Aims. We have studied the X-ray source population of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC) to search for new members of the Taurus-Auriga star forming region.
Methods. Candidate members have been selected among the X-ray sources detected in 24 fields of the XMM-Newton Extended Survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, having an IR counterpart in the 2MASS catalog, based on color-magnitude and color-color diagrams. Their X-ray spectral properties have been compared with those of known members and other X-ray sources in the same fields but without a NIR counterpart. A search for flare-like variability in the time series of all new candidates and the analysis of the X-ray spectra of the brightest candidates have been used to identify sources with a high probability of membership.
Results. We have found that 347 of 1909 detected X-ray sources have an infrared counterpart in the 2MASS catalogue. Among them, we have selected 57 sources that are consistent with being new pre-main sequence star candidates at the distance of the Taurus-Auriga star forming region; the X-ray spectral properties of this sample are, on the whole, similar to the properties of known TMC members and different from those of X-ray sources without an IR counterpart, most of which are likely to be of extragalactic origin. For 12 such candidates, the likelihood of membership is very high, based on the relatively high plasma temperatures derived from their X-ray spectra and/or the observation of powerful flares in their light curves.