97 research outputs found
Orbits and masses in the young triple system TWA 5
We aim to improve the orbital elements and determine the individual masses of
the components in the triple system TWA 5.
Five new relative astrometric positions in the H band were recorded with the
adaptive optics system at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We combine them with
data from the literature and a measurement in the Ks band. We derive an
improved fit for the orbit of TWA 5Aa-b around each other. Furthermore, we use
the third component, TWA 5B, as an astrometric reference to determine the
motion of Aa and Ab around their center of mass and compute their mass ratio.
We find an orbital period of 6.03+/-0.01 years and a semi-major axis of
63.7+/-0.2 mas (3.2+/-0.1 AU). With the trigonometric distance of 50.1+/-1.8
pc, this yields a system mass of 0.9+/-0.1 Msun, where the error is dominated
by the error of the distance. The dynamical mass agrees with the system mass
predicted by a number of theoretical models if we assume that TWA5 is at the
young end of the age range of the TW Hydrae association.
We find a mass ratio of M_Ab / M_Aa = 1.3 +0.6/-0.4, where the less luminous
component Ab is more massive. This result is likely to be a consequence of the
large uncertainties due to the limited orbital coverage of the observations.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
A near-infrared variability campaign of TMR-1: New light on the nature of the candidate protoplanet TMR-1C
(abridged) We present a near-infrared (NIR) photometric variability study of
the candidate protoplanet, TMR-1C, located at a separation of about 10" (~1000
AU) from the Class I protobinary TMR-1AB in the Taurus molecular cloud. Our
campaign was conducted between October, 2011, and January, 2012. We were able
to obtain 44 epochs of observations in each of the H and Ks filters. Based on
the final accuracy of our observations, we do not find any strong evidence of
short-term NIR variability at amplitudes of >0.15-0.2 mag for TMR-1C or
TMR-1AB. Our present observations, however, have reconfirmed the
large-amplitude long-term variations in the NIR emission for TMR-1C, which were
earlier observed between 1998 and 2002, and have also shown that no particular
correlation exists between the brightness and the color changes. TMR-1C became
brighter in the H-band by ~1.8 mag between 1998 and 2002, and then fainter
again by ~0.7 mag between 2002 and 2011. In contrast, it has persistently
become brighter in the Ks-band in the period between 1998 and 2011. The (H-Ks)
color for TMR-1C shows large variations, from a red value of 1.3+/-0.07 and
1.6+/-0.05 mag in 1998 and 2000, to a much bluer color of -0.1+/-0.5 mag in
2002, and then again a red color of 1.1+/-0.08 mag in 2011. The observed
variability from 1998 to 2011 suggests that TMR-1C becomes fainter when it gets
redder, as expected from variable extinction, while the brightening observed in
the Ks-band could be due to physical variations in its inner disk structure.
The NIR colors for TMR-1C obtained using the high precision photometry from
1998, 2000, and 2011 observations are similar to the protostars in Taurus,
suggesting that it could be a faint dusty Class I source. Our study has also
revealed two new variable sources in the vicinity of TMR-1AB, which show
long-term variations of ~1-2 mag in the NIR colors between 2002 and 2011.Comment: Accepted in A&
Optical and infrared properties of V1647 Orionis during the 2003-2006 outburst. II. Temporal evolution of the eruptive source
The occurrence of new FU Orionis-like objects is fundamental to understand
the outburst mechanism in young stars and their role in star formation and disk
evolution. Our work is aimed at investigating the properties of the recent
outburst of V1647 Ori. Using optical and mid infrared long slit spectroscopy we
monitored V1647 Ori in outburst between February 2004 and January 2006. The
optical spectrum is characterized by Halpha and Hbeta in P-Cygni profile and by
many weak FeI and FeII emission lines. Short timescale variability was measured
in the continuum and line emission. On January 2006 we detected for the first
time forbidden emission lines ([OI], [SII] and [FeII]). These lines are likely
produced by an Herbig-Haro object driven by V1647 Ori. The mid infrared the
spectrum of V1647 Ori is flat and featureless at all epochs. The SED changed
drastically: the source was much redder in the early outburst than in the final
phase. The magnitude rise and the SED of V1647 Ori resembles that of a FUor
while the duration and recurrence of the outburst resemble that of a EXor. The
optical spectrum is clearly distinct from either the absorption line spectrum
of a FUor or the T Tauri-like spectrum of an EXor. Our data are consistent with
a disk instability event which led to an increase of the mass accretion rate.
The data also suggest the presence of a circumstellar envelope around the
star+disk system. The peculiar N band spectrum might be explained by dust
sublimation in the outer layers of the disk. The presence of the envelope and
the outburst statistics suggest that these instability events occur only in a
specific stage of a Class I source (e.g. in the transition phase to an
optically visible star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk). We discuss the
outburst mechanisms in term of the thermal instability model.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The VISTA Orion mini-survey: star formation in the Lynds 1630 North cloud
The Orion cloud complex presents a variety of star formation mechanisms and
properties and it is still one of the most intriguing targets for star
formation studies. We present VISTA/VIRCAM near-infrared observations of the
L1630N star forming region, including the stellar clusters NGC 2068 and NGC
2071, in the Orion molecular cloud B and discuss them in combination with
Spitzer data. We select 186 young stellar object (YSO) candidates in the region
on the basis of multi-colour criteria, confirm the YSO nature of the majority
of them using published spectroscopy from the literature, and use this sample
to investigate the overall star formation properties in L1630N. The K-band
luminosity function of L1630N is remarkably similar to that of the Trapezium
cluster, i.e., it presents a broad peak in the range 0.3-0.7 M and a
fraction of sub-stellar objects of 20%. The fraction of YSOs still
surrounded by disk/envelopes is very high (85%) compared to other star
forming regions of similar age (1-2 Myr), but includes some uncertain
corrections for diskless YSOs. Yet, a possibly high disk fraction together with
the fact that 1/3 of the cloud mass has a gas surface density above the
threshold for star formation (129 M pc), points towards a
still on-going star formation activity in L1630N. The star formation efficiency
(SFE), star formation rate (SFR) and density of star formation of L1630N are
within the ranges estimated for galactic star forming regions by the Spitzer
"core to disk" and "Gould's Belt" surveys. However, the SFE and SFR are lower
than the average value measured in the Orion A cloud and, in particular, lower
than that in the southern regions of L1630. This might suggest different star
formation mechanisms within the L1630 cloud complex.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
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
When the tale comes true: multiple populations and wide binaries in the Orion Nebula Cluster
The high-quality OmegaCAM photometry of the 3x3 deg around the Orion Nebula
Cluster (ONC) in r, and i filters by Beccari et al.(2017) revealed three
well-separated pre-main sequences in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD). The
objects belonging to the individual sequences are concentrated towards the
center of the ONC. The authors concluded that there are two competitive
scenarios: a population of unresolved binaries and triples with an exotic mass
ratio distribution, or three stellar populations with different ages. We use
Gaia DR2 in combination with the photometric OmegaCAM catalog to test and
confirm the presence of the putative three stellar populations. We also study
multiple stellar systems in the ONC for the first time using Gaia DR2. We
confirm that the second and third sequence members are more centrally
concentrated towards the center of the ONC. In addition we find an indication
that the parallax and proper motion distributions are different among the
members of the stellar sequences. The age difference among stellar populations
is estimated to be 1-2 Myr. We use Gaia measurements to identify and remove as
many unresolved multiple system candidates as possible. Nevertheless we are
still able to recover two well-separated sequences with evidence for the third
one, supporting the existence of the three stellar populations. We were able to
identify a substantial number of wide binary objects (separation between
1000-3000 au). This challenges previously inferred values that suggested no
wide binary stars exist in the ONC. Our inferred wide-binary fraction is approx
5%. We confirm the three populations correspond to three separated episodes of
star formation. Based on this result, we conclude that star formation is not
happening in a single burst in this region. (abridged)Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A) accepted. 12 pages, 9 figures +
appendix. New version with language corrections and new ID values in Tab.A.
Young Stellar Objects in the Orion B Cloud
Wide-field near-infrared imaging surveys offer an excellent opportunity to obtain spatially complete samples of young stars in nearby star-forming regions. By studying their spatial distribution and individual properties, the global star formation characteristics of a region can be established. Near-infrared wide-field imaging observations of a significantly large area in the Orion Molecular Cloud B, obtained with the VISTA telescope on Cerro Paranal are presented. On the basis of photometric selection criteria, we have identified 186 candidate young stellar objects that are associated with the stellar clusters NGC 2068 and NGC 2071, and with the stellar group around HH24-26. Overall, Orion B shows a lot of similarities in its star formation characteristics with other Galactic star-forming regions: a star formation efficiency of a few percent, a stellar mass distribution very similar to that of the Orion Trapezium cluster, and a high observed fraction of circumstellar discs
Spectroscopic signatures of magnetospheric accretion in Herbig Ae/Be stars. I. The case of HD101412
Models of magnetically-driven accretion and outflows reproduce many
observational properties of T Tauri stars. This concept is not well established
for the more massive Herbig Ae/Be stars. We intend to examine the
magnetospheric accretion in Herbig Ae/Be stars and search for rotational
modulation using spectroscopic signatures, in this first paper concentrating on
the well-studied Herbig Ae star HD101412. We used near-infrared spectroscopic
observations of the magnetic Herbig Ae star HD101412 to test the magnetospheric
character of its accretion disk/star interaction. We reduced and analyzed 30
spectra of HD101412, acquired with the CRIRES and X-shooter spectrographs
installed at the VLT (ESO, Chile). The spectroscopic analysis was based on the
He I lambda 10,830 and Pa gamma lines, formed in the accretion region. We found
that the temporal behavior of these diagnostic lines in the near-infrared
spectra of HD101412 can be explained by rotational modulation of line profiles
generated by accreting gas with a period P = 20.53+-1.68 d. The discovery of
this period, about half of the magnetic rotation period P_m = 42.076 d
previously determined from measurements of the mean longitudinal magnetic
field, indicates that the accreted matter falls onto the star in regions close
to the magnetic poles intersecting the line-of-sight two times during the
rotation cycle. We intend to apply this method to a larger sample of Herbig
Ae/Be stars.Comment: 8 pages, 1 table, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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