energy and the support for magnetically heated chromospheres and coronae.

Brown dwarfs, which straddle the mass range between stars and planets, appear to be common both in the solar neighborhood and in star-forming regions. Their ubiquity makes the question of their origin an important one both for our understanding of brown dwarfs themselves as well as for theories on the formation of stars and planets. Studies of young sub-stellar objects could provide valuable insight into their formation and early evolution. Here I report on the latest results from our observational programs at Keck, VLT and Magellan on the disk and accretion properties of young brown dwarfs. We find compelling evidence that they undergo a T Tauri phase analogous to that of their stellar counterparts.

We probe the relationship between surface magnetic fields and the X-ray emitting corona in the rapidly rotating star, AB Dor. Circularly polarised spectra have been inverted to produce a surface (photospheric) magnetic field map. This surface map has been extrapolated to model AB Dor's coronal field topology and X-ray light curve. Chandra/LETG light curves of AB Dor from the same epoch show intrinsic variability at the 30% level. Period analysis indicates a fraction of this is due to rotational modulation. We measure velocity shifts in emission line centroids as a function of Prot and find evidence of rotational modulation (max. vel. ∼ 40 ± 13km s—1). This modulation may indicate the presence of a localised X-ray emitting region at mid-to-high latitudes.

We have obtained HST/STIS time series observations of active, very low mass stars of spectral types M7-M9. The observations comprise 15 consecutive exposures on each of the stars VB 8, VB 10, and LHS 2065. Emission is present in several transition region lines including Si IV, C IV and He II. The emission appears to be variable between exposures, but is always observed. A strong flare was observed in one exposure on VB 10. Our results suggest that active, very low-mass stars maintain a persistent quiescent chromosphere and transition region that is similar to those observed in active, earlier type M dwarfs. This contradicts the currently popular idea that very low mass stars exhibit only relatively strong flares and no quiescent emission.