Evidence for Accretion: High‐Resolution X‐Ray Spectroscopy of the Classical T Tauri Star TW Hydrae

We present high-resolution X-ray spectra of the X-ray-bright classical T Tauri star, TW Hydrae, covering the wavelength range of 1.5-25 Å. The differential emission measure derived from fluxes of temperature-sensitive emission lines shows a plasma with a sharply peaked temperature distribution, peaking at log T = 6.5. Abundance anomalies are apparent, with iron very deficient relative to oxygen, while neon is enhanced relative to oxygen. Density-sensitive line ratios of Ne IX and O VII indicate densities near log n e = 13. A flare with rapid (~1 ks) rise time was detected during our 48 ks observation; however, based on analysis of the emission-line spectrum during quiescent and flaring states, the derived plasma parameters do not seem strongly time-dependent. The inferred plasma temperature distribution and densities are consistent with a model in which the bulk of the X-ray emission from TW Hya is generated via mass accretion from its circumstellar disk. Assuming that accretion powers the X-ray emission, our results for log n e suggest an accretion rate of ~10 -8 M ☉ yr -1 .