Related papers: Superflare on a rapidly-rotating solar-type star c…
We investigate the August 9, 2011 solar flare of X-ray class X6.9, the "hottest" flare from 2000 to 2012, with a peak plasma temperature according to GOES data of 32.5 MK. Our goal is to determine the cause of such an anomalously high…
Galactic nuclei showing recurrent phases of activity and quiescence have recently been discovered, with recurrence times as short as a few hours to a day -- known as quasi-periodic X-ray eruption (QPE) sources -- to as long as hundreds to a…
Starting in 2012, we began an unprecedented observational program focused on the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy, Sgr A*, utilizing the High Energy Transmission Gratings Spectrometer (HETGS) instrument on the Chandra…
We report on the results of high dispersion spectroscopy of two `superflare stars', KIC 9766237, and KIC 9944137 with Subaru/HDS. Superflare stars are G-type main sequence stars, but show gigantic flares compared to the Sun, which have been…
I report on the discovery and analysis of the first transient X-ray pulsar detected in the Local Group galaxy M33. The 2010 July-August deep XMM-Newton observations of M33 fields revealed a new bright X-ray source XMMU J013359.5+303634…
We present a comprehensive study of three large long-duration flares detected on an active M-dwarf binary EQ Peg using the Soft X-Ray Telescope of the AstroSat observatory. The peak X-ray luminosities of the flares in the 0.3 - 7 keV band…
Magnetars comprise two classes of rotating neutron stars (Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs) and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars), whose X-ray emission is powered by an ultrastrong magnetic field, B ~ 10^15 G. Occasionally SGRs enter into active episodes…
Recently, the Galactic magnetar SGR J1935+2154 has garnered attention due to its emission of an extremely luminous radio burst, reminiscent of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). SGR J1935+2154 is one of the most active magnetars, displaying flaring…
On 2017-09-20 we observed GJ 4334, an M5V dwarf rotating with a period of 23.5 days, simultaneously with both the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph aboard Hubble (1160 -- 1710 Angstroms) and the Dual Imaging Spectrograph mounted on the…
We present the results of a search of the XMM-Newton public data archive for stellar X-ray flares. We find eight flaring sources for which we identify 7 optical counterparts. Three of these sources have distance estimates which allow us to…
We performed simple spot-model calculations for quasi-periodic brightness variations of solar-type stars showing superflares, by using Kepler photometric data. Most of superflare stars show quasi-periodic brightness modulations with the…
NuSTAR is a highly sensitive focusing hard X-ray (HXR) telescope and has observed several small microflares in its initial solar pointings. In this paper, we present the first joint observation of a microflare with NuSTAR and Hinode/XRT on…
We report the results of XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic mixed-morphology supernova remnant G350.0$-$2.0. Diffuse thermal X-ray emission fills the north-western part of the remnant surrounded by radio shell-like structures. We did…
A0538-66 is a Be/X-ray binary (Be/XRB) hosting a 69 ms pulsar. It emitted bright X-ray outbursts with peak luminosity up to $\sim 10^{39}$ erg/s during the first years after its discovery in 1977. Since then, it was always seen in…
We report the discovery of a flaring X-ray source in the globular cluster NGC 6540, obtained during the EXTraS project devoted to a systematic search for variability in archival data of the XMM-Newton satellite. The source had a quiescent…
Strong X-ray and $\gamma$--ray flares have been detected in February 2010 from the high synchrotron peaked blazar Mrk 421 (z=0.031). With the motivation of understanding the physics involved in this flaring activity, we study the…
We present the results of two extensive Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of large X-ray flaring episodes from the high-mass X-ray binary pulsar LMC X-4. Light curves during the flaring episodes comprise bright peaks embedded in…
IGR J17544-2619 and XTE J1739-302 are considered the prototypical sources of the new class of High Mass X-ray Binaries, the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs).These sources were observed during bright outbursts on 2008 March 31 and…
We report the discovery of a flaring X-ray source with an optical counterpart with Halpha emission and red-excess, in the direction of the SMC. A 100 ksec X-ray observation with Chandra detected a flare lasting 6 ksec in the source CXO…
The low luminosity, X-ray flaring activity, of the sub-class of high mass X-ray binaries called Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients, has been investigated using XMM-Newton public observations, taking advantage of the products made publicly…