X-ray Emission from the Weak-lined T Tauri Binary System KH 15D

Abstract

The unique eclipsing, weak-lined T Tauri star KH 15D has been detected as an X-ray source in a 95.7 ks exposure from the Chandra X-ray Observatory archives. A maximum X-ray luminosity of 1.5 x 10^{29} erg s$^{-1}$ is derived in the 0.5--8 keV band, corresponding to L_{X}/L_bol = 7.5 x 10^{-5}. Comparison with samples of stars of similar effective temperature in NGC 2264 and in the Orion Nebula Cluster shows that this is about an order of magnitude low for a typical star of its mass and age. We argue that the relatively low luminosity cannot be attributed to absorption along the line of sight but implies a real deficiency in X-ray production. Possible causes for this are considered in the context of a recently proposed eccentric binary model for KH 15D. In particular, we note that the visible component rotates rather slowly for a weak-lined T Tauri star and has possibly been pseudosynchronized by tidal interaction with the primary near periastron.