Abstract

On the potential importance of studying X-ray emission line variability in OB stars

Joy Nichols (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)

Wayne Waldron, Eureka Scientific, Inc. Arik Mitschang, Macquarie University

X-ray emission lines at high resolution have become accessible in the last decade with Chandra and XMM. Although in general, analyses of these data are designed to utilize the maximum S/N by summing all available data, there are now sufficient data for a few stars that allow comparisons of time sliced data to search for emission line variability. The detection of such variability, while potentially due to several causes including binary systems, could have important implications for understanding the detailed geometric wind structure of these wind generated X-rays. Not only can localized temperature variations be mapped, but the sensitivity of the He-like triplet lines (fir) to photospheric radiation can be used to trace fluctuations in wind locations and their associated densities. We present an initial emission line variability analysis of several massive OB stars using Chandra HETGS archival data retrieved from TGCat.