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.     

Protoplanetary dust clouds in disks of Herbig Ae/Be stars

The very large brightness decrease of late-type Herbig Ae/Be stars is believed to be caused by obscuring dust clouds orbiting in the outer parts of their circumstellar disks. The distances of the dust clouds to the central stars have been estimated using the wavelength at maximum flux of the excess near-IR radiation, Wien's displacement law, and a formula derived by Rowan-Robinson (1980). The critical masses of these clouds were calculated employing Chandrasekhar's (1943) formula. The minimum size of the dust grains in the obscuring clouds was estimated using Aumannet al.'s (1984) formula they had applied to the star Lyr. However, it can be about ten times smaller if the dust grains are situated at the back of the cloud. The average size of these grains has been determined by assuming a size distribution similar to that in the asteroidal belt (Dohnanyi, 1969) and in the interstellar medium (Mathiset al., 1977). Their number density was determined by means of the extinction power of the dust cloud at theV pass-band. The results of our calculations show that above parameters are similar to those in our solar system. Therefore, we believe that most probably (a) the formation of planetesimals in the circumstellar disks of Herbig Ae/Be stars is on-going; and (b) the obscuring clouds will, in the long run, become planet-like objects.Paper presented at the Conference onPlanetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A.     

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.     

Herbig Ae/Be星的尘埃壳层形态研究

我们使用Kurucz恒星大气模型以及黑体模型对22颗Herbig Ae/Be星的紫外数据、IRAS观测数据、地面光学及近红外测光数据资料等进行了拟合计算,用能量平衡方法进行了统计分析,得出Herbig Ae/Be星的尘埃壳层为盘状的结论.     

Mid-infrared imaging of WL 16: the spatial distribution of the hydrocarbon emission features

We present arcsec-resolution images at 8.2, 10.0 and 11.3 μm of the unusual young object WL 16 in Ophiuchus, which has an extended envelope of fluorescing hydrocarbon molecules. To the limit of achieved sensitivity, the faint 10.0-μm continuum has a surface-brightness distribution that is not distinguishable from those at 8.2 and 11.3 μm, where the luminosity is known to be dominated by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features. We conclude that the 10-μm continuum either arises from non-equilibrium heating of small dust grains that are well mixed with the hydrocarbons or is quasi-continuous emission from the PAH particles themselves, rather than thermal equilibrium emission from macroscopic dust grains, and that there is no significant silicate absorption variation across the source. The extended hydrocarbon emission may trace a flattened, equatorial distribution of circumstellar material or arise in bipolar lobes. The former case is slightly favoured, based on currently available data, and would imply that WL 16 is a relatively evolved Herbig Ae star, the equatorial plane of which has been almost cleared of normal dust, leaving only fluorescing hydrocarbons and larger coagulated particles as a possibly transient fossil of the original circumstellar disc.     

Non-emission-line young stars of intermediate mass

We present optical spectra of four intermediate-mass candidate young stellar objects that have often been classified as Herbig Ae/Be stars. Typical Herbig Ae/Be emission features are not present in the spectra of these stars. Three of them, HD 36917, HD 36982 and HD 37062, are members of the young Orion nebula cluster (ONC). This association constrains their ages to be ≲1 Myr. The lack of appreciable near-infrared excess in them suggests the absence of hot dust close to the central star. However, they do possess significant amounts of cold and extended dust as revealed by the large excess emission observed at far-infrared wavelengths. The fractional infrared luminosities  ( L _ir/ L _★)  and the dust masses computed from IRAS fluxes are systematically lower than those found for Herbig Ae/Be stars but higher than those for Vega-like stars. These stars may thus represent the youngest examples of the Vega phenomenon known so far. In contrast, the other star in our sample, HD 58647, is more likely to be a classical Be star, as is evident from the low   L _ir/ L _★  , the scarcity of circumstellar dust, the low polarization, the presence of H α emission and near-infrared excess, and the far-infrared spectral energy distribution consistent with free–free emission similar to other well-known classical Be stars.     

Brightness variability investigation of BD+61°154

Photoelectric ubvyHαHβ observations of the Herbig Ae/Be star BD+61°154 are presented. The observational data are analyzed proceeding from the simple hypothesis that the light variation is mainly due to temperature changes of gaseous envelope.     

The exceptional Herbig Ae star HD 101412: The first detection of resolved magnetically split lines and the presence of chemical spots in a Herbig star

In our previous search for magnetic fields in Herbig Ae stars, we pointed out that HD 101412 possesses the strongest magnetic field among the Herbig Ae stars and hence is of special interest for follow‐up studies of magnetism among young pre‐main‐sequence stars. We obtained high‐resolution, high signal‐to‐noise UVES and a few lower quality HARPS spectra revealing the presence of resolved magnetically split lines. HD 101412 is the first Herbig Ae star for which the rotational Doppler effect was found to be small in comparison to the magnetic splitting and several spectral lines observed in unpolarized light at high dispersion are resolved into magnetically split components. The measured mean magnetic field modulus varies from 2.5 to 3.5kG, while the mean quadratic field was found to vary in the range of 3.5 to 4.8 kG. To determine the period of variations, we used radial velocity, equivalent width, line width, and line asymmetry measurements of variable spectral lines of several elements, as well as magnetic field measurements. The period determination was done using the Lomb‐Scargle method. The most pronounced variability was detected for spectral lines of He I and the iron peak elements, whereas the spectral lines of CNO elements are only slightly variable. From spectral variations and magnetic field measurements we derived a potential rotation period P_rot = 13.86 d, which has to be proven in future studies with a larger number of observations. It is the first time that the presence of element spots is detected on the surface of a Herbig Ae/Be star. Our previous study of Herbig Ae stars revealed a trend towards stronger magnetic fields for younger Herbig Ae stars, confirmed by statistical tests. This is in contrast to a few other (non‐statistical) studies claiming that magnetic Herbig Ae stars are progenitors of the magnetic Ap stars. New developments in MHD theory show that the measured magnetic field strengths are compatible with a current‐driven instability of toroidal fields generated by differential rotation in the stellar interior. This explanation for magnetic intermediate‐mass stars could be an alternative to a frozen‐in fossil field (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Anomalous Behavior of the Linear Polarization of the Herbig Ae Star WW Vul during the 1997 Minimum

In the course of photopolarimetric monitoring of the Herbig Ae star WW Vul, an unusual variation of linear polarization upon energence from a deep minimum was recorded, which cannot be explained by the standard mechanism for such objects (UX Ori stars): a variable contribution of radiation scattered by circumstellar dust. An analysis of possible causes of the anomalous behavior of polarization shows that it was most likely due to the presence of aligned, aspherical dust grains in the dust cloud crossing the line of sight at that time.     

The interpretation of observations of ice and silicate ir features and polarization across it in the spectra of protostellar objects BN and AFGL 2591

The absorption features of ice at 3µm and of silicate at 10 and 20µm as well as the linear polarization across it have been calculated. The interpretations of data for protostellar objects BN and AFGL 2591 are made.The model of partially aligned spinning spheroidal grains with the Purcell's suprathermal alignment mechanism and the power law size distribution are considered. Core-mantle, porous and composite particles are investigated in the Rayleigh approximation. In the case of composite and porous grains the effective refractive indices are computed with the approximate Bruggeman rule.The influence of grain chemical composition, elongation and structure has been investigated. The distinctions in polarization between composite and core-mantle models are found. The mixing of grain materials smooths the individual spectral features of chemical components. The adding of graphite causes the shift of the 10µm peak position to shorter wavelengths. When the fraction of graphite increases, the peak at 20µm decreases and shifts to shorter wavelengths. The increase of elongation reduces the negative polarization at the 3µm feature, shifts the 10µm and 20µm peak positions to longer wavelengths, and raises the strength of the 20µm band. The porosity leads to similar effects.It was found that the studied grain models are in good agreement with observational data for BN and AFGL 2591 objects. The absence of polarization excess near 3µm for AFGL 2591 is attributable to a decrease in elongation of large grains as a result of coagulation. The attention is attracted to the problem of real distribution of the interstellar dust grains over the elongation parameter. The determination this distribution function and the study of its evolution in the processes of accretion and coagulation are necessary.     

Dust in the disk winds from young stars as a source of the circumstellar extinction

We consider the problem of dust grain survival in the disk winds from T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars. For our analysis, we have chosen a disk wind model in which the gas component of the wind is heated through ambipolar diffusion to a temperature of ～10⁴ K. We show that the heating of dust grains through their collisions with gas atoms is inefficient compared to their heating by stellar radiation and, hence, the grains survive even in the hot wind component. As a result, the disk wind can be opaque to the ultraviolet and optical stellar radiation and is capable of absorbing an appreciable fraction of it. Calculations show that the fraction of the wind-absorbed radiation for T Tauri stars can be from 20 to 40% of the total stellar luminosity at an accretion rate ? _a = 10^?8-10^?6 M _⊙yr^?1. This means that the disk winds from T Tauri stars can play the same role as the puffed-up inner rim in current accretion disk models. In Herbig Ae stars, the inner layers of the disk wind (r ≤ 0.5 AU) are dust-free, since the dust in this region sublimates under the effect of stellar radiation. Therefore, the fraction of the radiation absorbed by the disk wind in this case is considerably smaller and can be comparable to the effect from the puffed-up inner rim only at an accretion rate of the order of or higher than 10^?6 M _⊙yr^?1. Since the disk wind is structurally inhomogeneous, its optical depth toward the observer can be variable, which should be reflected in the photometric activity of young stars. For the same reason, moving shadows from gas and dust streams with a spiral-like shape can be observed in high-angular-resolution circumstellar disk images.     

Herbig Ae/Be stars

Herbig Ae/Be stars are the higher mass counterparts of the T Tauri stars. In comparison with the latter, however, relatively little is known about them. After a historical introduction, we briefly review their optical and UV spectroscopic properties. We consider the evidence for and against disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars; the existence of which remains highly controversial. We also examine in-depth their interaction with the surrounding medium as manifested through optical outflows. It is shown that although there are similarities with analogous outflows from lower mass young stars, those from Herbig Ae/Be stars may be more poorly collimated. Jets, however, are found in at least some cases.     

On the binarity of Herbig Ae/Be stars

We present high-resolution spectro-astrometry of a sample of 28 Herbig Ae/Be and three F-type pre-main-sequence stars. The spectro-astrometry, which is essentially the study of unresolved features in long-slit spectra, is shown from both empirical and simulated data to be capable of detecting binary companions that are fainter by up to 6 mag at separations larger than ∼0.1 arcsec. The nine targets that were previously known to be binary are all detected. In addition, we report the discovery of six new binaries and present five further possible binaries. The resulting binary fraction is 68 ± 11 per cent. This overall binary fraction is the largest reported for any observed sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars, presumably because of the exquisite sensitivity of spectro-astrometry for detecting binary systems. The data hint that the binary frequency of the Herbig Be stars is larger than that of the Herbig Ae stars. The Appendix presents model simulations to assess the capabilities of spectro-astrometry and reinforces the empirical findings. Most spectro-astrometric signatures in this sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars can be explained by the presence of a binary system. Two objects, HD 87643 and Z CMa, display evidence for asymmetric outflows. Finally, the position angles of the binary systems have been compared with available orientations of the circumprimary disc and these appear to be coplanar. The alignment between the circumprimary discs and the binary systems strongly suggests that the formation of binaries with intermediate-mass primaries is due to fragmentation as the alternative, stellar capture, does not naturally predict aligned discs. The alignment extends to the most massive B-type stars in our sample. This leads us to conclude that formation mechanisms that do result in massive stars, but predict random angles between the binaries and the circumprimary discs, such as stellar collisions, are also ruled out for the same reason.     

Porous and fluffy grains in the regions of anomalous extinction

It has long been established that the ratio of total to selective extinction is anomalously large (>- 5) in certain regions of the interstellar medium. In these regions of anomalous extinction the dust grains are likely to be irregular in shape and fluffy in structure. Using discrete dipole approximation (DDA) we calculate the extinction for porous and fluffy grains. We apply DDA first to solid spheroidal particles assumed to be made of a certain (large) number of dipoles. Then we systematically reduce the number of dipoles to model the porous grains. The aggregates of these particles are suggested to form the fluffy grains. We study the extinction for these particles as a function of grain size, porosity and wavelength. We apply these calculations to interpret the observed extincttion data in the regions of star formation (e.g. the Orion complex).     

Radiation Pressure and the Poynting-Robertson Effect for Fluffy Dust Particles

A correct understanding of the dynamical effect of solar radiation exerted on fluffy dust particles can be achieved with assistance of a light scattering theory as well as the equation of motion. We reformulate the equation of motion so that the radiation pressure and the Poynting-Robertson effect on fluffy grains are given in both radial and nonradial directions from the center of the Sun. This allows numerical estimates of these radiation forces on fluffy dust aggregates in the framework of the discrete dipole approximation, in which the first term of the scattering coefficients in Mie theory determines the polarizability of homogeneous spheres forming the aggregates.The nonsphericity in shape turns out to play a key role in the dynamical evolution of dust particles, while its consequence depends on the rotation rate and axis of the grains. Unless a fluffy dust particle rapidly revolves on its randomly oriented axis, the nonradial radiation forces may prevent, apart from the orbital eccentricity and semimajor axis, the orbital inclination of the particle from being preserved in orbit around the Sun. However, a change in the inclination is most probably controlled by the Lorentz force as a consequence of the interaction between electric charges on the grains and the solar magnetic field. Although rapidly and randomly rotating grains spiral into the Sun under the Poynting-Robertson effect in spite of their shapes and structures, fluffy grains drift inward on time scales longer at submicrometer sizes and shorter at much larger sizes than spherical grains of the same sizes. Numerical calculations reveal that the dynamical lifetimes of fluffy particles are determined by the material composition of the grains rather than by their morphological structures and sizes. The Poynting-Robertson effect alone is nevertheless insufficient for giving a satisfactory estimate of lifetimes for fluffy dust grains since their large ratios of cross section to mass would reduce the lifetimes by enhancing the collisional probabilities. We also show that the radiation pressure on a dust particle varies with the orbital velocity of the particle but that this effect is negligibly small for dust grains in the Solar System.     

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.     

Hipparcos observations of pre-main-sequence stars

We present first results of Hipparcos observations of nearby low-mass pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars (T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be stars). The data obtained by Hipparcos allow us to derive weighted mean parallaxes for three major nearby star-forming regions (SFRs), Lupus, Chamaeleon I and Taurus–Auriga. Furthermore, results on the isolated objects AB Dor and TW Hya are presented. Finally, we discuss the evolutionary status of Herbig Ae/Be (HAEBE) stars on the basis of Hipparcos results.     

Scattering of Light by Composite Particles in a Planetary Surface

It has been proposed that composite particles containing internal scatterers may provide the explanation for the fact that most photometric studies of planetary surfaces based on Hapke's model of bidirectional reflectance have found the planetary particles to exhibit moderately backscattering phase functions. However, an implicit assumption made in this explanation is that the scattering by composite particles containing multiple internal inclusions in a planetary surface can still be adequately computed using standard radiative transfer theory assuming the composite particles to be the fundamental individual scatterers even though such particles are necessarily in close proximity to each other. In this paper, this assumption is explored by examining the effects of close packing on the light scattering by spherical particles containing isotropic internal scatterers using a Monte Carlo routine. As expected, classical radiative transfer (assuming a random distribution of scattering particles) coupled with the assumption that the composite particle is the fundamental scatterer provides a good approximation in the high porosity limit. However, even for porosities as high as 90% the effects of close packing are clearly seen with the radiative transfer calculation underestimating the scattering by ∼10% at high incidence, emission, and phase angles. As the porosity is lowered further, the discrepancy becomes more severe and can reach 50% or more. In contrast, assuming the individual scatterer properties in the radiative transfer calculation leads to a substantial overestimate of the scattering even for porosities as low as 27.5%. This suggests that parameters derived using the classical radiative transfer theory will yield results intermediate between those of the composite as a whole and those of the internal scatterers. Thus, one should exercise caution in interpreting the results of models based on classical radiative transfer theory in terms of the physical properties of the surface particles and, where possible, the bidirectional reflectance of densely packed composite particles should be computed using more accurate methods such as the stochastic radiative transfer theory.     

On the nature of the proposed blob in the inner preplanetary disk of the Herbig Ae/Be star HD141569: evidence for a giant vortex?

Recently, Brittain and Rettig, using the cryogenic echelle spectrograph at the Infrared Telescope Facility to study the infrared emission from the inner preplanetary disk of the Herbig Ae/Be star HD141569, detected CO and H₃⁺ ion emission. This emission has been tentatively interpreted as due to the existence of a forming gas giant planet. The suggested protoplanetary blob appears to be orbiting its host star at about 7 AU being perhaps 2 AU across and roughly five times the mass of Jupiter. Based on numerical modeling of the evolution of the dust disk we show that their observational results are compatible with the presence of an evolved giant vortex in the disk. Our calculations suggest that vortices formed in disks similar to the one found around HD141569 are more effective at capturing solid material than equivalent structures around solar-like stars. On the other hand, we investigate the possibility to find evidence for large-scale vortices in preplanetary disks by submillimeter interferometry. Disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars may be primary targets for giant vortex detection using this technique.     

The Intermittently Embedded Herbig Ae/Be Stars ISO and Ground-Based IR Observations

We discuss silicate emission profiles observed with the ISO SWS and ground-based IR observations in a population of intermittently embedded Herbig Ae/Be stars which are viewed edge-on to their polarimetrically identified dust and gas disks. The ISO SWS observations confirm the lack of a simple correlation between system age and the profile shape. Comparison with laboratory silicates suggests that much of the observed variation is due to different annealing histories of the grains. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.