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Paper: Plasma diagnostics in high-resolution X-ray spectra of magnetic cataclysmic variables
Volume: 261, The Physics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects
Page: 113
Authors: Mauche, C. W.
Abstract: Using the Chandra HETG spectrum of EX Hya as an example, we discuss some of the plasma diagnostics available in high-resolution X-ray spectra of magnetic cataclysmic variables. Specifically, for conditions appropriate to collisional ionization equilibrium plasmas, we discuss the temperature dependence of the H- to He-like line intensity ratios and the density and photoexcitation dependence of the He-like R line ratios and the Fe XVII I(17.10Å) / I(17.05Å) line ratio. We show that the plasma temperature in EX Hya spans the range from ≅ 0.5 to ≅10 keV and that the plasma density n >~2 times 1014 cm-3, orders of magnitude greater than that observed in the Sun or other late-type stars.
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