344 research outputs found
Stellar and circumstellar properties of visual binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster
Our general understanding of multiple star and planet formation is primarily
based on observations of young multiple systems in low density regions like
Tau-Aur and Oph. Since many, if not most, of the stars are born in clusters,
observational constraints from young binaries in those environments are
fundamental for understanding both the formation of multiple systems and
planets in multiple systems throughout the Galaxy. We build upon the largest
survey for young binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) which is based on
Hubble Space Telescope observations to derive both stellar and circumstellar
properties of newborn binary systems in this cluster environment. We present
Adaptive Optics spatially-resolved JHKL'-band photometry and K-band
R\,5000 spectra for a sample of 8 ONC binary systems from this database.
We characterize the stellar properties of binary components and obtain a census
of protoplanetary disks through K-L' color excess. For a combined sample of ONC
binaries including 7 additional systems with NIR spectroscopy from the
literature, we derive mass ratio and relative age distributions. We compare the
stellar and circumstellar properties of binaries in ONC with those in Tau-Aur
and Oph from samples of binaries with stellar properties derived for each
component from spectra and/or visual photometry and with a disk census obtained
through K-L color excess. The mass ratio distribution of ONC binaries is found
to be indistinguishable from that of Tau-Aur and, to some extent, to that of
Oph in the separation range 85-560\,AU and for primary mass in the range 0.15
to 0.8\,M_{\sun}.A trend toward a lower mass ratio with larger separation is
suggested in ONC binaries which is not seen in Tau-Aur binaries.The components
of ONC binaries are found to be significantly more coeval than the overall ONC
population and as coeval as components of binaries in Tau-Aur and Oph[...]Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
From Stars to Super-planets: the Low-Mass IMF in the Young Cluster IC348
We investigate the low-mass population of the young cluster IC348 down to the
deuterium-burning limit, a fiducial boundary between brown dwarf and planetary
mass objects, using a new and innovative method for the spectral classification
of late-type objects. Using photometric indices, constructed from HST/NICMOS
narrow-band imaging, that measure the strength of the 1.9 micron water band, we
determine the spectral type and reddening for every M-type star in the field,
thereby separating cluster members from the interloper population. Due to the
efficiency of our spectral classification technique, our study is complete from
approx 0.7 Msun to 0.015 Msun. The mass function derived for the cluster in
this interval, dN/dlogM \propto M^{0.5}, is similar to that obtained for the
Pleiades, but appears significantly more abundant in brown dwarfs than the mass
function for companions to nearby sun-like stars. This provides compelling
observational evidence for different formation and evolutionary histories for
substellar objects formed in isolation vs. as companions. Because our
determination of the IMF is complete to very low masses, we can place
interesting constraints on the role of physical processes such as fragmentation
in the star and planet formation process and the fraction of dark matter in the
Galactic halo that resides in substellar objects.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figs, 6 tables (Table 4 is a separate LaTeX file)
Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal (Oct 1, 2000 issue
HST/ACS Images of the GG Tauri Circumbinary Disk
Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys images of the young binary
GG Tauri and its circumbinary disk in V and I bandpasses were obtained in 2002
and are the most detailed of this system to date. The confirm features
previously seen in the disk including: a "gap" apparently caused by shadowing
from circumstellar material; an asymmetrical distribution of light about the
line of sight on the near edge of the disk; enhanced brightness along the near
edge of the disk due to forward scattering; and a compact reflection nebula
near the secondary star. New features are seen in the ACS images: two short
filaments along the disk; localized but strong variations in disk intensity
("gaplets"); and a "spur" or filament extending from the reflection nebulosity
near the secondary. The back side of the disk is detected in the V band for the
first time. The disk appears redder than the combined light from the stars,
which may be explained by a varied distribution of grain sizes. The brightness
asymmetries along the disk suggest that it is asymmetrically illuminated by the
stars due to extinction by nonuniform circumstellar material or the illuminated
surface of the disk is warped by tidal effects (or perhaps both). Localized,
time-dependent brightness variations in the disk are also seen.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
Medium-separation binaries do not affect the first steps of planet formation
The first steps of planet formation are marked by the growth and
crystallization of sub-micrometer-sized dust grains accompanied by dust
settling toward the disk midplane. In this paper we explore whether the first
steps of planet formation are affected by the presence of medium-separation
stellar companions. We selected two large samples of disks around single and
binary T Tauri stars in Taurus that are thought to have only a modest age
spread of a few Myr. The companions of our binary sample are at projected
separations between 10 and 450 AU with masses down to about 0.1 solar masses.
We used the strength and shape of the 10 micron silicate emission feature as a
proxy for grain growth and for crystallization respectively. The degree of dust
settling was evaluated from the ratio of fluxes at two different mid-infrared
wavelengths. We find no statistically significant difference between the
distribution of 10 micron silicate emission features from single and binary
systems. In addition, the distribution of disk flaring is indistinguishable
between the single and binary system samples. These results show that the first
steps of planet formation are not affected by the presence of a companion at
tens of AU.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
Visual Binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster
We have carried out a major survey for visual binaries towards the Orion
Nebula Cluster using HST images obtained with an H-alpha filter. Among 781
likely ONC members more than 60" from theta-1 Ori C, we find 78 multiple
systems (75 binaries and 3 triples), of which 55 are new discoveries, in the
range from 0.1" to 1.5". About 9 binaries are likely line-of-sight
associations. We find a binary fraction of 8.8%+-1.1% within the limited
separation range from 67.5 to 675 AU. The field binary fraction in the same
range is a factor 1.5 higher. Within the range 150 AU to 675 AU we find that T
Tauri associations have a factor 2.2 more binaries than the ONC. The binary
separation distribution function of the ONC shows unusual structure, with a
sudden steep decrease in the number of binaries as the separation increases
beyond 0.5", corresponding to 225 AU. We have measured the ratio of binaries
wider than 0.5" to binaries closer than 0.5" as a function of distance from the
Trapezium, and find that this ratio is significantly depressed in the inner
region of the ONC. The deficit of wide binaries in the central part of the
cluster is likely due to dissolution or orbital change during their passage
through the potential well of the inner cluster region. Many of the companions
are likely to be brown dwarfs.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted by the Astronomical Journa
Panchromatic observations and modeling of the HV Tau C edge-on disk
We present new high spatial resolution (<~ 0.1") 1-5 micron adaptive optics
images, interferometric 1.3 mm continuum and 12CO 2-1 maps, and 350 micron, 2.8
and 3.3 mm fluxes measurements of the HV Tau system. Our adaptive optics images
reveal an unusually slow orbital motion within the tight HV Tau AB pair that
suggests a highly eccentric orbit and/or a large deprojected physical
separation. Scattered light images of the HV Tau C edge-on protoplanetary disk
suggest that the anisotropy of the dust scattering phase function is almost
independent of wavelength from 0.8 to 5 micron, whereas the dust opacity
decreases significantly over the same range. The images further reveal a marked
lateral asymmetry in the disk that does not vary over a timescale of 2 years.
We further detect a radial velocity gradient in the disk in our 12CO map that
lies along the same position angle as the elongation of the continuum emission,
which is consistent with Keplerian rotation around an 0.5-1 Msun central star,
suggesting that it could be the most massive component in the triple system. We
use a powerful radiative transfer model to compute synthetic disk observations
and use a Bayesian inference method to extract constraints on the disk
properties. Each individual image, as well as the spectral energy distribution,
of HV Tau C can be well reproduced by our models with fully mixed dust provided
grain growth has already produced larger-than-interstellar dust grains.
However, no single model can satisfactorily simultaneously account for all
observations. We suggest that future attempts to model this source include more
complex dust properties and possibly vertical stratification. (Abridged)Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, editorially accepted for publication in Ap
Contact binaries with additional components. III. The adaptive optics detections
We present results of the CFHT adaptive optics search for companions of a
homogeneous group of contact binary stars, as a contribution to our attempts to
prove a hypothesis that these binaries require a third star to become so close
as observed. In addition to companions directly discovered at separations of
>=1", we introduced a new method of AO image analysis utilizing distortions of
the AO diffraction ring pattern at separations of 0.07"-1". Very close
companions, with separations in the latter range were discovered in systems HV
Aqr, OO Aql, CK Boo, XY Leo, BE Scl, and RZ Tau. More distant companions were
detected in V402 Aur, AO Cam, V2082 Cyg. Our results provide a contribution to
the mounting evidence that the presence of close companions is a very common
phenomenon for very close binaries with orbital periods <1 day.Comment: Full Figs.4 and 5 are in
http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/~rucinski/Triples3
Observational Constraints on the Formation and Evolution of Binary Stars
We present a high spatial resolution UV to NIR survey of 44 young binary
stars in Taurus with separations of 10-1000 AU. The primary results include:
(1) The relative ages of binary star components are more similar than the
relative ages of randomly paired single stars, supporting coeval formation. (2)
Only one of the companion masses is substellar, and hence the apparent
overabundance of T Tauri star companions relative to main-sequence star
companions can not be explained by a wealth of substellar secondaries that
would have been missed in main-sequence surveys. (3) Roughly 10% of T Tauri
binary star components have very red NIR colors (K-L > 1.4) and unusually high
mass accretion rates. This phenomenon does not appear to be restricted to
binary systems, however, since a comparable fraction of single T Tauri stars
exhibit the same properties. (4) Although the disk lifetimes of single stars
are roughly equal to their stellar ages, the disk lifetimes of binary stars are
an order of magnitude less than their ages. (5) The accretion rates for both
single and binary T Tauri stars appear to be moderately mass dependent. (6)
Although most classical T Tauri star binaries retain both a circumprimary and a
circumsecondary disk, there are several systems with only a circumprimary disk.
Together with the relative accretion rates, this suggests that circumprimary
disks survive longer, on average, than circumsecondary disks. (7) The disk
lifetimes, mass ratios, and relative accretion signatures of the closest
binaries (10-100 AU) suggest that they are being replenished from a
circumbinary reservoir with low angular momentum. Overall, these results
support fragmentation as the dominant binary star formation mechanism.Comment: 67 pages including 11 figures, LaTeX2e, accepted for publication in
Ap
A Multiplicity Census of Young Stars in Chamaeleon I
We present the results of a multiplicity survey of 126 stars spanning ~0.1-3
solar masses in the ~2-Myr-old Chamaeleon I star-forming region, based on
adaptive optics imaging with the ESO Very Large Telescope. Our observations
have revealed 30 binaries and 6 triples, of which 19 and 4, respectively, are
new discoveries. The overall multiplicity fraction we find for Cha I (~30%) is
similar to those reported for other dispersed young associations, but
significantly higher than seen in denser clusters and the field, for comparable
samples. Both the frequency and the maximum separation of Cha I binaries
decline with decreasing mass, while the mass ratios approach unity; conversely,
tighter pairs are more likely to be equal mass. We confirm that brown dwarf
companions to stars are rare, even at young ages at wide separations. Based on
follow-up spectroscopy of two low-mass substellar companion candidates, we
conclude that both are likely background stars. The overall multiplicity
fraction in Cha I is in rough agreement with numerical simulations of cloud
collapse and fragmentation, but its observed mass dependence is less steep than
predicted. The paucity of higher-order multiples, in particular, provides a
stringent constraint on the simulations, and seems to indicate a low level of
turbulence in the prestellar cores in Cha I.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
A Census of the Young Cluster IC 348
We present a new census of the stellar and substellar members of the young
cluster IC 348. We have obtained images at I and Z for a 42'x28' field
encompassing the cluster and have combined these measurements with previous
optical and near-infrared photometry. From spectroscopy of candidate cluster
members appearing in these data, we have identified 122 new members, 15 of
which have spectral types of M6.5-M9, corresponding to masses of 0.08-0.015
M_sun by recent evolutionary models. The latest census for IC 348 now contains
a total of 288 members, 23 of which are later than M6 and thus are likely to be
brown dwarfs. From an extinction-limited sample of members (A_V<=4) for a
16'x14' field centered on the cluster, we construct an IMF that is unbiased in
mass and nearly complete for M/M_sun>=0.03 (<=M8). In logarithmic units where
the Salpeter slope is 1.35, the mass function for IC 348 rises from high masses
down to a solar mass, rises more slowly down to a maximum at 0.1-0.2 M_sun, and
then declines into the substellar regime. In comparison, the similarly-derived
IMF for Taurus from Briceno et al. and Luhman et al. rises quickly to a peak
near 0.8 M_sun and steadily declines to lower masses. The distinctive shapes of
the IMFs in IC 348 and Taurus are reflected in the distributions of spectral
types, which peak at M5 and K7, respectively. These data provide compelling,
model-independent evidence for a significant variation of the IMF with
star-forming conditions.Comment: 47 pages, 14 figures, 3rd para of 4.5.3 has been added, this is final
version in press at ApJ, also found at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/sfgroup/preprints.htm
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