X-ray Fluorescent Fe K Lines from Stars

Jeremy Drake (SAO) , Barbara Ercolano (SAO), Douglas Swartz (MSFC)

X-ray spectra from stellar coronae are reprocessed by the underlying photosphere through scattering and photoionization events. While reprocessed X-ray spectra reaching a distant observer are at a flux level of only a few percent of that of the corona itself, characteristic lines formed by inner shell photoionization of some abundant elements can be significantly stronger. The emergent photospheric spectra are sensitive to the distance and location of the fluorescing radiation and can provide diagnostics of coronal geometry and abundance. Here we present Monte Carlo simulations of the photospheric K doublet arising from quasi-neutral Fe irradiated by a coronal X-ray source. Fluorescent line strengths have been computed as a function of the height of the radiation source, the temperature of the ionising X-ray spectrum, and the viewing angle. We also illustrate how the fluorescence efficiencies scale with the photospheric metallicity and the Fe abundance. Based on the results we make three comments: (1) fluorescent Fe lines seen from pre-main sequence stars mostly suggest flared disk geometries and/or super-solar disk Fe abundances; (2) the extreme lines.