2024ApJ...976...42J -
Astrophys. J., 976, 42 (2024/November-3)
VLT/MUSE Detection of Accretion/Ejection Associated with the Close Stellar Companion in the HT Lup System.
JORQUERA S., BONNEFOY M., PEREZ L.M., CHAUVIN G., AGUINAGA A., DOUGADOS C., JULO R., DEMARS D., ANDREWS S.M., RICCI L., ZHU Z., KURTOVIC N.T., CUELLO N., BAI X.-N., BIRNSTIEL T., DULLEMOND C. and GUZMAN V.V.
Abstract (from CDS):
The accretion/ejection processes in T Tauri stars are fundamental to their physical evolution, while also impacting the properties and evolution of the circumstellar material at a time when planet formation takes place. To date, the characterization of ongoing accretion processes in stellar pairs at 5-50 au scales has been challenging as high-angular resolution spectrographs are required to extract the spectral features of each component. We present the analysis of spectroscopic observations of the tight (160 mas, 25 au) T Tauri system HT Lup A/B, obtained with MUSE at the Very Large Telescope in 2021 March and July. We focus on constraining the accretion/ejection processes and variability of the secondary component HT Lup B by searching for accretion tracers by applying high-resolution spectral differential imaging techniques. We retrieve strong (signal-to-noise ratio > 5) Hα, Hβ, and [O I]λ6300 emission in both epochs. The Hα and Hβ line fluxes showcase high variability, with variations up to 200%-300% between epochs. The fluxes are consistent with accretion rates of 3× 10–9M⊙ yr–1 and 8 × 10–10M⊙ yr–1 for the first and second epochs, respectively. We attribute the increased accretion activity during the first night to a “burst-like” event, followed by a relaxation period more representative of the common accretion activity of the system. The [O I]λ6300 line profiles remain relatively similar between epochs and suggest ejection rates on the order of 10–9-10–10M⊙ yr–1, compatible with moderate disk wind emission. Our results also indicate that the accretion processes of HT Lup B are compatible with Classical T Tauri stars, unlike previous classifications.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Binary stars - Close binary stars - High contrast spectroscopy - High contrast techniques - Direct imaging - Stellar accretion - Accretion - Young stellar objects - T Tauri stars
Simbad objects:
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