Coronal density diagnostics with Helium-like triplets: CHANDRA–LETGS observations of Algol, Capella, Procyon, ϵ Eri, α Cen A&B, UX Ari, AD Leo, YY Gem, and HR 1099

¹ Universität Hamburg, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
² Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Postfach 1603, 85740 Garching, Germany
³ Space Research Organization Netherlands (SRON), Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht, The Netherlands
⁴ Astronomical Institute “Anton Pannekoek”, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Corresponding author: J.-U. Ness, jness@hs.uni-hamburg.de

Received: 24 April 2002
Accepted: 1 August 2002

Abstract

We present an analysis of ten cool stars (Algol, Capella, Procyon, ϵ Eri, α Cen A&B, UX Ari, AD Leo, YY Gem, and HR 1099) observed with the Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This sample contains all cools stars observed with the LETGS presently available to us with integration times sufficiently long to warrant a meaningful spectral analysis. Our sample comprises inactive, moderately active, and hyperactive stars and samples the bulk part of activity levels encountered in coronal X-ray sources. We use the LETGS spectra to carry out density and temperature diagnostics with an emphasis on the H-like and the He-like ions. We find a correlation between line flux ratios of the Ly_α and He-like resonance lines with the mean X-ray surface flux. We determine densities using the He-like triplets. For all stars we find no significant deviations from the low-density limit for the ions of Ne, Mg, and Si, while the measured line ratios for the ions of C, N, and O do show evidence for departures from the low-density limit in the active stars, but not in the inactive stars. Best measurements can be made for the O vii triplet where we find significant deviations from the low-density limit for the stars Algol, Procyon, YY Gem, ϵ Eri, and HR 1099. We discuss the influence of radiation fields on the interpretation of the He-like triplet line ratios in the low-Z ions, which is relevant for Algol, and the influence of dielectronic satellite lines, which is relevant for Procyon. For the active stars YY Gem, ϵ Eri, and HR 1099 the low ratios can unambiguously be attributed to high densties in the range 1– cm^-3 at O vii temperatures. We find our LETGS spectra to be an extremely useful tool for plasma diagnostics of stellar coronae.