120 research outputs found
X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects: V - Slow winds in T Tauri stars
Disks around T Tauri stars are known to lose mass, as best shown by the
profiles of forbidden emission lines of low ionization species. At least two
separate kinematic components have been identified, one characterised by
velocity shifts of tens to hundreds km/s (HVC) and one with much lower velocity
of few km/s (LVC). The HVC are convincingly associated to the emission of jets,
but the origin of the LVC is still unknown. In this paper we analyze the
forbidden line spectrum of a sample of 44 mostly low mass young stars in Lupus
and -Ori observed with the X-Shooter ESO spectrometer. We detect
forbidden line emission of [OI], [OII], [SII], [NI], and [NII], and
characterize the line profiles as LVC, blue-shifted HVC and red-shifted HVC. We
focus our study on the LVC. We show that there is a good correlation between
line luminosity and both L and the accretion luminosity (or the
mass-accretion rate) over a large interval of values (L L; L L;
M/yr). The lines show the presence of a slow
wind ( cm), warm (T K), mostly neutral. We estimate the mass of the emitting gas and
provide a value for the maximum volume it occupies. Both quantities increase
steeply with the stellar mass, from M and
AU for M M, to
M and AU for M M, respectively.
These results provide quite stringent constraints to wind models in low mass
young stars, that need to be explored further
X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects - VI - HI line decrements
Hydrogen recombination emission lines commonly observed in accreting young
stellar objects represent a powerful tracer for the gas conditions in the
circumstellar structures. Here we perform a study of the HI decrements and line
profiles, from the Balmer and Paschen lines detected in the X-Shooter spectra
of a homogeneous sample of 36 T Tauri stars in Lupus, the accretion and stellar
properties of which were already derived in a previous work. We aim to obtain
information on the gas physical conditions to derive a consistent picture of
the HI emission mechanisms in pre-main sequence low-mass stars. We have
empirically classified the sources based on their HI line profiles and
decrements. We identified four Balmer decrement types (classified as 1, 2, 3,
and 4) and three Paschen decrement types (A, B, and C), characterised by
different shapes. We first discussed the connection between the decrement types
and the source properties and then compared the observed decrements with
predictions from recently published local line excitation models. One third of
the objects show lines with narrow symmetric profiles, and present similar
Balmer and Paschen decrements (straight decrements, types 2 and A). Lines in
these sources are consistent with optically thin emission from gas with
hydrogen densities of order 10^9 cm^-3 and 5000<T<15000 K. These objects are
associated with low mass accretion rates. Type 4 (L-shaped) Balmer and type B
Paschen decrements are found in conjunction with very wide line profiles and
are characteristic of strong accretors, with optically thick emission from
high-density gas (log n_H > 11 cm^-3). Type 1 (curved) Balmer decrements are
observed only in three sub-luminous sources viewed edge-on, so we speculate
that these are actually reddened type 2 decrements. About 20% of the objects
present type 3 Balmer decrements (bumpy), which cannot be reproduced with
current models.Comment: 29 pages, accepted by A&
Tracing Slow Winds from T Tauri Stars via Low Velocity Forbidden Line Emission
Using Keck/HIRES spectra {\Delta}v ~ 7 km/s, we analyze forbidden lines of [O
I] 6300 {\AA}, [O I] 5577 {\AA} and [S II] 6731 {\AA} from 33 T Tauri stars
covering a range of disk evolutionary stages. After removing a high velocity
component (HVC) associated with microjets, we study the properties of the low
velocity component (LVC). The LVC can be attributed to slow disk winds that
could be magnetically (MHD) or thermally (photoevaporative) driven. Both of
these winds play an important role in the evolution and dispersal of
protoplanetary material.
LVC emission is seen in all 30 stars with detected [O I] but only in 2 out of
eight with detected [S II] , so our analysis is largely based on the properties
of the [O I] LVC. The LVC itself is resolved into broad (BC) and narrow (NC)
kinematic components. Both components are found over a wide range of accretion
rates and their luminosity is correlated with the accretion luminosity, but the
NC is proportionately stronger than the BC in transition disks.
The FWHM of both the BC and NC correlates with disk inclination, consistent
with Keplerian broadening from radii of 0.05 to 0.5 AU and 0.5 to 5 AU,
respectively. The velocity centroids of the BC suggest formation in an MHD disk
wind, with the largest blueshifts found in sources with closer to face-on
orientations. The velocity centroids of the NC however, show no dependence on
disk inclination. The origin of this component is less clear and the evidence
for photoevaporation is not conclusive
Accretion variability of Herbig Ae/Be stars observed by X-Shooter. HD 31648 and HD 163296
This work presents X-Shooter/VLT spectra of the prototypical, isolated Herbig
Ae stars HD 31648 (MWC 480) and HD 163296 over five epochs separated by
timescales ranging from days to months. Each spectrum spans over a wide
wavelength range covering from 310 to 2475 nm. We have monitored the continuum
excess in the Balmer region of the spectra and the luminosity of twelve
ultraviolet, optical and near infrared spectral lines that are commonly used as
accretion tracers for T Tauri stars. The observed strengths of the Balmer
excesses have been reproduced from a magnetospheric accretion shock model,
providing a mean mass accretion rate of 1.11 x 10^-7 and 4.50 x 10^-7 Msun
yr^-1 for HD 31648 and HD 163296, respectively. Accretion rate variations are
observed, being more pronounced for HD 31648 (up to 0.5 dex). However, from the
comparison with previous results it is found that the accretion rate of HD
163296 has increased by more than 1 dex, on a timescale of ~ 15 years. Averaged
accretion luminosities derived from the Balmer excess are consistent with the
ones inferred from the empirical calibrations with the emission line
luminosities, indicating that those can be extrapolated to HAe stars. In spite
of that, the accretion rate variations do not generally coincide with those
estimated from the line luminosities, suggesting that the empirical
calibrations are not useful to accurately quantify accretion rate variability.Comment: 14 pages, 7 Figures, Accepted in Ap
X-shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects in Lupus: Lithium, iron, and barium elemental abundances
With the purpose of performing a homogeneous determination of elemental
abundances for members of the Lupus T association, we analyzed three chemical
elements: lithium, iron, and barium. The aims were: to derive the Li abundance
for ~90% of known class II stars in the Lupus I, II, III, IV clouds; to perform
chemical tagging of a region where few Fe abundance measurements have been
obtained in the past, and no determination of the Ba content has been done up
to now. We also investigated possible Ba enhancement, as this element has
become increasingly interesting in the last years following the evidence of Ba
over-abundance in young clusters, the origin of which is still unknown. Using
X-shooter@VLT, we analyzed the spectra of 89 cluster members, both class II and
III stars. We measured the strength of the Li line and derived the abundance of
this element through equivalent width measurements and curves of growth. For
six class II stars we also measured the Fe and Ba abundances using the spectral
synthesis and the code MOOG. The veiling contribution was taken into account
for all three elements. We find a dispersion in the strength of the Li line at
low Teff and identify three targets with severe Li depletion. The nuclear age
inferred for these highly Li-depleted stars is around 15 Myr, which exceeds the
isochronal one. As in other star-forming regions, no metal-rich members are
found in Lupus, giving support to a recent hypothesis that the Fe abundance
distribution of most of the nearby young regions could be the result of a
common and widespread star formation episode involving the Galactic thin disk.
We find that Ba is over-abundant by ~0.7 dex with respect to the Sun. Since
current theoretical models cannot reproduce this Ba abundance pattern, we
investigated whether this unusually large Ba content might be related to
effects due to stellar parameters, stellar activity, and accretion.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in A&A;
abstract shortene
X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects: IV -- Accretion in low-mass stars and sub-stellar objects in Lupus
We present X-Shooter/VLT observations of a sample of 36 accreting low-mass
stellar and sub-stellar objects (YSOs) in the Lupus star forming region,
spanning a range in mass from ~0.03 to ~1.2Msun, but mostly with 0.1Msun <
Mstar < 0.5Msun. Our aim is twofold: firstly, analyse the relationship between
excess-continuum and line emission accretion diagnostics, and, secondly, to
investigate the accretion properties in terms of the physical properties of the
central object. The accretion luminosity (Lacc), and from it the accretion rate
(Macc), is derived by modelling the excess emission, from the UV to the
near-IR, as the continuum emission of a slab of hydrogen. The flux and
luminosity (Ll) of a large number of emission lines of H, He, CaII, etc.,
observed simultaneously in the range from ~330nm to 2500nm, were computed. The
luminosity of all the lines is well correlated with Lacc. We provide empirical
relationships between Lacc and the luminosity of 39 emission lines, which have
a lower dispersion as compared to previous relationships in the literature. Our
measurements extend the Pab and Brg relationships to Lacc values about two
orders of magnitude lower than those reported in previous studies. We confirm
that different methodologies to measure Lacc and Macc yield significantly
different results: Ha line profile modelling may underestimate Macc by 0.6 to
0.8dex with respect to Macc derived from continuum-excess measures. Such
differences may explain the likely spurious bi-modal relationships between Macc
and other YSOs properties reported in the literature. We derive Macc in the
range 2e-12 -- 4e-8 Msun/yr and conclude that Macc is proportional to
Mstar^1.8(+/-0.2), with a dispersion lower by a factor of about 2 than in
previous studies. A number of properties indicate that the physical conditions
of the accreting gas are similar over more than 5 orders of magnitude in Macc
X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects: II. Impact of chromospheric emission on accretion rate estimates
Context. The lack of knowledge of photospheric parameters and the level of
chromospheric activity in young low-mass pre-main sequence stars introduces
uncertainties when measuring mass accretion rates in accreting (Class II) Young
Stellar Objects. A detailed investigation of the effect of chromospheric
emission on the estimates of mass accretion rate in young low-mass stars is
still missing. This can be undertaken using samples of young diskless (Class
III) K and M-type stars. Aims. Our goal is to measure the chromospheric
activity of Class III pre main sequence stars to determine its effect on the
estimates of accretion luminosity (Lacc) and mass accretion rate (Macc) in
young stellar objects with disks. Methods. Using VLT/X-Shooter spectra we have
analyzed a sample of 24 non-accreting young stellar objects of spectral type
between K5 and M9.5. We identify the main emission lines normally used as
tracers of accretion in Class II objects, and we determine their fluxes in
order to estimate the contribution of the chromospheric activity to the line
luminosity. Results. We have used the relationships between line luminosity and
accretion luminosity derived in the literature for Class II objects to evaluate
the impact of chromospheric activity on the accretion rate measurements. We
find that the typical chromospheric activity would bias the derived accretion
luminosity by Lacc,noise< 10-3Lsun, with a strong dependence with the Teff of
the objects. The noise on Macc depends on stellar mass and age, and the typical
values of log(Macc,noise) range between -9.2 to -11.6Msun/yr. Conclusions.
Values of Lacc< 10-3Lsun obtained in accreting low-mass pre main sequence stars
through line luminosity should be treated with caution as the line emission may
be dominated by the contribution of chromospheric activity.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The origin of R CrA variability: A complex triple system hosting a disk
R~CrA is the brightest member of the Coronet star forming region and it is
the closest Herbig AeBe star with a spectrum dominated by emission lines. Its
luminosity has been monitored since the end of the 19th century, but the origin
of its variability, which shows a stable period of ~days, is
still unknown. We studied photometric and spectroscopic data for this star to
investigate the nature of the variability of R~CrA. We exploited the fact that
near infrared luminosity of the Herbig AeBe stars is roughly proportional to
the total luminosity of the stars to derive the absorption, and then mass and
age of R~CrA. In addition, we model the periodic modulation of the light curve
as due to partial attenuation of a central binary by a circumbinary disk. This
model reproduces very well the observations. We found that the central object
in R~CrA is a very young (~Myr), highly absorbed (~mag) binary; we obtain masses of ~M and
~M for the two components. We propose that the
secular decrease of the R~CrA apparent luminosity is due to a progressive
increase of the disk absorption. This might be related to precession of a
slightly inclined disk caused by the recently discovered M-dwarf companion.
Thus, R~CrA may be a triple system hosting a disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 14 pages, 11 figure
X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects in Lupus: Accretion properties of class II and transitional objects
We present the results of a study of the stellar and accretion properties of
the (almost) complete sample of class II and transitional YSOs in the Lupus I,
II, III and IV clouds, based on spectroscopic data acquired with the
VLT/X-Shooter spectrograph. Our study combines the dataset from our previous
work with new observations of 55 additional objects. We have investigated 92
YSO candidates in total, 11 of which have been definitely identified with giant
stars unrelated to Lupus. The stellar and accretion properties of the 81 bona
fide YSOs, which represent more than 90% of the whole class~II and transition
disc YSO population in the aforementioned Lupus clouds, have been homogeneously
and self-consistently derived, allowing for an unbiased study of accretion and
its relationship with stellar parameters. The accretion luminosity, Lacc,
increases with the stellar luminosity, Lstar, with an overall slope of ~1.6,
similar but with a smaller scatter than in previous studies. There is a
significant lack of strong accretors below Lstar~0.1Lsun, where Lacc is always
lower than 0.01Lstar. We argue that the Lacc-Lstar slope is not due to
observational biases, but is a true property of the Lupus YSOs. The
logMacc-logMstar correlation shows a statistically significant evidence of a
break, with a steeper relation for Mstar<0.2Msun and a flatter slope for higher
masses. The bimodality of the Macc-Mstar relation is confirmed with four
different evolutionary models used to derive the stellar mass. The bimodal
behaviour of the observed relationship supports the importance of modelling
self-gravity in the early evolution of the more massive discs, but other
processes, such as photo evaporation and planet formation during the YSO's
lifetime, may also lead to disc dispersal on different timescales depending on
the stellar mass. We also refined the empirical Lacc vs. Lline relationships.Comment: 43 pages, 22 figure
X-Shooter spectroscopy of young stellar objects III. Photospheric and chromospheric properties of Class III objects
We analyzed X-Shooter/VLT spectra of 24 ClassIII sources from three nearby
star-forming regions (sigmaOrionis, LupusIII, and TWHya). We determined the
effective temperature, surface gravity, rotational velocity, and radial
velocity by comparing the observed spectra with synthetic BT-Settl model
spectra. We investigated in detail the emission lines emerging from the stellar
chromospheres and combined these data with archival X-ray data to allow for a
comparison between chromospheric and coronal emissions. Both X-ray and Halpha
luminosity as measured in terms of the bolometric luminosity are independent of
the effective temperature for early-M stars but decline toward the end of the
spectral M sequence. For the saturated early-M stars the average emission level
is almost one dex higher for X-rays than for Halpha: log(L_x/L_bol) = -2.85 +-
0.36 vs. log(L_Halpha/L_bol) = -3.72 +- 0.21. When all chromospheric emission
lines (including the Balmer series up to H11, CaII HK, the CaII infrared
triplet, and several HeI lines) are summed up the coronal flux still dominates
that of the chromosphere, typically by a factor 2-5. Flux-flux relations
between activity diagnostics that probe different atmospheric layers (from the
lower chromosphere to the corona) separate our sample of active pre-main
sequence stars from the bulk of field M dwarfs studied in the literature. Flux
ratios between individual optical emission lines show a smooth dependence on
the effective temperature. The Balmer decrements can roughly be reproduced by
an NLTE radiative transfer model devised for another young star of similar age.
Future, more complete chromospheric model grids can be tested against this data
set.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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