Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This site is currently in beta, and your feedback is helping shape its ongoing development.

NGC 2264 XMM-Newton X-Ray Point Source Catalog

Published by High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Metadata Last Checked: February 14, 2026 | Last Modified: 2026-02-10
This table contains (some of) the results from an X-ray imaging survey of the young cluster NGC 2264, carried out with the European Photon Imaging Cameras (EPIC) on board the XMM-Newton spacecraft. XMM-Newton EPIC observations were made separately of the northern and southern portions of NGC 2264 on 2001 March 20 and 2002 March 17 - 18, respectively. Details concerning the two pointings are summarized in Table 1 of the reference paper. The nominal integration time was 42 ks for both observations. The three EPIC cameras were operated in full window mode. To prevent contamination of the X-ray images by the XUV and EUV emission of the optically and UV-bright sources in the field of view, the thick filter was used, which imposes a strong cut-off in the response at the lower energies. The X-ray data are merged with extant optical and near-infrared photometry, spectral classifications, H-alpha emission strengths, and rotation periods to examine the interrelationships between coronal and chromospheric activity, rotation, stellar mass, and internal structure for a statistically significant sample of pre-main-sequence stars. Out of the 316 distinct point-like sources that were detected at >= 3-sigma levels in one or more of six EPIC images, a total of 300 distinct X-ray sources can be identified with optical or near-infrared counterparts. The sources are concentrated within three regions of the cluster: in the vicinity of S Mon, within the large emission/reflection nebulosity southwest of S Mon, and along the broad ridge of molecular gas that extends from the Cone Nebula to the NGC 2264 IRS 2 field. From the extinction-corrected color-magnitude diagram of the cluster, ages and masses for the optically identified X-ray sources are derived. A median age of ~ 2.5 Myr and an apparent age dispersion of ~ 5 Myr are suggested by pre-main-sequence evolutionary models. The X-ray luminosity of the detected sources appears well-correlated with bolometric luminosity, although there is considerable scatter in the relationship. Stellar mass contributes significantly to this dispersion, while isochronal age and rotation do not. X-ray luminosity and mass are well correlated such that L<sub>X</sub> ~ (M/M<sub>solar</sub>)<sup>1.5</sup>, which is similar to the relationship found within the younger Orion Nebula Cluster. No strong evidence is found for a correlation between E(H-K), the near-infrared color excess, and the fractional X-ray luminosity, which suggests that optically thick dust disks have little direct influence on the observed X-ray activity levels. Among the X-ray-detected weak-line T Tauri stars, the fractional X-ray luminosity, L<sub>X</sub>/L<sub>bol</sub>, is moderately well correlated with the fractional H-alpha luminosity, L<sub>H(alpha)</sub>/L<sub>bol</sub>, but only at the 2-sigma level of significance. The cumulative distribution functions for the X-ray luminosities of the X-ray-detected classical and weak-line T Tauri stars within the cluster are comparable, assuming the demarcation between the two classes is at an H-alpha equivalent width of 10 Angstroms. However, if the non-detections in X-rays for the entire sample of H-alpha emitters known within the cluster are taken into account, then the cumulative distribution functions of these two groups are clearly different, such that classical T Tauri stars are underdetected by at least a factor of 2 relative to the weak-line T Tauri stars. Examining a small subsample of X-ray-detected stars that are probable accretors based on the presence of strong H-alpha emission and near-infrared excess, the authors conclude that definitive non-accretors are ~ 1.6 times more X-ray luminous than their accreting counterparts. In agreement with earlier published findings for the Orion Nebula Cluster, the authors find a slight positive correlation (valid at the 2-sigma confidence level) between L<sub>X</sub>/L<sub>bol</sub> and the rotation period in NGC 2264 stars. The lack of a strong anti-correlation between X-ray activity and rotation period in the stellar population of NGC 2264 suggests that either the deeply convective T Tauri stars are rotationally saturated or that the physical mechanism responsible for generating magnetic fields in pre-main-sequence stars is distinct from the one that operates in evolved main-sequence stars. This table was created by the HEASARC in September 2007 based on the electronic version of Table 2 from the reference paper which was obtained from the electronic AJ site. This is a service provided by NASA HEASARC .

Find Related Datasets

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov