ROSAT-HRI detection of the Class I protostar YLW16A in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud

Abstract

I analyze unpublished or partially published archival ROSAT data of the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. This set of seven overlapping ROSAT HRI pointings, composed of eight ~one-hour exposures, detects mainly the X-ray brightest T Tauri stars of this star-forming region. Only two HRI sources are new X-ray sources, and their optical counterparts are proposed as new Weak T Tauri star candidates. Meanwhile the ROSAT HRI caught during just one exposure a weak X-ray source (maximum likelihood=10; SNR=4.1σfor Gaussian statistics) among a group of three embedded young stellar objects including two Class I protostars. Previous ROSAT PSPC, ASCA GIS observations, and as I argue here one Einstein IPC observation, have already detected an X-ray source in this area, but this higher angular resolution data show clearly that X-rays are emitted by the Class I protostar YLW16A. This is the second Class I protostar detected by the ROSAT HRI in this dark cloud. The determination of the intrinsic X-ray luminosity of this event, L_X[0.1-2.4 keV]=(9.4-450)*1E30 erg/s, critically depends on the source absorption estimate. Improvements will be obtained only by the direct determination of this parameter from fitting of Chandra and XMM-Newton spectra.