No Arabic abstract
The primary star in the young stellar object (YSO) binary CO Ori displays UX Ori-type variability: irregular, high amplitude optical and near-infrared photometric fluctuations where flux minima coincide with polarization maxima. This is attributed to changes in local opacity. In CO Ori A, these variations exhibit a 12.4 yr cycle. Here, we investigate the physical origin of the fluctuating opacity and its periodicity using interferometric observations of CO Ori obtained using VLTI/GRAVITY. Continuum K-band circum-primary and circum-secondary emission are marginally spatially resolved for the first time while Br$gamma$ emission is detected in the spectrum of the secondary. We estimate a spectral type range for CO Ori B of K2-K5 assuming visual extinction, $A_{rm{V}}=2$ and a distance of 430 pc. From geometric modelling of the continuum visibilities, the circum-primary emission is consistent with a central point source plus a Gaussian component with a full-width-half-maximum of 2.31$pm$0.04 milliarcseconds (mas), inclined at 30.2$pm$2.2$^{circ}$ and with a major axis position angle of 40$pm$6$^{circ}$. This inclination is lower than that reported for the discs of other UX Ori-type stars, providing a first indication that the UX Ori phenomena may arise through fluctuations in circumstellar material exterior to a disc, e.g. in a dusty outflow. An additional wide, symmetric Gaussian component is required to fit the visibilities of CO Ori B, signifying a contribution from scattered light. Finally, closure phases of CO Ori A were used to investigate whether the 12.4 yr periodicity is associated with an undetected third component, as has been previously suggested. We rule out any additional companions contributing more than 3.6% to the K-band flux within ~7.3-20 mas of CO Ori A.
The secondary of the famous young binary RW Aur is much less studied than the primary. To compensate this shortcoming, we present here the results of UBVRIJHK photometric, VRI polarimetric and optical spectral observations of RW Aur B. The star demonstrates chaotic brightness variations in the optical band with irregular short (~ 1 day) dimmings with an amplitude $Delta V$ up to $1.3^{rm m}.$ The dimmings are accompanied with an increase in the linear polarization (up to 3 per cent in the I band), presumably due to the scattering of the stellar radiation by dust in the circumstellar disc that means that RW Aur B can be classified as a UX Ori type star. We concluded that the observed excess emission at $lambda lesssim 0.45$ $mu$m and longward $approx$ 2 $mu$m as well as a variability of fluxes and profiles of HI, HeI and NaI D emission lines are due to the accretion process. At the same time, emission components of Ca II lines indicate that RW Aur B has a powerful chromosphere. Assuming the solar elemental abundances, we found the following parameters of the star: $T_{rm eff} = 4100-4200$ K, $A_{rm V}=0.6 pm 0.1$ (out of the dimming events), $L_* approx 0.6$ $L_odot,$ $R_* approx 1.5$ $R_odot,$ $Mapprox 0.85$ M$_odot,$ $dot M_{rm acc}<5times 10^{-9}$ M$_odot$ yr$^{-1}.$ Finally, we discuss possible reasons for the different levels of the accretion activity of RW Aur binary components and present arguments in favour of the fact that they are gravitationally bound.
The UX Ori type variables (named after the prototype of their class) are intermediate-mass pre-main sequence objects. One of the most likely causes of their variability is the obscuration of the central star by orbiting dust clouds. We investigate the structure of the circumstellar environment of the UX~Ori star V1026 Sco (HD 142666) and test whether the disk inclination is large enough to explain the UX Ori variability. We observed the object in the low-resolution mode of the near-infrared interferometric VLTI/AMBER instrument and derived H- and K-band visibilities and closure phases. We modeled our AMBER observations, published Keck Interferometer observations, archival MIDI/VLTI visibilities, and the spectral energy distribution using geometric and temperature-gradient models. Employing a geometric inclined-ring disk model, we find a ring radius of 0.15 +- 0.06 AU in the H band and 0.18 +- 0.06 AU in the K band. The best-fit temperature-gradient model consists of a star and two concentric, ring-shaped disks. The inner disk has a temperature of 1257^{+133}_{-53} K at the inner rim and extends from 0.19 +- 0.01 AU to 0.23 +- 0.02 AU. The outer disk begins at 1.35^{+0.19}_{-0.20} AU and has an inner temperature of 334^{+35}_{-17} K. The derived inclination of 48.6^{+2.9}_{-3.6}deg approximately agrees with the inclination derived with the geometric model (49 +- 5deg in the K band and 50 +- 11deg in the H band). The position angle of the fitted geometric and temperature-gradient models are 163 +- 9deg (K band; 179 +- 17deg in the H band) and 169.3^{+4.2}_{-6.7}deg, respectively. The narrow width of the inner ring-shaped model disk and the disk gap might be an indication for a puffed-up inner rim shadowing outer parts of the disk. The intermediate inclination of ~50deg is consistent with models of UX Ori objects where dust clouds in the inclined disk obscure the central star.
We report the discovery of mid-infrared excess emission in the young object RZ Psc. The excess constitutes ~8% of its Lbol, and is well fit by a single 500K black-body implying a dust free region within 0.7AU for optically thick dust. The object displays dust obscuration events (UXOR behaviour) with a time-scale that suggests dusty material on orbits of 0.5AU. We also report a 12.4 year cyclical photometric variability which can be interpreted as due to perturbations in the dust distribution. The system is characterized by a high inclination, marginal extinction (during bright photometric states), a single temperature for the warm dust, and an age estimate which puts the star beyond the formation stage. We propose that the dust occultation events present a dynamical view of an active asteroid belt whose collisional products sporadically obscure the central star.
The eclipses of UX Ori type stars by large-scale disc humps are studied in detail. The influence of the hump extension on the eclipse depth and parameters of the linear polarization is modelled and compared with a compact cloud eclipse model. Eclipses were investigated both for the flared disc and for the disc with a puffing-up in the dust sublimation zone. It is shown that the large-scale hump eclipse may be significantly deeper than a compact cloud eclipse and show a greater linear polarization degree compared to it. It is also demonstrated that the hump extension together with the disc puffing-up can strongly affect the degree of polarization and colour index of the star during the eclipse. The position angle of the linear polarization may also change markedly during and after an eclipse by a large scale hump for the model with a puffed-up inner rim. Also, in this model, the maximum degree of the linear polarization can be achieved not at the brightness minimum, but closer to the end of the eclipse.
We report new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 3 (86-100 GHz; $sim$80 mas angular resolution) and Band 4 (146-160 GHz; $sim$50 mas angular resolution) observations of the dust continuum emission towards the archetypal and ongoing accretion burst young stellar object FU Ori, which simultaneously covered its companion, FU Ori S. In addition, we present near-infrared (2-2.45 $mu$m) observations of FU Ori taken with the General Relativity Analysis via VLT InTerferometrY (GRAVITY; $sim$1 mas angular resolution) instrument on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). We find that the emission in both FU Ori and FU Ori S at (sub)millimeter and near infrared bands is dominated by structures inward of $sim$10 au radii. We detected closure phases close to zero from FU Ori with VLTI/GRAVITY, which indicate the source is approximately centrally symmetric and therefore is likely viewed nearly face-on. Our simple model to fit the GRAVITY data shows that the inner 0.4 au radii of the FU Ori disk has a triangular spectral shape at 2-2.45 $mu$m, which is consistent with the H$_{2}$O and CO absorption features in a $dot{M}sim$10$^{-4}$ $M_{odot},yr^{-1}$, viscously heated accretion disk. At larger ($sim$0.4-10 au) radii, our analysis shows that viscous heating may also explain the observed (sub)millimeter and centimeter spectral energy distribution when we assume a constant, $sim$10$^{-4}$ $M_{odot},yr^{-1}$ mass inflow rate in this region. This explains how the inner 0.4 au disk is replenished with mass at a modest rate, such that it neither depletes nor accumulates significant masses over its short dynamic timescale. Finally, we tentatively detect evidence of vertical dust settling in the inner 10 au of the FU Ori disk, but confirmation requires more complete spectral sampling in the centimeter bands.