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Understanding the X-ray Flaring from Eta CarinaeWe quantify the rapid variations in X-ray brightness ("flares") from the extremely massive colliding wind binary Eta Carinae seen during the past three orbital cycles by RXTE. The observed flares tend to be shorter in duration and more frequent as periastron is approached, although the largest ones tend to be roughly constant in strength at all phases. Plausible scenarios include (1) the largest of multi-scale stochastic wind clumps from the LBV component entering and compressing the hard X-ray emitting wind-wind collision (WWC) zone, (2) large-scale corotating interacting regions in the LBV wind sweeping across the WWC zone, or (3) instabilities intrinsic to the WWC zone. The first one appears to be most consistent with the observations, requiring homologously expanding clumps as they propagate outward in the LBV wind and a turbulence-like powerlaw distribution of clumps, decreasing in number towards larger sizes, as seen in Wolf-Rayet winds.
Document ID
20090042811
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Moffat, A.F.J. (Montreal Univ. Quebec, Canada)
Corcoran, Michael F. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2009
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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