Abstract
| - We report the XMM- Newton observation of a large X-ray flare from the Herbig Ae star V892 Tau. The apparent low mass companion of V892 Tau, V892 Tau NE, is unresolved by XMM- Newton. Nevertheless there is compelling evidence from combined XMM- Newton and Chandra data that the origin of the flare is the Herbig Ae star V892 Tau. During the flare the X-ray luminosity of V892 Tau increases by a factor of ${\sim} 15$, while the temperature of the plasma increases from $kT \simeq 1.5$ keV to $kT \simeq 8$ keV. From the scaling of the flare event, based on hydrodynamic modeling, we conclude that a 500 G magnetic field is needed in order to confine the plasma. Under the assumptions that a dynamo mechanism is required to generate such a confining magnetic field and that surface convection is a necessary ingredient for a dynamo, our findings provide indirect evidence for the existence of a significant convection zone in the stellar envelope of Herbig Ae stars.
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