No Arabic abstract
We find transient, transit-like dimming events within the K2 time series photometry of the young star RIK-210 in the Upper Scorpius OB association. These dimming events are variable in depth, duration, and morphology. High spatial resolution imaging revealed the star is single, and radial velocity monitoring indicated that the dimming events can not be due to an eclipsing stellar or brown dwarf companion. Archival and follow-up photometry suggest the dimming events are transient in nature. The variable morphology of the dimming events suggests they are not due to a single, spherical body. The ingress of each dimming event is always shallower than egress, as one would expect for an orbiting body with a leading tail. The dimming events are periodic and synchronous with the stellar rotation. However, we argue it is unlikely the dimming events could be attributed to anything on the stellar surface based on the observed depths and durations. Variable obscuration by a protoplanetary disk is unlikely on the basis that the star is not actively accreting and lacks the infrared excess associated with an inner disk. Rather, we explore the possibilities that the dimming events are due to magnetospheric clouds, a transiting protoplanet surrounded by circumplanetary dust and debris, eccentric orbiting bodies undergoing periodic tidal disruption, or an extended field of dust or debris near the corotation radius.
The region surrounding the well-known reflection nebula, NGC 7023, illuminated by a Herbig Be star, HD 200775, located in the dark cloud L1174 is studied in this work. Based on the distances and proper motion values from Gaia DR2 of 20 previously known young stellar object candidates, we obtained a distance of 335$pm$11 pc to the cloud complex L1172/1174. Using polarization measurements of the stars projected on the cloud complex, we show additional evidence for the cloud to be at $sim$ 335 pc distance. Using this distance and proper motion values of the YSO candidates, we searched for additional comoving sources in the vicinity of HD 200775 and found 20 new sources which show low infrared excess emission and are of age $sim$ 1 Myr. Among these, 10 YSO candidates and 4 newly identified comoving sources are found to show X-ray emission. Three of the four new sources for which we have obtained optical spectra show H$alpha$ in emission. About 80% of the total sources are found within $sim$ 1 pc distance from HD 200775. Spatial correlation of some of the YSO candidates with the Herschel dust column density peaks suggests that star formation is still active in the region and may have been triggered by HD 200775.
HD 54236 is a nearby, wide common-proper-motion visual pair that has been previously identified as likely being very young by virtue of strong X-ray emission and lithium absorption. Here we report the discovery that the brighter member of the wide pair, HD~54236A, is itself an eclipsing binary (EB), comprising two near-equal solar-mass stars on a 2.4 d orbit. It represents a potentially valuable opportunity to expand the number of benchmark-grade EBs at young stellar ages. Using new observations of Ca2H&K emission and lithium absorption in the wide K-dwarf companion, HD 54236B, we obtain a robust age estimate of 225 +/- 50 Myr for the system. This age estimate and Gaia proper motions show HD 54236 is associated with Theia~301, a newly discovered local stellar string, which itself may be related to the AB Dor moving group through shared stellar members. Applying this age estimate to AB~Dor itself alleviates reported tension between observation and theory that arises for the luminosity of the 90M_Jup star/brown dwarf AB Dor C when younger age estimates are used.
The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) Orion project is an experiment within the broader PTF survey, a systematic automated exploration of the sky for optical transients. Taking advantage of the wide field of view available using the PTF camera at the Palomar 48 telescope, 40 nights were dedicated in December 2009-January 2010 to perform continuous high-cadence differential photometry on a single field containing the young (7-10Myr) 25 Ori association. The primary motivation for the project is to search for planets around young stars in this region. The unique data set also provides for much ancillary science. In this first paper we describe the survey and data reduction pipeline, and present initial results from an inspection of the most clearly varying stars relating to two of the ancillary science objectives: detection of eclipsing binaries and young stellar objects. We find 82 new eclipsing binary systems, 9 of which we are candidate 25 Ori- or Orion OB1a-association members. Of these, 2 are potential young W UMa type systems. We report on the possible low-mass (M-dwarf primary) eclipsing systems in the sample, which include 6 of the candidate young systems. 45 of the binary systems are close (mainly contact) systems; one shows an orbital period among the shortest known for W UMa binaries, at 0.2156509 pm 0.0000071d, with flat-bottomed primary eclipses, and a derived distance consistent with membership in the general Orion association. One of the candidate young systems presents an unusual light curve, perhaps representing a semi-detached binary system with an inflated low-mass primary or a star with a warped disk, and may represent an additional young Orion member. Finally, we identify 14 probable new classical T-Tauri stars in our data, along with one previously known (CVSO 35) and one previously reported as a candidate weak-line T-Tauri star (SDSS J052700.12+010136.8).
We present the results of a search for stellar flares in the first data release from the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS). We have found 610 flares from 339 stars, with spectral types between F8 and M6, the majority of which belong to the Galactic thin disc. We have used the 13 second cadence NGTS lightcurves to measure flare properties such as the flare amplitude, duration and bolometric energy. We have measured the average flare occurrence rates of K and early to mid M stars and present a generalised method to measure these rates while accounting for changing detection sensitivities. We find that field age K and early M stars show similar flare behaviour, while fully convective M stars exhibit increased white-light flaring activity, which we attribute to their increased spin down time. We have also studied the average flare rates of pre-main sequence K and M stars, showing they exhibit increased flare activity relative to their main sequence counterparts.
The circumstellar environments of classical T Tauri stars are challenging to directly image because of their high star-to-disk contrast ratio. One method to overcome this is by using imaging polarimetry where scattered and consequently polarised starlight from the stars circumstellar disk can be separated from the unpolarised light of the central star. We present images of the circumstellar environment of SU Aur, a classical T Tauri star at the transition of T Tauri to Herbig stars. The images directly show that the disk extends out to ~500 au with an inclination angle of $sim$ 50$^circ$. Using interpretive models, we derived very small grains in the surface layers of its disk, with a very steep size- and surface-density distribution. Additionally, we resolved a large and extended nebulosity in our images that is most likely a remnant of the prenatal molecular cloud. The position angle of the disk, determined directly from our images, rules out a polar outflow or jet as the cause of this large-scale nebulosity.