6,906 research outputs found
Investigating the rotational evolution of young, low mass stars using Monte Carlo simulations
We investigate the rotational evolution of young stars through Monte Carlo
simulations. We simulate 280,000 stars, each of which is assigned a mass, a
rotational period, and a mass accretion rate. The mass accretion rate depends
on mass and time, following power-laws indices 1.4 and -1.5, respectively. A
mass-dependent accretion threshold is defined below which a star is considered
as diskless, which results in a distribution of disk lifetimes that matches
observations. Stars are evolved at constant angular spin rate while accreting
and at constant angular momentum when they become diskless. We recover the
bimodal period distribution seen in several young clusters. The short period
peak consists mostly of diskless stars and the long period one is mainly
populated by accreting stars. Both distributions present a long tail towards
long periods and a population of slowly rotating diskless stars is observed at
all ages. We reproduce the observed correlations between disk fraction and spin
rate, as well as between IR excess and rotational period. The period-mass
relation we derive from the simulations exhibits the same global trend as
observed in young clusters only if we release the disk locking assumption for
the lowest mass stars. We find that the time evolution of median specific
angular momentum follows a power law index of -0.65 for accreting stars and of
-0.53 for diskless stars, a shallower slope that results from a wide
distribution of disk lifetimes. Using observationally-documented distributions
of disk lifetimes, mass accretion rates, and initial rotation periods, and
evolving an initial population from 1 to 12 Myr, we reproduce the main
characteristics of pre-main sequence angular momentum evolution, which supports
the disk locking hypothesis. (abridged)Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Rotational Mixing and Lithium Depletion
I review basic observational features in Population I stars which strongly
implicate rotation as a mixing agent; these include dispersion at fixed
temperature in coeval populations and main sequence lithium depletion for a
range of masses at a rate which decays with time. New developments related to
the possible suppression of mixing at late ages, close binary mergers and their
lithium signature, and an alternate origin for dispersion in young cool stars
tied to radius anomalies observed in active young stars are discussed. I
highlight uncertainties in models of Population II lithium depletion and
dispersion related to the treatment of angular momentum loss. Finally, the
origins of rotation are tied to conditions in the pre-main sequence, and there
is thus some evidence that enviroment and planet formation could impact stellar
rotational properties. This may be related to recent observational evidence for
cluster to cluster variations in lithium depletion and a connection between the
presence of planets and stellar lithium depletion.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, to appear in proceedings of IAU Symp. 268, in
pres
The Magnetic Fields of Classical T Tauri Stars
We report new magnetic field measurements for 14 classical T Tauri stars
(CTTSs). We combine these data with one previous field determination in order
to compare our observed field strengths with the field strengths predicted by
magnetospheric accretion models. We use literature data on the stellar mass,
radius, rotation period, and disk accretion rate to predict the field strength
that should be present on each of our stars according to these magnetospheric
accretion models. We show that our measured field values do not correlate with
the field strengths predicted by simple magnetospheric accretion theory. We
also use our field strength measurements and literature X-ray luminosity data
to test a recent relationship expressing X-ray luminosity as a function of
surface magnetic flux derived from various solar feature and main sequence star
measurements. We find that the T Tauri stars we have observed have weaker than
expected X-ray emission by over an order of magnitude on average using this
relationship. We suggest the cause for this is actually a result of the very
strong fields on these stars which decreases the efficiency with which gas
motions in the photosphere can tangle magnetic flux tubes in the corona.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figure
MHD simulations of disk-star interaction
We discuss a number of topics relevant to disk-magnetosphere interaction and
how numerical simulations illuminate them. The topics include: (1)
disk-magnetosphere interaction and the problem of disk-locking; (2) the wind
problem; (3) structure of the magnetospheric flow, hot spots at the star's
surface, and the inner disk region; (4) modeling of spectra from 3D funnel
streams; (5) accretion to a star with a complex magnetic field; (6) accretion
through 3D instabilities; (7) magnetospheric gap and survival of protoplanets.
Results of both 2D and 3D simulations are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, Star-Disk Interaction in Young Stars,
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume
243. See animations at http://astro.cornell.edu/~romanova/projects.htm and at
http://astro.cornell.edu/us-rus
A 10-micron Search for Inner-Truncated Disks Among Pre-Main-Sequence Stars With Photometric Rotation Periods
We use mid-IR (primarily 10 m) photometry as a diagnostic for the
presence of disks with inner cavities among 32 pre-main sequence stars in Orion
and Taurus-Auriga for which rotation periods are known and which do not show
evidence for inner disks at near-IR wavelengths. Disks with inner cavities are
predicted by magnetic disk-locking models that seek to explain the regulation
of angular momentum in T Tauri stars. Only three stars in our sample show
evidence for excess mid-IR emission. While these three stars may possess
truncated disks consistent with magnetic disk-locking models, the remaining 29
stars in our sample do not. Apparently, stars lacking near-IR excesses in
general do not possess truncated disks to which they are magnetically coupled.
We discuss the implications of this result for the hypothesis of
disk-regulated angular momentum. Evidently, young stars can exist as slow
rotators without the aid of present disk-locking, and there exist very young
stars already rotating near breakup velocity whose subsequent angular momentum
evolution will not be regulated by disks. Moreover, we question whether disks,
when present, truncate in the manner required by disk-locking scenarios.
Finally, we discuss the need for rotational evolution models to take full
account of the large dispersion of rotation rates present at 1 Myr, which may
allow the models to explain the rotational evolution of low-mass pre-main
sequence stars in a way that does not depend upon braking by disks.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
The effect of landfills on rural residential property values: Some empirical evidence.
Abstract
The question of whether solid waste landfills affect residential property values has long been a subject of debate. Past research has resulted in mixed conclusions. The current study examines six landfills, which differ in size, operating status, and history of contamination. The effect of each landfill is estimated by the use of multiple regression. In five of the landfills, no statistically significant evidence of an effect was found. In the remaining case, evidence of an effect was found, indicating that houses in close proximity to this landfill suffered an average loss of about six percent in value
SIM PlanetQuest Key Project Precursor Observations to Detect Gas Giant Planets Around Young Stars
We present a review of precursor observing programs for the SIM PlanetQuest
Key project devoted to detecting Jupiter mass planets around young stars. In
order to ensure that the stars in the sample are free of various sources of
astrometric noise that might impede the detection of planets, we have initiated
programs to collect photometry, high contrast images, interferometric data and
radial velocities for stars in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. We
have completed a high contrast imaging survey of target stars in Taurus and the
Pleiades and found no definitive common proper motion companions within one
arcsecond (140 AU) of the SIM targets. Our radial velocity surveys have shown
that many of the target stars in Sco-Cen are fast rotators and a few stars in
Taurus and the Pleiades may have sub-stellar companions. Interferometric data
of a few stars in Taurus show no signs of stellar or sub-stellar companions
with separations of <5 mas. The photometric survey suggests that approximately
half of the stars initially selected for this program are variable to a degree
(1 sigma>0.1 mag) that would degrade the astrometric accuracy achievable for
that star. While the precursor programs are still a work in progress, we
provide a comprehensive list of all targets ranked according to their viability
as a result of the observations taken to date. By far, the observable that
moves the most targets from the SIM-YSO program is photometric variability.Comment: Accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society
of the Pacific, 25 pages, 9 figure
Dynamical Masses of Young Stars in Multiple Systems
We present recent measurements of the orbital motion in the young binaries DF
Tau and ZZ Tau, and the hierarchical triple Elias 12, that were obtained with
the Fine Guidance Sensors on the HST and at the Keck Observatory using adaptive
optics. Combining these observations with previous measurements from the
literature, we compute preliminary orbital parameters for DF Tau and ZZ Tau. We
find that the orbital elements cannot yet be determined precisely because the
orbital coverage spans only about 90 degr in position angle. Nonetheless, the
range of possible values for the period and semi-major axis already defines a
useful estimate for the total mass in DF Tau and ZZ Tau, with values of
0.90{+0.85}{-0.35} M_sun and 0.81{+0.44}{-0.25} M_sun, respectively, at a
fiducial distance of 140 pc.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A
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