T Tauri Stars

The observable characteristics of young solar-mass stars (T Tauri stars) are reviewed. Modern theoretical concepts and models of these stars are discussed briefly.     

Chromospheric Activity of Weak-Lined T Tauri Stars

A summary of our ongoing high and medium resolution optical observational program, devoted to the study of chromospheric activity of pre-main sequence stars, is reported here. The study is centered in bona-fid weak-lined T Tauri stars (WTTS) in Taurus with known rotational period, and in WTTS recently discovered by the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. It is our purpose to quantify the phenomenology of the chromospheric activity of each star determining stellar surface fluxes in the more important chromospheric activity indicators (Ca II H & K, Hβ, Hα, Ca II IRT) as well as to obtain the Li I abundance, a better determination of the stellar parameters, spectral type, and possible binarity. By using these chromospheric excess emissions we will study the flux-flux and rotation-activity relationships in order to get insights into the mechanisms which drive solar-like stellar activity in this kind of low mass pre-main sequence stars. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

弱发射线T Tauri型星的高色散光谱观测

应用国家天文台兴隆观测基地2.16 m望远镜及其高色散光谱仪,对6颗弱发射线T Tauri型星(Weak-line T Tauri Stars,简称WTTS)进行了高色散光谱观测,计算了这些弱发射线T Tauri型星的锂元素丰度,讨论了这些弱发射线TTauri型星锂丰度和恒星自转周期、光变幅度的关系,研究发现:自转较快的弱发射线T Tauri型星锂丰度小于自转较慢的弱发射线T Tauri型星锂丰度;但是这些弱发射线TTauri型星,其锂丰度与恒星在V波段的光变幅度并没有明显的相关性.     

T Tauri Stars: The X-ray Connection

The launch of ROSAT opened a new era in the study of T Tauri stars. Prompted by the IUE results, the new X-ray data confirms the existence of extremely high levels of activity in these young stars, very likely of magnetic nature. We address a detailed analysis of the star TW Hya in the X-ray spectral range. A summary of its properties in the UV will also be included in order to grasp an overall picture of the activity in this star. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Classical T Tauri Stars and Substellar Analogs

We propose a spectroscopic criterion based on Hα equivalent width and spectral type to classify classical T Tauri stars and substellar analogs. We argue that accreting objects can be identified from low-resolution optical spectroscopy, when their Hα flux is stronger than the saturation limit at Log {Lum(Hα)/Lum(bol)} = ?3.3. Additional criteria, such as the relation between HeI5876 or HeI6678 and Hα, or the ratios between the components of the CaII infrared triplet, are also discussed. We have tested the reliability of these criteria by applying them to several objects with masses in the range 0.11–0.025 M_⊙, which belong to nearby star forming regions and the TW Hya association.     

T Tauri型星及其类太阳活动

该文从低质量恒星的形成、主序前演化、多波段测光和光谱观测及研究等方面,着重介绍类太阳恒星的主序前演化特性,T Tauri型星的分类、光变特性和光谱特征、弱发射线T Tauri型星(WTTS)的光学证认,以及其光度变化与发射线轮廓变化间的内在联系.相关研究对于认识类太阳恒星的形成、早期及后续演化、类太阳活动特性和活动机理等具有重要意义.另外,该文对国内外T Tauri型星观测和研究的现状进行了介绍,同时也给出了国内学者近年来在相关领域进行观测研究的部分结果.     

Observations of Magnetic Fields on T Tauri Stars

We present measurements of magnetic field strength and geometry on the surfaces of T Tauri stars (TTS) with and without circumstellar disks. We use these measurements to argue that magnetospheric accretion models should not assume that a fixed fraction of the stellar surface contains magnetic field lines that couple with the disk. We predict the fractional area of accretion footpoints, using magnetospheric accretion models and assuming field strength is roughly constant for all TTS. Analysis of Zeeman broadened infrared line profiles shows that individual TTS each have a distribution of surface magnetic field strengths extending up to 6 kG. Averaging over this distribution yields mean magnetic field strengths of 1-3 kG for all TTS, regardless of whether the star is surrounded by a disk. These strong magnetic fields suggest that magnetic pressure dominates gas pressure in TTS photospheres, indicating the need for new model atmospheres. The He I 5876 Å emission line in TTS can be strongly polarized, so that magnetic field lines at the footpoints of accretion have uniform polarity. The circular polarization signal appears to be rotationally modulated, implying that accretion and perhaps the magnetosphere are not axisymmetric. Time series spectropolarimetry is fitted reasonably well by a simple model with one magnetic spot on the surface of a rotating star. On the other hand, spectropolarimetry of photospheric absorption lines rules out a global dipolar field at the stellar surface for at least some TTS.     

Magnetic Star-Disk Interaction in Classical T Tauri Stars

We carry out 2.5D MHD simulations to study the interaction between a dipolar magnetic field of a T Tauri Star, a circumstellar accretion disk, and the halo above the disk. The initial disk is the result of 1D radiation hydrodynamics computations with opacities appropriate for low temperatures. The gas is assumed resistive, and inside the disk accretion is driven by a Shakura–Sunyaev-type eddy viscosity. Magnetocentrifugal forces due to the rotational shear between the star and the Keplerian disk cause the magnetic field to be stretched outwards and part of the field lines are opened. For a solar-mass central star and an accretion rate of 10^?8 solar masses per year a field strength of 100 G (measured on the surface of the star) launches a substantial outflow from the inner parts of the disk. For a field strength of 1 kG the inner parts of disk is disrupted. The truncation of the disk turns out to be temporary, but the magnetic field structure remains changed after the disk is rebuilt.     

Time Dependent Magnetospheric Accretion in T Tauri Stars

We review recent observational results which suggest that magnetically channeled accretion in T Tauri stars is a highly time dependent process on timescales ranging from hours to months.     

Rotation effects in classical T Tauri stars

Surface temperature inhomogeneities in classical T Tauri stars (CTTS) induced by magnetic activity andmass accretion lead to rotationalmodulation of both photometric and spectroscopic parameters of these stars. Using the extended photometric catalogue byGrankin et al., we have derived the periods and amplitudes of the rotational modulation of brightness and color for 31 CTTS; for six of them, the periods have been revealed for the first time. The inclinations of the rotation axis and equatorial rotational velocities of CTTS have been determined. We show that the known periods of brightness variations for some of the CTTS are not the axial rotation periods but are the Keplerian periods near the inner boundary of the dusty disk. We have found that the angular velocity of CTTS with a mass of 0.3?3M _?? in the Taurus-Auriga complex remains constant in the age range 1?C10 Myr. CTTS on radiative evolutionary tracks rotate faster than completely convective CTTS. The specific angular momentum of CTTS depends on the absolute luminosity in the H?? line.     

Spectral Variability of T Tauri Stars in the Optical

We present the results of time variability analysis of the Hα, He I (λ5876 Å) and Na D (λ5890, 5896 Å) lines in two active T Tauri stars, DL Tau and DR Tau. The aim is the study of time behavior of these lines, during one week, as well as possible correlations among them. The observed profiles of some lines are very complex, often showing characteristics of outflow and accretion.     

Photometric Monitoring of ROSAT-Selected Weak Line T Tauri Stars

We monitored the light curves of 22 weak-line T Tauri stars (WTTSs) discovered among the X-ray sources in the field of the Taurus-Auriga cloud. For 12 of the 22 WTTSs photometric periodic variability is confirmed and their rational periods are determined using Phase Dispersion Minimization (PDM) and Fourier analysis. Most of them are found to have periods shorter than one day. This gives further evidence for the spin up of solar-type stars predicted by the models of angular momentum evolution of pre-main sequence stars.     

High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Winds Associated with T Tauri Stars

We carried out optical high-resolution spectroscopy of T Tauri stars using the Subaru Telescope.Using archived data from the Keck Telescope and the Very Large Telescope, we detected forbidden lines of [S II] at 4069 ?A, in addition to those of [O I] at 5577 ?A and 6300 ?A, for 13 T Tauri stars. We consider that low-velocity components of these forbidden lines emanate from the wind associated with T Tauri stars.Using two flux ratios of the three lines, we simultaneously determined the hydrogen density and temperature of the winds. The winds of T Tauri stars have a hydrogen density of 2.5 × 106cm-3- 2.5 × 109cm-3and a temperature of 10 800 –18 000 K. The mass loss rates by the wind are estimated to lie in the range from2.0 × 10-10M⊙yr-1to 1.4 × 10-9M⊙yr-1. The mass loss rates are found to increase with increasing mass accretion rates. The ratio of the mass loss rate to the mass accretion rate is 0.001–0.1 for classical T Tauri stars and 0.1–1 for transitional disk objects.     

A near infrared speckle imaging study of T Tauri Stars

The results of a speckle imaging survey of T Tauri stars suggest that most, if not all, young low mass stars have companions. Repeated observations of these young binary stars have revealed orbital motion in the closest pairs (0.3), proving that these systems are indeed gravitationally bound and providing the basis for mass estimates in the upcoming years. These mass estimates are necessary to distinguish between the various binary star formation mechanisms that have been proposed to date.     

Mass Loss and Circumstellar Dust Shells at T Tauri Stars

The mass loss of T Tauri stars leads to the production of dust in circumstellar space. The total amount of lost mass (and therefore of produced dust) is observed to be positiv correlated with the intensity of the H and Call emission lines of the objects. This fact is used in the present paper to explain quantitatively another correlation, namely the observation, that the interstellar extinction which is found by star counts in the wider surroundings of a T Tauri star is roughly proportional to the intensity of its Hα emission. By this, the outflow of circumstellar matter into the interstellar space seems to be observable directly.     

Infrared Study of T Tauri Stars Based on IRAS and 2MASS Observations

The IRAS and 2MASS associations for 193 T Tauri stars are identified in this paper. From the color–color diagrams and spectral index, it is found that the IR excesses for most samples are due to thermal emission from the circumstellar material, as suggested previously. It is also found that the IR excesses at IRAS region for few T Tauri stars and the near-IR excesses for some T Tauri stars are likely attributed to free-free emission or free-bound emission from the circumstellar ionized gas. Moreover, It is found in deredened J–H versus H–K color–color diagram that there is a slight separation in different spectral groups. The T Tauri stars locus equation in J–H versus H–K color–color diagram for our sample is also presented.     

Search for H2 Emission from Disks around T Tauri and Herbig AE Stars

Preliminary results are presented of observations of the pure rotational lines of H2 toward T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars using the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The sources are selected to be isolated low- and intermediate-mass young stellar objects, for which the presence of a circumstellar disk has been established by millimeter interferometry. The lowest H2 S(0) and S(1) lines are detected in 3 out of 5 objects. The measured intensities indicate ∼ 0.01 M⊙ of warm (T ≈ 150 K) gas in the ISO beam. It is argued that for at least one case (HD 163296), the emission is probably dominated by the warm gas in the circumstellar disk rather than by shocked- or photon-heated gas in the surrounding envelope. Such observations can provide important constraints on the radial and vertical temperature profiles in circumstellar disks. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.