Time-resolved X-ray spectra of Proxima Centauri as seen by XMM-Newton

¹ Université Paris Cité, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
² Dip. di Fisica e Chimica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento 1, 90134 Palermo, Italy
³ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento 1, 90134 Palermo, Italy

^★ Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 5 September 2025
Accepted: 16 December 2025

Abstract

Context. Stellar soft X-ray ([1, 100] Å) and extreme ultraviolet (also EUV, [100, 920] Å; jointly, XUV) radiation affect the evolution and chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. It is, however, uncertain to what extent the radiation’s short-term variability contributes to these effects. The answer might indeed depend on the atmospheric composition in ways that remain largely unexplored. We are interested in what this variability might imply for planets around M dwarf stars and focus on Proxima Centauri (Prox Cen) for three reasons: It is an active M dwarf with high levels of variability; it hosts a likely terrestrial exoplanet within its habitable zone (HZ) that will be a prime target for future direct imaging; and its proximity has led to extensive observations, yielding some of the best available X-ray data.

Aims. We set out to produce time-resolved XUV spectra of Prox Cen that will serve as input to atmospheric models and to characterize the star’s intrinsic variability and uncertainties in the inferred spectra.

Methods. We analyzed the entire dataset of archival XMM-Newton observations for Prox Cen. To derive the time-resolved X-ray spectra, we implemented a new pile-up correction, a new adaptive time-binning algorithm, and a time-dependent plasma model selection. The estimated EUV spectrum is based on a published template that we scale with proposed relationships between X-ray and EUV fluxes.

Results. We produced spectra of Prox Cen from 1 to 920 Å over ∼ 260 ks of observations with unprecedented time resolution. The instantaneous X-ray flux of Prox Cen varies between about 20 times and one-fifth of the average value over the available baseline, with significant differences between wavelengths. We further quantified how variability affects the estimated average flux when a limited number of snapshots (each typically of 30 ks exposure) are available, as is common in X-ray surveys. Future investigations of the planet atmospheres of Prox Cen should include the time variability and uncertainties described here.