Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userAn Improved HR Diagram for the Orion Trapezium Cluster
92
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
In this paper, we present a study of the Trapezium cluster in Orion. We analyze flux-calibrated VLT/MUSE spectra of 361 stars to simultaneously measure the spectral types, reddening, and the optical veiling due to accretion. We find that the extinction law from Cardelli et al. (1989) with a total-to-selective extinction value of $R_{rm V}=$5.5 is more suitable for this cluster. For 68% of the sample the new spectral types are consistent with literature spectral types within 2 subclasses, but as expected, we derive systematically later types than the literature by one to two subclasses for the sources with significant accretion levels. Here we present an improved Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram of the Trapezium cluster, in which the contamination by optical veiling on spectral types and stellar luminosities has been properly removed. A comparison of the locations of the stars in the H-R diagram with the non-magnetic and magnetic pre-main sequence evolutionary tracks indicates an age of 1--2~Myr. The magnetic pre-main sequence evolutionary tracks can better explain the luminosities of the low-mass stars. In the H-R diagram, the cluster exhibits a large luminosity spread ($sigma$(Log~$L_{star}/L_{odot})sim$0.3). By collecting a sample of 14 clusters/groups with different ages, we find that the luminosity spread tends to be constant ($sigma$(Log~$L_{star}/L_{odot})sim$0.2--0.25) after 2~Myr, which suggests that age spread is not the main cause of the spread. There are $sim$0.1~dex larger luminosity spreads for the younger clusters, e.g., the Trapezium cluster, than the older clusters, which can be explained by the starspots, accretion history and circumstellar disk orientations.
rate research
Read More
We compare the observed size distribution of circum stellar disks in the Orion Trapezium cluster with the results of $N$-body simulations in which we incorporated an heuristic prescription for the evolution of these disks. In our simulations, the sizes of stellar disks are affected by close encounters with other stars (with disks). We find that the observed distribution of disk sizes in the Orion Trapezium cluster is excellently reproduced by truncation due to dynamical encounters alone. The observed distribution appears to be a sensitive measure of the past dynamical history of the cluster, and therewith on the conditions of the cluster at birth. The best comparison between the observed disk size distribution and the simulated distribution is realized with a cluster of $N = 2500pm500$ stars with a half-mass radius of about 0.5,pc in virial equilibrium (with a virial ratio of $Q = 0.5$, or somewhat colder $Q simeq 0.3$), and with a density structure according to a fractal dimension of $F simeq 1.6$. Simulations with these parameters reproduce the observed distribution of circum stellar disks in about 0.2--0.5,Myr.
The Chandra High Energy Transmission Gratings (HETG) Orion Legacy Project (HOLP) is the first comprehensive set of observations of a very young massive stellar cluster which provides high resolution X-ray spectra of very young stars over a wide mass range (0.7 - 2.3 Msun). In this paper, we focus on the six brightest X-ray sources with T Tauri stellar counterparts which are well-characterized at optical and infra-red wavelengths. All stars show column densities which are substantially smaller than expected from optical extinction indicating that the sources are located on the near side of the cluster with respect to the observer as well as that these stars are embedded in more dusty environments. Stellar X-ray luminosities are well above $10^{31}$ erg/s, in some cases exceeding $10^{32}$ erg/s for a substantial amount of time. The stars during these observations show no flares but are persistently bright. The spectra can be well fit with two temperature plasma components of 10 MK and 40 MK, of which the latter dominates the flux by a ratio 6:1 on average. The total EMs range between 3 - 8$times10^{54}$ cm$^{-3}$ and are comparable to active coronal sources. Limits on the forbidden to inter-combination line ratios in the He-Like K-shell lines show that we observe a predominantely optically thin plasma with electron densities below $10^{12}$ cm$^{-3}$. Observed abundances compare well with active coronal sources underlying the coronal nature of these sources. The surface flux in this sample of 0.6 to 2.3 Msun classical T Tauri stars shows that coronal activity and possibly coronal loop size increase significantly between ages 0.1 to 10 Myrs.
As part of the Accretion Discs in H$alpha$ with OmegaCAM (ADHOC) survey, we imaged in r, i and H-alpha a region of 12x8 square degrees around the Orion Nebula Cluster. Thanks to the high-quality photometry obtained, we discovered three well-separated pre-main sequences in the color-magnitude diagram. The populations are all concentrated towards the clusters center. Although several explanations can be invoked to explain these sequences we are left with two competitive, but intriguing, scenarios: a population of unresolved binaries with an exotic mass ratio distribution or three populations with different ages. Independent high-resolution spectroscopy supports the presence of discrete episodes of star formation, each separated by about a million years. The stars from the two putative youngest populations rotate faster than the older ones, in agreement with the evolution of stellar rotation observed in pre-main sequence stars younger than 4 Myr in several star forming regions. Whatever the final explanation, our results prompt for a revised look at the formation mode and early evolution of stars in clusters.
Ages and masses of young stars are often estimated by comparing their luminosities and effective temperatures to pre-main sequence stellar evolution tracks, but magnetic fields and starspots complicate both the observations and evolution. To understand their influence, we study the heavily-spotted weak-lined T-Tauri star LkCa 4 by searching for spectral signatures of radiation originating from the starspot or starspot groups. We introduce a new methodology for constraining both the starspot filling factor and the spot temperature by fitting two-temperature stellar atmosphere models constructed from Phoenix synthetic spectra to a high-resolution near-IR IGRINS spectrum. Clearly discernable spectral features arise from both a hot photospheric component $T_{mathrm{hot}} sim4100$ K and to a cool component $T_{mathrm{cool}} sim2700-3000$ K, which covers $sim80%$ of the visible surface. This mix of hot and cool emission is supported by analyses of the spectral energy distribution, rotational modulation of colors and of TiO band strengths, and features in low-resolution optical/near-IR spectroscopy. Although the revised effective temperature and luminosity make LkCa 4 appear much younger and lower mass than previous estimates from unspotted stellar evolution models, appropriate estimates will require the production and adoption of spotted evolutionary models. Biases from starspots likely afflict most fully convective young stars and contribute to uncertainties in ages and age spreads of open clusters. In some spectral regions starspots act as a featureless veiling continuum owing to high rotational broadening and heavy line-blanketing in cool star spectra. Some evidence is also found for an anti-correlation between the velocities of the warm and cool components.
The path towards robust near-infrared extensions of stellar population models involves the confrontation between empirical and synthetic stellar spectral libraries across the wavelength ranges of photospheric emission. [...] With its near-UV to near-IR coverage, the X-shooter Spectral Library (XSL) allows us to examine to what extent models succeed in reproducing stellar energy distributions (SEDs) and stellar absorption line spectra simultaneously. This study compares the stellar spectra of XSL with the PHOENIX spectra of the Gottingen Spectral Library. The comparison is carried out both separately in the three arms of the X-shooter spectrograph, and jointly across the whole spectrum. When adopting the stellar parameters published with data release DR2 of XSL, we find that the SEDs of the models are consistent with those of the data at Teff > 5000 K. Below 5000 K, there are significant discrepancies in the SEDs. When leaving the stellar parameters free to adjust, satisfactory representations of the SEDs are obtained down to about 4000 K. However, in particular below 5000 K and in the UVB spectral range, strong local residuals associated with intermediate resolution spectral features are then seen; the necessity of a compromise between reproducing the line spectra and reproducing the SEDs leads to dispersion between the parameters favored by various spectral ranges. We describe the main trends observed and we point out localized offsets between the parameters preferred in this global fit to the SEDs and the parameters in DR2. These depend in a complex way on position in the HR diagram (HRD). We estimate the effect of the offsets on bolometric corrections as a function of position in the HRD and use this for a brief discussion of their impact on the studies of stellar populations. [abridged]
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
