X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY OF THE ACTIVE GIANT BETA-CETI - THE SAX LECS VIEW

We present an X-ray observation of the active giant beta Get, performe d with the Low Energy Concentrator Spectrometer (LEGS) on-board the SA X satellite. The resulting X-ray spectrum is well fit by an optically- thin plasma model with two discrete temperatures, and the inferred cor onal metallicity is compatible both with the abundances derived from a re-analysis of the ASCA SIS spectrum of the same object, adopting the same plasma emission code (MEKAL), and with accurate photospheric abu ndances recently reported in the literature. The remarkable similarity between the X-ray spectrum of beta Cet and the one of the active bina ry Capella, also observed by SAX, rises again the issue of how some pu tative He-burning clump giants, like beta Get, manage to retain (or re gain) a relatively high X-ray activity level. Some implications of the new Hipparcos parallaxes, relevant for the coronal properties of beta Cet and the Hyades giants, are also discussed.