Hydrodynamic processes in young binaries as a source of cyclic variations in circumstellar extinction

Hydrodynamic models of a young binary accreting matter from the remnants of a protostellar cloud have been calculated by the SPH method. Periodic variations in column density in projection onto the primary component are shown to take place at low inclinations of the binary plane to the line of sight. These can result in periodic extinction variations accompanied by brightness variations in the primary. Generally, there can be three periodic components. The first component has a period equal to the orbital one and is attributable to the streams of matter penetrating into the inner regions of the binary. The second component has a period that is a factor of 5–8 longer than the orbital one and is related to the density waves generated in a circumbinary (CB) disk. Finally, the third, longest period is attributable to the precession of the inner CB disk regions. The relationship between the amplitudes of these cycles depends on the model parameters as well as on the inclination and orientation of the binary in space. We show that at a dust-togas ratio of 1: 100 and amass extinction coefficient of 250 cm² g^?1, the amplitude of the V-band brightness variations in the primary component can reach 1 ^m at a mass accretion rate onto the binary components of 10.8^?8 M _⊙ yr^?1 and a 10° inclination of the binary plane to the line of sight. We discuss possible applications of the model to young, pre-main-sequence stars.     

Circumstellar dust and circumstellar extinction curves

We have calculated the circumstellar extinction curves produced by dust grains which absorb and scatter the stellar radiation in the shells of pre-main-sequence stars. A Monte Carlo method was used to model the radiative transfer in non-spherical shells. The dependence on the particle size distribution and the dust shell parameters has been examined.The application of the theoretical results to explain the extinction and polarization of the Herbig Be star HD 45677 shows that the dust shell is not disk-like and that very small grains are absent in it.     

Analysis of HST ultraviolet spectra for T Tauri stars: Estimating the interstellar extinction and the contribution from an accretion shock to the emission-continuum formation

We analyzed the spectra of eight T Tauri stars (T Tau, RY Tau, CO Ori, EZ Ori, GW Ori, GX Ori, V1044 Ori, and SU Aur) in the wavelength range from 1200 to 3100 Å taken with the STIS spectrograph from the Hubble Space Telescope. For each star, we found an upper limit on the interstellar extinction A _v , which proved to be lower than the values obtained by different authors from optical observations. For T Tau and RY Tau, we found the upper limits on their luminosities, masses, and radii as well as the bolometric luminosity of the excess emission continuum. The latter is most likely associated with mass accretion from a protoplanetary disk. We show that the bulk of the emission continuum is radiated in the infrared. For these stars, we determined the ratio of the flux in the C IV 1550 doublet lines to the excess-continuum flux. This ratio proved to be two orders of magnitude lower than its values predicted by the accretion-shock (AS ) models developed by Lamzin (1998) and Calvet and Gullbring (1998). This result leads us to believe that for T Tau and RY Tau, the emission continuum originates in the accretion disk and/or in the boundary layer rather than in the AS, as has been assumed previously. This implies that in these stars, only a small fraction of the accreted matter passes through the AS, while the bulk of this matter settles in the equatorial plane of the star, passing through the boundary layer.     

Disk wind in young binaries with low-mass secondary components: Optical observational manifestations

We consider a model of a young binary with a low-mass secondary component. Mass accretion from the remnants of the protostellar cloud onto the binary components is assumed to take place in accordance with current models; i.e., it proceeds mainly onto the low-mass component. The accretion is accompanied by mass outflow (disk wind), whose low-velocity component can be partially captured by the primary component. As a result, an asymmetric common envelope is formed. Its densest part is involved in the orbital motion of the secondary and can periodically shield the primary component of the binary from the observer. Assuming a standard dust-to-gas ratio for the disk wind (1: 100), we calculated the possible photometric effects from such eclipses and showed that they could be observed even at moderate accretion rates onto the low-mass binary component, ∼10⁻⁸–10⁻⁹ M _⊙ per year. In this case, the parameters of the minima depend on the model of the disk wind, on the ratio of its characteristic velocity to the orbital velocity of the secondary, and on its orbital inclination to the line of sight. These results can form the basis for interpreting a wide range of phenomena observed in young stars, such as the activity cycles in UX Ori stars, the unusually broad minima in some young eclipsing systems, etc., and for searching for substellar objects and massive protoplanets. In addition, the peripheral parts of the gas and dust disk around a young binary can fall within the shadow zone produced by the opaque part of the common envelope. In such cases, a shadow from the common envelope must be observed on the disk; this shadow must move over the disk following the orbital motion of the low-mass component. Detection and investigation of such structures in the images of protoplanetary disks may become a method of searching for protoplanets and studying binaries at early stages of their evolution.     

Estimating the interstellar extinction and the contribution from an accretion shock to the formation of emission continuum in DS Tau and DG Tau

We analyze the UV spectra of the young stars DG Tau and DS Tau taken with the STIS spectrograph from the Hubble Space Telescope. For these stars, we found the upper limits of the interstellar extinction A _V . Their values proved to be lower than those obtained by other authors from optical observations. For DS Tau, DG Tau, and T W Hya, we also determined the ratio of theflux in the C IV 1550 doublet lines to the excess continuum flux. It proved to be an order of magnitude lower than its value predicted by the accretion-shock (AS) models of Lamzin (1998) and Calvet and Gullbring (1998). It thus follows that for these stars, the emission continuum originates mainly in the accretion disk and/or the boundary layer rather than in the AS, as has been thought previously. Since a similar conclusion has previously been reached for DR Tau, T Tau, and RY Tau, we may assume that the disks around most young stars reach the stellar surface and accretion mainly proceeds through the boundary layer.     

Disk wind in young binaries and the origin of the cyclic activity of young stars

We present the results of our numerical simulations of the cyclic brightness modulation in young binary systems with eccentric orbits and low-mass secondary components. We suggest that the binary components accrete matter from the remnants of the protostellar cloud, with the main accretor (according to current models) being the low-mass component. The brightness variations of the primary are attributable to the periodic extinction variations on the line of sight caused by the disk wind from the secondary and by the common envelope produced by this wind. The distribution of matter in the envelope was calculated in the ballistic approximation. When calculating the optical effects produced by the dust component of the disk wind, we adopted the dust-to-gas mass ratio of 1:100 characteristic of the interstellar medium and the optical parameters of the circumstellar dust typical of young stars. Our calculations show that the theoretical light curves for binaries with elliptical orbits exhibit a wider variety of shapes than those for binaries with circular orbits. In this case, the parameters of the photometric minima (their depth, duration, and shape of the light curve) depend not only on the disk-wind parameters and the orbital inclination of the binary to the line of sight, but also on the longitude of the periastron. We investigate the modulation of the scattered radiation from the common envelope with orbital phase in the single-scattering approximation. The modulation amplitude is shown to be at a maximum when the system is seen edge-on and to be also nonzero in binaries seen pole-on. We discuss possible applications of the theory to young stellar objects. In particular, several model light curves have been found to be similar to those of candidate FU Orionis stars (FUORs).     

Probing the circumstellar structure of Herbig Ae/Be stars

We present Hα spectropolarimetry observations of a sample of 23 Herbig Ae/Be stars. A change in the linear polarization across Hα is detected in a large fraction of the objects, which indicates that the regions around Herbig stars are flattened (disc-like) on small scales. A second outcome of our study is that the spectropolarimetric signatures for the Ae stars differ from those of the Herbig Be stars, with characteristics changing from depolarization across Hα in the Herbig Be stars, to line polarizations in the Ae group. The frequency of depolarizations detected in the Herbig Be stars (seven out of 12) is particularly interesting as, by analogy with classical Be stars, it may be the best evidence to date that the higher-mass Herbig stars are surrounded by flattened structures. For the Herbig Ae stars, nine out of 11 show a line polarization effect that can be understood in terms of a compact Hα emission that is itself polarized by a rotating disc-like circumstellar medium. The spectropolarimetric difference between the Herbig Be and Ae stars may be the first indication that there is a transition in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram from magnetic accretion at spectral type A to disc accretion at spectral type B. Alternatively, the interior polarized line emission apparent in the Ae stars may be masked in the Herbig Be stars owing to their higher levels of Hα emission.     

The photoevaporation of discs around young stars in massive clusters

We present models in which the photoevaporation of discs around young stars by an external ultraviolet source (as computed by Adams et al.) is coupled with the internal viscous evolution of the discs. These models are applied to the case of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC), where the presence of a strong ultraviolet field from the central OB stars, together with a detailed census of circumstellar discs and photoevaporative flows, is well established. In particular we investigate the constraints that are placed on the initial disc properties in the ONC by the twin requirement that most stars possess a disc on a scale of a few astronomical unit (au), but that only a minority (<20 per cent) are resolved by Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) at a scale of 50 au. We find that these requirements place very weak constraints on the initial radius distribution of circumstellar discs: the resulting size distribution readily forgets the initial radius distribution, owing to the strong positive dependence of the photoevaporation rate on disc radius. Instead, the scarcity of large discs reflects the relative scarcity of initially massive discs (with mass  >0.1 M_⊙  ). The ubiquity of discs on a small scale, on the other hand, mainly constrains the time-span over which the discs have been exposed to the ultraviolet field (<2 Myr). We argue that the discs that are resolved by HST represent a population of discs in which self-gravity was important at the time that the dominant central OB star switched on, but that, according to our models, self-gravity is unlikely to be important in these discs at the present time. We discuss the implications of our results for the so-called proplyd lifetime problem.     

Structure of the inner regions of the circumstellar gas envelopes of young hot stars. I. The isolated Ae Herbig star WW Vul

Results of simultaneous spectral and photometric monitoring of the Ae Herbig star WW Vul in the neighborhoods of the Ha line and the sodium NaI D resonance doublet are reported. It is shown that the spectral variability of the star is caused mainly by the anisotropic disk wind, whose high velocity component forms in the inner region of the accretion disk. The circumstellar gas in footpoint of the wind shows the variability of the density and velocity, that is in good agreement with the results of modeling of an accretion and outflows around young stars controlled by the stellar and/or disk magnetic field. An analysis of the variability of the parameters of the Ha emission line also showed that the density of the gas in the inner region of the accretion disk varies over a time scale exceeding 10 years. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 171–185 (May 2006).     

Probing the circumstellar structures of T Tauri stars and their relationship to those of Herbig stars

We present Hα spectropolarimetry observations of a sample of 10 bright T Tauri stars, supplemented with new Herbig Ae/Be star data. A change in the linear polarization across Hα is detected in most of the T Tauri (9/10) and Herbig Ae (9/11) objects, which we interpret in terms of a compact source of line photons that is scattered off a rotating accretion disc. We find consistency between the position angle (PA) of the polarization and those of imaged disc PAs from infrared and millimetre imaging and interferometry studies, probing much larger scales. For the Herbig Ae stars AB Aur, MWC 480 and CQ Tau, we find the polarization PA to be perpendicular to the imaged disc, which is expected for single scattering. On the other hand, the polarization PA aligns with the outer disc PA for the T Tauri stars DR Tau and SU Aur and FU Ori, conforming to the case of multiple scattering. This difference can be explained if the inner discs of Herbig Ae stars are optically thin, whilst those around our T Tauri stars and FU Ori are optically thick. Furthermore, we develop a novel technique that combines known inclination angles and our recent Monte Carlo models to constrain the inner rim sizes of SU Aur, GW Ori, AB Aur and CQ Tau. Finally, we consider the connection of the inner disc structure with the orientation of the magnetic field in the foreground interstellar medium: for FU Ori and DR Tau, we infer an alignment of the stellar axis and the larger magnetic field direction.     

Young stars in the disk of M82

We present CCD VI_C photometry in a field 1.9 − 1.3 square arcmin and positioned about 3 arcmin north-east of the centre of M82. More than 100 stars have been identified and measured above the photometric limits V = 23^m.5, I = 22^m. Most of the objects fainter than V ≈︁ 20^m should be members of M82 as expected from the statistics of foreground stars. Starlike as well as 2–3 somewhat diffuse objects - candidates of globular clusters - preferentially occupy yellow colours in the colour-magnitude diagram; extreme blue and red objects are missing. The colour-magnitude diagram indicates continuing star formation in this part of the disk. The absence of blue stars is caused by reddening; no convincing explanation is found for the missing red supergiants. Young stars are distributed throughout the whole field, the youngest being concentrated in associations at the SW edge of the field. To cope with the very irregular background created by the galaxy' s main body and with the low contrast of many of the stars against this background, a modified photometric method is introduced in which the background is estimated using the intensities in a ring drawn very tightly around the star in the wings of the point spread function.     

Infrared observations of symbiotic stars

Near infrared measurements in the J, H and K bands have been carried out for a number of symbiotic stars with the 1.5 m telescope at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory (RAO). A comparison with the earlier observations shows that the S-type symbiotic stars do not have any significant variation in the infrared flux over the past five years. However a small variation ∼ 0.3 magnitude in the infrared flux has been detected for CH Cygni. The observations of HM Sagittae show large decreases in the infrared flux compared to the previous measurements. The variability in the infrared fluxes of both these objects could be attributed to a variation in the temperature due to the cooling of the dust shell. The variability observed for V1016 Cygni is found consistent with the previous measurements.     

Analysis of HST ultraviolet spectra for T Tauri stars: DR Tau

We analyze the spectra of DR Tau in the wavelength range 1200 to 3100 Å obtained with the GHRS and STIS spectrographs from the Hubble Space Telescope. The profiles for the C IV 1550 and He II 1640 emission lines and for the absorption features of some lines indicate that matter falls to the star at a velocity ～300 km s^?1. At the same time, absorption features were detected in the blue wings of the N I, Mg I, Fe II, Mg II, C II, and Si II lines, suggesting mass outflow at a velocity up to 400 km s^?1. The C II, Si II, and Al II intercombination lines exhibit symmetric profiles whose peaks have the same radial velocity as the star. This is also true for the emission features of the Fe II and H₂ lines. We believe that stellar activity is attributable to disk accretion of circumstellar matter, with matter reaching the star mainly through the disk and the boundary layer. At the time of observations, the accretion luminosity was L_ac ? 2L_⊙ at an accretion rate ?10^?7M_⊙ yr^?1. Concurrently, a small (<10%) fraction of matter falls to the star along magnetospheric magnetic field lines from a height ～R_*. Within a region of size ?3.5R_*, the disk atmosphere has a thickness ～0.1R_* and a temperature ?1.5 × 10⁴ K. We assume that disk rotation in this region significantly differs from Keplerian rotation. The molecular hydrogen lines are formed in the disk at a distance <1.4 AU from the star. Accretion is accompanied by mass outflow from the accretion-disk surface. In a region of size <10R_*, the wind gas has a temperature ～7000 K, but at the same time, almost all iron is singly ionized by H I L _α photons from inner disk regions. Where the warm-wind velocity reaches ?400 km s^?1, the gas moves at an angle of no less than 30° to the disk plane. We found no evidence of regions with a temperature above 10⁴ K in the wind and leave open the question of whether there is outflow in the H₂ line formation region. According to our estimate, the star has the following set of parameters: M_* ? 0.9M_⊙, R_* ? 1.8R_⊙, L_* ? 0.9L_⊙, and \(A_V \simeq 0\mathop .\limits^m 9\). The inclination i of the disk axis to the line of sight cannot be very small; however, i≤60°.     

Detection of DCO+ in a circumstellar disk

We report the first detection of DCO⁺ in a circumstellar disk. The DCO⁺ J=5–4 line at 360.169 GHz is observed with the 15 m James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in the disk around the pre-main sequence star TW Hya. Together with measurements of the HCO⁺ and H¹³CO⁺ J=4–3 lines, this allows an accurate determination of the DCO⁺/HCO⁺ ratio in this disk. The inferred value of0.035±0.005 is close to that found in cold pre-stellar cores and is somewhat higher than that measured in the envelope around the low-mass proto star IRAS 16293-2422. It is also close to the DCN/HCN ratio obtained for pristine cometary material in the jet of comet Hale-Bopp. The observed DCO⁺/HCO⁺ ratio for TW Hya is consistent with theoretical models of disks which consider gas-phase fractionation processes within a realistic 2-D temperature distribution and which include the effects of freeze-out onto grains. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.