No Arabic abstract
We analyse the evolution of a mildly inclined circumbinary disc that orbits an eccentric orbit binary by means of smoother particle hydrodynamic (SPH) simulations and linear theory. We show that the alignment process of an initially misaligned circumbinary disc around an eccentric orbit binary is significantly different than around a circular orbit binary and involves tilt oscillations. The more eccentric the binary, the larger the tilt oscillations and the longer it takes to damp these oscillations. A circumbinary disc that is only mildly inclined may increase its inclination by a factor of a few before it moves towards alignment. The results of the SPH simulations agree well with those of linear theory. We investigate the properties of the circumbinary disc/ring around KH 15D. We determine disc properties based on the observational constraints imposed by the changing binary brightness. We find that the inclination is currently at a local minimum and will increase substantially before setting to coplanarity. In addition, the nodal precession is currently near its most rapid rate. The recent observations that show a reappearance of Star B impose constraints on the thickness of the layer of obscuring material. Our results suggest that disc solids have undergone substantial inward drift and settling towards to disc midplane. For disc masses $sim 0.001 M_odot$, our model indicates that the level of disc turbulence is low $alpha ll 0.001$. Another possibility is that the disc/ring contains little gas.
KH 15D is a system which consists of a young, eccentric binary, and a circumbinary disk which obscures the binary as the disk precesses. We develop a self-consistent model that provides a reasonable fit to the photometric variability that was observed in the KH 15D system over the past 60 years. Our model suggests that the circumbinary disk has an inner edge $r_{rm in}lesssim 1 {rm au}$, an outer edge $r_{rm out} sim {rm a few au}$, and that the disk is misaligned relative to the stellar binary by $sim$5-16 degrees, with the inner edge more inclined than the outer edge. The difference between the inclinations (warp) and longitude of ascending nodes (twist) at the inner and outer edges of the disk are of order $sim$10 degrees and $sim$15 degrees, respectively. We also provide constraints on other properties of the disk, such as the precession period and surface density profile. Our work demonstrates the power of photometric data in constraining the physical properties of planet-forming circumbinary disks.
IRAS~04158+2805 has long been thought to be a very low mass T-Tauri star (VLMS) surrounded by a nearly edge-on, extremely large disc. Recent observations revealed that this source hosts a binary surrounded by an extended circumbinary disc with a central dust cavity. In this paper, we combine ALMA multi-wavelength observations of continuum and $^{12}$CO line emission, with H$alpha$ imaging and Keck astrometric measures of the binary to develop a coherent dynamical model of this system. The system features an azimuthal asymmetry detected at the western edge of the cavity in Band~7 observations and a wiggling outflow. Dust emission in ALMA Band 4 from the proximity of the individual stars suggests the presence of marginally resolved circumstellar discs. We estimate the binary orbital parameters from the measured arc of the orbit from Keck and ALMA astrometry. We further constrain these estimates using considerations from binary-disc interaction theory. We finally perform three SPH gas + dust simulations based on the theoretical constraints; we post-process the hydrodynamic output using radiative transfer Monte Carlo methods and directly compare the models with observations. Our results suggest that a highly eccentric $esim 0.5textrm{--}0.7$ equal mass binary, with a semi-major axis of $sim 55$ au, and small/moderate orbital plane vs. circumbinary disc inclination $thetalesssim 30^circ$ provides a good match with observations. A dust mass of $sim 1.5times 10^{-4} {rm M_odot}$ best reproduces the flux in Band 7 continuum observations. Synthetic CO line emission maps qualitatively capture both the emission from the central region and the non-Keplerian nature of the gas motion in the binary proximity.
We present ALMA observations of the $^{12}$CO, $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O J=2-1 transitions and the 1.3,mm continuum emission for the circumbinary disc around HD 142527, at an angular resolution of $approx$,0farcs3. We observe multiple spiral structures in intensity, velocity and velocity dispersion for the $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO gas tracers. A newly detected $^{12}$CO spiral originates from the dust horseshoe, and is rotating at super-Keplerian velocity or vertically ascending, whilst the inter-spiral gas is rotating at sub-Keplerian velocities. This new spiral possibly connects to a previously identified spiral, thus spanning > 360$^circ$. A spatial offset of ~30 au is observed between the $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO spirals, to which we hypothesize that the gas layers are propagating at different speeds (``surfing) due to a non-zero vertical temperature gradient. Leveraging the varying optical depths between the CO isotopologues, we reconstruct temperature and column density maps of the outer disc. Gas surface density peaks at r,$approx$,180,au, coincident with the peak of continuum emission. Here the dust grains have a Stokes number of $approx$,1, confirming radial and azimuthal trapping in the horseshoe. We measure a cavity radius at half-maximum surface density of $approx$,100,au, and a cavity eccentricity between 0.3 and 0.45.
Following two years of complete occultation of both stars by its opaque circumbinary ring, the binary T Tauri star KH 15D has abruptly brightened again during apastron phases, reaching I = 15 mag. Here, we show that the brightening is accompanied by a change in spectral class from K6/K7 (the spectral class of star A) to ~K1, and a bluing of the system in V-I by about 0.3 mag. A radial velocity measurement confirms that, at apastron, we are now seeing direct light from star B, which is more luminous and of earlier spectral class than star A. Evidently, the trailing edge of the occulting screen has just become tangent to one anse of star Bs projected orbit. This confirms a prediction of the precession models, supports the view that the tilted ring is self-gravitating, and ushers in a new era of the systems evolution that should be accompanied by the same kind of dramatic phenomena observed from 1995-2009. It also promotes KH 15D from a single-lined to a double-lined eclipsing binary, greatly enhancing its value for testing pre-main sequence models. The results of our study strengthen the case for truncation of the outer ring at around 4 AU by a sub-stellar object such as an extremely young giant planet. The system is currently at an optimal configuration for detecting the putative planet and we urge expedient follow-up observations.
KH 15D is a well-known spectroscopic binary because of its unique and dramatic photometric variability. The variability is explained by a circumbinary dust ring but the ring itself was never directly detected. We present a new interpretation of the double-peaked [O~{scriptsize I}],$lambda$6300 profiles as originating from the hot disk surface of KH 15D. By modeling these profiles, we measure emitting radii between $sim$0.5--5 au, basically a gaseous ring very similar in radial extent to the dust ring inferred from modeling the systems photometric variability. We also discuss the possibility that external photoevaporation driven by UV photons from the nearby massive star HD~47887 has truncated the outer edge of the disk to the observed value.