Tracing Accretion onto Herbig Ae/Be Stars using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

The detection and characterization of accretion processes in the disks surrounding young stars may be directly relevant to studies of planet formation. Especially the study of systems with very low accretion rates (<< 10^{-10} M_sun yr^{-1}) is important, since at those rates radial mixing becomes inefficient and disk material will have to be dissipated into larger bodies at its present location. In these proceedings, we compare the different methods of tracing accretion onto Herbig Ae/Be stars and conclude that high-resolution infrared spectroscopy is currently the only reliable method that offers the required sensitivity to shed light on this problem.Comment: To appear in proc. ESO workshop on "High Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy in Astronomy", eds. H.-U. K\"aufl, R. Siebenmorgen & A. Moorwoo

The Instability Strip for Pre--Main-Sequence Stars

We investigate the pulsational properties of Pre--Main-Sequence (PMS) stars by means of linear and nonlinear calculations. The equilibrium models were taken from models evolved from the protostellar birthline to the ZAMS for masses in the range 1 to 4 solar masses. The nonlinear analysis allows us to define the instability strip of PMS stars in the HR diagram. These models are used to constrain the internal structure of young stars and to test evolutionary models. We compare our results with observations of the best case of a pulsating young star, HR~5999, and we also identify possible candidates for pulsational variability among known Herbig Ae/Be stars which are located within or close to the instability strip boundaries.Comment: 14 pages, three postscript figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal Letter

The Mid-Infrared Emitting Dust Around AB Aur

Using the Keck I telescope, we have obtained 11.7 micron and 18.7 micron images of the circumstellar dust emission from AB Aur, a Herbig Ae star. We find that AB Aur is probably resolved at 18.7 micron with an angular diameter of 1.2" at a surface brightness of 3.5 Jy/arcsec^2. Most of the dust mass detected at millimeter wavelengths does not contribute to the 18.7 micron emission, which is plausibly explained if the system possesses a relatively cold, massive disk. We find that models with an optically thick, geometrically thin disk, surrounded by an optically thin spherical envelope fit the data somewhat better than flared disk models.Comment: ApJ in press, 4 color figure

The enigmatic young object : Walker 90/V590 Monocerotis

Aims. We assess the evolutionary status of the intriguing object Walker 90/V590 Mon, which is located about 20 arcmin northwest of the Cone Nebula near the center of the open cluster NGC 2264. This object, according to its most recent optical spectral type determination (B7), which we confirmed, is at least 3 mag too faint in V for the cluster distance, but it shows the classical signs of a young pre-main sequence object, such as highly variable H emission, Mg II emission, IR excess, UV continuum, and optical variability. Methods. We analyzed a collection of archival and original data on Walker 90, covering 45 years including photometry, imaging, and spectroscopic data ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths. Results. According to star formation processes, it is expected that, as this object clears its primordial surroundings, it should become optically brighter, show a weakening of its IR excess and present decreasing line emissions. This behavior is supported by our observations and analysis, but timescales are expected to be longer than the one observed here. Based on photometric data secured in 2007, we find Walker 90 at its brightest recorded optical magnitude √(12.47 ± 0.06). We document an evolution in spectral type over the past five decades (from A2/A3 to currently B7 and as early as B4), along with a decrease in the near-infrared K fluxes. From near-infrared VISIR images secured in 2004, Walker 90 appears as a point source placing an upper limit of < 0.1" for its diameter. Evidence of turbulent inflows is found in rapidly changing inverse P-Cygni profiles in the lower Balmer lines, with a broadening of ±400 km s-1 in Hα and a redshifted component in Hβ with a terminal velocity of ~600 km s-1. The measured steep UV continuum fluxes (mimicking a star as early as B4), added to a tentative identification of N V emission, suggest a strong non-photospheric component, typically of fluxes arising from a thermally inhomogeneous accretion disk. We detect a well defined 2200 Å bump, indicative of dense material in the line-of-sight. We conclude that many observational features are explained if W90 is a flared disk system, surrounded by an inclined optically thick accretion disk

ISO Spectroscopy of the Young Bipolar Nebulae S106 IR and Cep A East

We present the results of ISO SWS and LWS grating scans towards the embedded Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) S106 IR and Cep A East. Emission from the pure rotational lines of H2 and the infrared fine structure lines of [C II], [O I], [S I], [Si II] and [Fe II], as well as absorption bands due to H2O, CO and CO2 ice were detected toward Cep A. In S106 we detected emission lines of H2, CO, H I, and a large number of ionized species including Fe, O, N, C, Si, S, Ne and Ar. S106 also shows many of the infrared PAH bands in emission. Excitation temperatures and molecular hydrogen masses were derived from the low-lying pure rotational levels of H2 and are 500 and 730 K and 8 and 3 x 10^{-3} solar masses for S106 and Cep A, respectively. Since both objects are expected to have several solar masses of H2 in their environment, we conclude that in both cases the bulk of the H2 is cooler than a few hundred Kelvins. Excitation temperatures and line ratios were compared with those predicted by theoretical models for PDRs and dissociative and non-dissociative shocks. The [S I] 25.2 micron/[Si II] 34.8 micron ratio is a particularly useful shock versus PDR discriminant and we conclude that S106 IR is dominated by PDR emission while Cep A East has a large shock component. From an analysis of the ionic lines in S106 we conclude that the central star must have a temperature around 37,000 K, corresponding to a spectral type of O8. From its luminosity it is concluded that the driving source of Cep A must also be a massive early-type star. The absence of strong high-ionization ionic lines in its ISO spectrum shows that Cep A has not yet created a significant H II region and must be younger than S106, illustrating the process of the clearing of the surroundings of a massive young star.Comment: 15 pages (including 10 figures), to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic