ABSTRACT
This paper exploits spectropolarimetric data of the classical T Tauri star CI Tau collected with ESPaDOnS at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, with the aims of detecting and characterizing ...the large-scale magnetic field that the star hosts, and of investigating how the star interacts with the inner regions of its accretion disc through this field. Our data unambiguously show that CI Tau has a rotation period of 9.0 d, and that it hosts a strong, mainly poloidal large-scale field. Accretion at the surface of the star concentrates within a bright high-latitude chromospheric region that spatially overlaps with a large dark photospheric spot, in which the radial magnetic field reaches −3.7 kG. With a polar strength of −1.7 kG, the dipole component of the large-scale field is able to evacuate the central regions of the disc up to about 50 per cent of the co-rotation radius (at which the Keplerian orbital period equals the stellar rotation period) throughout our observations, during which the average accretion rate was found to be unusually high. We speculate that the magnetic field of CI Tau is strong enough to sustain most of the time a magnetospheric gap extending to at least 70 per cent of the co-rotation radius, which would explain why the rotation period of CI Tau is as long as 9 d. Our results also imply that the 9 d radial velocity (RV) modulation that CI Tau exhibits is attributable to stellar activity, and thus that the existence of the candidate close-in massive planet CI Tau b to which these RV fluctuations were first attributed needs to be reassessed with new evidence.
Context. Magnetospheric accretion has been thoroughly studied in young stellar systems with full non-evolved accretion disks, but it is poorly documented for transition disk objects with large inner ...cavities. Aims. We aim at characterizing the star-disk interaction and the accretion process onto the central star of LkCa 15, a prototypical transition disk system with an inner dust cavity that is 50 au wide. Methods. We obtained quasi-simultaneous photometric and spectropolarimetric observations of the system over several rotational periods. We analyzed the system light curve and associated color variations, as well as changes in spectral continuum and line profile to derive the properties of the accretion flow from the edge of the inner disk to the central star. We also derived magnetic field measurements at the stellar surface. Results. We find that the system exhibits magnetic, photometric, and spectroscopic variability with a period of about 5.70 days. The light curve reveals a periodic dip, which suggests the presence of an inner disk warp that is located at the corotation radius at about 0.06 au from the star. Line profile variations and veiling variability are consistent with a magnetospheric accretion model where the funnel flows reach the star at high latitudes. This leads to the development of an accretion shock close to the magnetic poles. All diagnostics point to a highly inclined inner disk that interacts with the stellar magnetosphere. Conclusions. The spectroscopic and photometric variability on a timescale of days to weeks of LkCa 15 is remarkably similar to that of AA Tau, the prototype of periodic dippers. We therefore suggest that the origin of the variability is a rotating disk warp that is located at the inner edge of a highly inclined disk close to the star. This contrasts with the moderate inclination of the outer transition disk seen on the large scale and thus provides evidence for a significant misalignment between the inner and outer disks of this planet-forming transition disk system.
ABSTRACT
Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) stars are the intermediate-mass analogues of low-mass T Tauri stars. Both groups may present signs of accretion, outflow, and IR excess related to the presence of ...circumstellar discs. Magnetospheric accretion models are generally used to describe accreting T Tauri stars, which are known to have magnetic fields strong enough to truncate their inner discs and form accretion funnels. Since few HAeBe stars have had magnetic fields detected, they may accrete through a different mechanism. Our goal is to analyse the morphology and variability of emission lines that are formed in the circumstellar environment of HAeBe stars and use them as tools to understand the physics of the accretion/ejection processes in these systems. We analyse high-resolution (R ∼ 47 000) UVES/ESO spectra of two HAeBe stars – HD 261941 (HAe) and V590 Mon (HBe) that are members of the young (∼3 Myr) NGC 2264 stellar cluster and present indications of sufficient circumstellar material for accretion and ejection processes to occur. We determine stellar parameters with synthetic spectra, and also analyse and classify circumstellar lines such as H α, H β, and He i λ5875.7, according to their morphologies. We model the H α mean line profile, using a hybrid Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model that includes a stellar magnetosphere and a disc wind, and find signatures of magnetically driven outflow and accretion in HD 261941, while the H α line of V590Mon seems to originate predominantly in a disc wind.
Context. The low spin rates measured for solar-type stars at an age of a few Myr (~10% of the break-up velocity) indicate that some mechanism of angular momentum regulation must be at play in the ...early pre-main sequence. This may be associated with magnetospheric accretion and star-disk interaction, as suggested by observations that disk-bearing objects (CTTS) are slower rotators than diskless sources (WTTS) in young star clusters. Aims. We characterize the rotation properties for members of the star-forming region NGC 2264 (~3 Myr) as a function of mass, and investigate the accretion-rotation connection at an age where about 50% of the stars have already lost their disks. Methods. We examined a sample of 500 cluster members (40% with disks, 60% without disks), distributed in mass between ~0.15 and 2 M⊙, whose photometric variations were monitored in the optical for 38 consecutive days with the CoRoT space observatory. Light curves were analyzed for periodicity using three different techniques: the Lomb-Scargle periodogram, the autocorrelation function and the string-length method. Periods were searched in the range between 0.17 days (i.e., 4 h, twice the data sampling adopted) and 19 days (half the total time span). Period detections were confirmed using a variety of statistical tools (false alarm probability, Q-statistics), as well as visual inspection of the direct and phase-folded light curves. Results. About 62% of sources in our sample were found to be periodic; the period detection rate is 70% among WTTS and 58% among CTTS. The vast majority of periodic sources exhibit rotational periods shorter than 13 d. The period distribution obtained for the cluster consists of a smooth distribution centered around P = 5.2 d with two peaks, located respectively at P = 1–2 d and at P = 3–4 d. A separate analysis of the rotation properties for CTTS and WTTS indicates that the P = 1–2 d peak is associated with the latter, while both groups contribute to the P = 3–4 d peak. The comparison between CTTS and WTTS supports the idea of a rotation-accretion connection: their respective rotational properties are statistically different, and CTTS rotate on average more slowly than WTTS. We also observe that CTTS with the strongest signatures of accretion (largest UV flux excesses) tend to exhibit slow rotation rates; a clear dearth of fast rotators with strong accretion signatures emerges from our sample. This connection between rotation properties and accretion traced via UV excess measurements is consistent with earlier findings, revealed by IR excess measurements, that fast rotators in young star clusters are typically devoid of dusty disks. On the other hand, WTTS span the whole range of rotation periods detected across the cluster. We also investigated whether the rotation properties we measure for NGC 2264 members show any dependence on stellar mass or on stellar inner structure (radiative core mass to total mass ratio). No statistically significant correlation emerged from our analysis regarding the second issue; however, we did infer some evidence of a period-mass trend, lower-mass stars spinning on average faster than higher-mass stars, although our data did not allow us to assess the statistical significance of such a trend beyond the 10% level. Conclusions. This study confirms that disks impact the rotational properties of young stars and influence their rotational evolution. The idea of disk-locking, recently tested in numerical models of the rotational evolution of young stars between 1 and 12 Myr, may be consistent with the pictures of rotation and rotation-accretion connection that we observe for the NGC 2264 cluster. However, the origin of the several substructures that we observe in the period distribution, notably the multiple peaks, deserves further investigation.
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we present an analysis of near-infrared spectropolarimetric and velocimetric data of the young M dwarf AU Mic, collected with SPIRou at the Canada–France–Hawaii telescope from ...2019 to 2022, mostly within the SPIRou Legacy Survey. With these data, we study the large- and small-scale magnetic field of AU Mic, detected through the unpolarized and circularly polarized Zeeman signatures of spectral lines. We find that both are modulated with the stellar rotation period (4.86 d), and evolve on a time-scale of months under differential rotation and intrinsic variability. The small-scale field, estimated from the broadening of spectral lines, reaches 2.61 ± 0.05 kG. The large-scale field, inferred with Zeeman–Doppler imaging from Least-Squares Deconvolved profiles of circularly polarized and unpolarized spectral lines, is mostly poloidal and axisymmetric, with an average intensity of 550 ± 30 G. We also find that surface differential rotation, as derived from the large-scale field, is ≃30 per cent weaker than that of the Sun. We detect the radial velocity (RV) signatures of transiting planets b and c, although dwarfed by activity, and put an upper limit on that of candidate planet d, putatively causing the transit-timing variations of b and c. We also report the detection of the RV signature of a new candidate planet (e) orbiting further out with a period of 33.39 ± 0.10 d, i.e. near the 4:1 resonance with b. The RV signature of e is detected at 6.5σ while those of b and c show up at ≃4σ, yielding masses of $10.2^{+3.9}_{-2.7}$ and $14.2^{+4.8}_{-3.5}$ M⊕ for b and c, and a minimum mass of $35.2^{+6.7}_{-5.4}$ M⊕ for e.
Context.
Statistical studies of the spectral signatures of jets and winds in young stars are crucial to characterize outflows and understand their impact on disk and stellar evolution. The young, ...open cluster NGC 2264 contains hundreds of well-characterized classical T Tauri stars (CTTS), being thus an ideal site for these statistical studies. Its slightly older age than star forming regions studied in previous works, such as Taurus, allows us to investigate outflows in a different phase of CTTS evolution.
Aims.
We search for correlations between the OI
λ
6300 line, a well-known tracer of jets and winds in young stars, and stellar, disk and accretion properties in NGC 2264, aiming to characterize the outflow phenomena that occur within the circumstellar environment of young stars.
Methods.
We analyzed FLAMES spectra of 184 stars, detecting the OI
λ
6300 line in 108 CTTSs and two Herbig AeBe stars. We identified the main features of this line: a high-velocity component (HVC), and a broad and narrow low-velocity components (BLVC and NLVC). We calculated luminosities and kinematic properties of these components, then compared them with known stellar and accretion parameters.
Results.
The luminosity of the OI
λ
6300 line and its components correlate positively with the stellar and accretion luminosity. The HVC is only detected among systems with optically thick inner disks; the BLVC is most common among thick disk systems and rarer among systems with anemic disks and transition disks; and the NLVC is detected among systems with all types of disks, including transition disks. Our BLVCs present blueshifts of up to 50 km s
−1
and widths consistent with disk winds originating between ~0.05 and ~0.5 au from the central object, while the NLVCs in our sample have widths compatible with an origin between ~0.5 and ~5 au, in agreement with previous studies in Taurus.
A comparison of OI
λ
6300 profiles with CoRoT light curves shows that the HVC is found most often among sources with irregular, aperiodic photometric variability, usually associated with CTTSs accreting in an unstable regime. No stellar properties (T
eff
, mass, rotation) appear to significantly influence any property of protosellar jets. We find jet velocities on average similar to those found in Taurus.
Conclusions.
We confirm earlier findings in Taurus which favor an inner MHD disk wind as the origin of the BLVC, while there is no conclusive evidence that the NLVC traces photoevaporative disk winds. The OI
λ
6300 line profile shows signs of evolving as the disk disperses, with the HVC and BLVC disappearing as the inner disk becomes optically thin, in support of the scenario of inside-out gas dissipation in the inner disk.
Modulation Theory Alencar, Marcelo Sampaio de
2022, 2018, 2022-09-01, 2018-09-01
eBook
In recent years, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted, both in industry and academia, towards the design, performance analysis and evaluation of modulation schemes to be used in wireless ...and optical networks, towards the development of the next and future generations of mobile cellular communication systems. Modulation Theory is intended to serve as a complementary textbook for courses dealing with Modulation Theory or Communication Systems, but also as a professional book, for engineers who need to update their knowledge in the communications area. The modulation aspects presented in the book use modern concepts of stochastic processes, such as autocorrelation and power spectrum density, which are novel for undergraduate texts or professional books, and provides a general approach for the theory, with real life results, applied to professional design. This text is suitable for the undergraduate as well as the initial graduate levels of Electrical Engineering courses, and is useful for the professional who wants to review or get acquainted with the a modern exposition of the modulation theory. The books covers signal representations for most known waveforms, Fourier analysis, and presents an introduction to Fourier transform and signal spectrum, including the concepts of convolution, autocorrelation and power spectral density, for deterministic signals. It introduces the concepts of probability, random variables and stochastic processes, including autocorrelation, cross-correlation, power spectral and cross-spectral densities, for random signals, and their applications to the analysis of linear systems. This chapter also includes the response of specific non-linear systems, such as power amplifiers. The book presents amplitude modulation with random signals, including analog and digital signals, and discusses performance evaluation methods, presents quadrature amplitude modulation using random signals. Several modulation schemes are discussed, including
ABSTRACT
We report results of a spectropolarimetric monitoring of the young Sun-like star V1298 Tau based on data collected with the near-infrared spectropolarimeter SPIRou at the ...Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope between late 2019 and early 2023. Using Zeeman–Doppler Imaging and the Time-dependent Imaging of Magnetic Stars methods on circularly polarized spectra, we reconstructed the large-scale magnetic topology of the star (and its temporal evolution), found to be mainly poloidal and axisymmetric with an average strength varying from 90 to 170 G over the ∼3.5 yr of monitoring. The magnetic field features a dipole whose strength evolves from 85 to 245 G, and whose inclination with respect to the stellar rotation axis remains stable until 2023 where we observe a sudden change, suggesting that the field may undergo a polarity reversal, potentially similar to those periodically experienced by the Sun. Our data suggest that the differential rotation shearing the surface of V1298 Tau is about 1.5 times stronger than that of the Sun. When coupling our data with previous photometric results from K2 and TESS and assuming circular orbits for all four planets, we report a 3.9σ detection of the radial velocity signature of the outermost planet (e), associated with a most probable mass, density, and orbital period of $M_\mathrm{e}=0.95^{+0.33}_{-0.24}$ MꝜ, $\rho _\mathrm{e}=1.66^{+0.61}_{-0.48}$$\rm g\, cm^{-3}$, and Pe = 53.0039 ± 0.0001 d, respectively. For the three inner planets, we only derive 99 per cent confidence upper limits on their mass of 0.44, 0.22, and 0.25 MꝜ, for b, c, and d, respectively.
Context.
Classical T Tauri stars are young low-mass systems still accreting material from their disks. These systems are dynamic on timescales of hours to years. The observed variability can help us ...infer the physical processes that occur in the circumstellar environment.
Aims.
In this work, we aim at understanding the dynamics of the magnetic interaction between the star and the inner accretion disk in young stellar objects. We present the case of the young stellar system V2129 Oph, which is a well-known T Tauri star with a K5 spectral type that is located in the
ρ
Oph star formation region at a distance of 130 ± 1 pc.
Methods.
We performed a time series analysis of this star using high-resolution spectroscopic data at optical wavelengths from CFHT/ESPaDOnS and ESO/HARPS and at infrared wavelengths from CFHT/SPIRou. We also obtained simultaneous photometry from REM and ASAS-SN. The new data sets allowed us to characterize the accretion-ejection structure in this system and to investigate its evolution over a timescale of a decade via comparisons to previous observational campaigns.
Results.
We measure radial velocity variations and recover a stellar rotation period of 6.53 days. However, we do not recover the stellar rotation period in the variability of various circumstellar lines, such as H
α
and H
β
in the optical or HeI 10830 Å and Pa
β
in the infrared. Instead, we show that the optical and infrared line profile variations are consistent with a magnetospheric accretion scenario that shows variability with a period of about 6.0 days, shorter than the stellar rotation period. Additionally, we find a period of 8.5 days in H
α
and H
β
lines, probably due to a structure located beyond the corotation radius, at a distance of ∼0.09 au. We investigate whether this could be accounted for by a wind component, twisted or multiple accretion funnel flows, or an external disturbance in the inner disk.
Conclusions.
We conclude that the dynamics of the accretion-ejection process can vary significantly on a timescale of just a few years in this source, presumably reflecting the evolving magnetic field topology at the stellar surface.
ABSTRACT
We present near-infrared spectropolarimetric observations of a sample of 43 weakly to moderately active M dwarfs, carried with SPIRou at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope in the framework ...of the SPIRou Legacy Survey from early 2019 to mid-2022. We use the 6700 circularly polarised spectra collected for this sample to investigate the longitudinal magnetic field and its temporal variations for all sample stars, from which we diagnose, through quasi-periodic Gaussian process regression, the periodic modulation and longer-term fluctuations of the longitudinal field. We detect the large-scale field for 40 of our 43 sample stars, and infer a reliable or tentative rotation period for 38 of them, using a Bayesian framework to diagnose the confidence level at which each rotation period is detected. We find rotation periods ranging from 14 to over 60 d for the early-M dwarfs, and from 70 to 200 d for most mid- and late-M dwarfs (potentially up to 430 d for one of them). We also find that the strength of the detected large-scale fields does not decrease with increasing period or Rossby number for the slowly rotating dwarfs of our sample as it does for higher-mass, more active stars, suggesting that these magnetic fields may be generated through a different dynamo regime than those of more rapidly rotating stars. We also show that the large-scale fields of most sample stars evolve on long time-scales, with some of them globally switching sign as stars progress on their putative magnetic cycles.