SERENDIPITOUS DETECTION OF X-RAY EMISSION FROM THE HOT BORN-AGAIN CENTRAL STAR OF THE PLANETARY NEBULA K 1-16

Abstract

We report the serendipitous detection of point-like X-ray emission from the hot, PG1159-type central star of the planetary nebula (CSPN) K 1-16 by the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-Ray Observatories. The CSPN lies superimposed on a galaxy cluster that includes an X-ray-bright quasar, but we have successfully isolated the CSPN X-ray emission from the strong diffuse background contributed by the quasar and intracluster gas. We have modeled the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray data, taking advantage of the contrasting detection efficiencies of the two observatories to better constrain the low-energy spectral response of Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer. We find that the CSPN X-ray spectrum is well characterized by the combination of a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model atmosphere with T ~ 135 kK and a carbon-rich, optically thin thermal plasma with T X ~ 1 MK. These results for X-ray emission from the K 1-16 CSPN, combined with those obtained for other PG1159-type objects, lend support to the born-again scenario for Wolf-Rayet and PG1159 CSPNe, wherein a late helium shell flash dredges up carbon-rich intershell material and ejects this material into the circumstellar environment.