No Arabic abstract
FUors are young stellar objects experiencing large optical outbursts due to highly enhanced accretion from the circumstellar disk onto the star. FUors are often surrounded by massive envelopes, which play a significant role in the outburst mechanism. Conversely, the subsequent eruptions might gradually clear up the obscuring envelope material and drive the protostar on its way to become a disk-only T Tauri star. Here we present an APEX $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO survey of eight southern and equatorial FUors. We measure the mass of the gaseous material surrounding our targets. We locate the source of the CO emission and derive physical parameters for the envelopes and outflows, where detected. Our results support the evolutionary scenario where FUors represent a transition phase from envelope-surrounded protostars to classical T Tauri stars.
FU Orionis-type objects (FUors) are low-mass pre-main sequence stars undergoing a temporary, but significant increase of mass accretion rate from the circumstellar disk onto the protostar. It is not yet clear what triggers the accretion bursts and whether the disks of FUors are in any way different from disks of non-bursting young stellar objects. Motivated by this, we conducted a 1.3 mm continuum survey of ten FUors and FUor-like objects with ALMA, using both the 7 m array and the 12 m array in two different configurations to recover emission at the widest possible range of spatial scales. We detected all targeted sources and several nearby objects as well. To constrain the disk structure, we fit the data with models of increasing complexity from 2D Gaussian to radiative transfer, enabling comparison with other samples modeled in a similar way. The radiative transfer modeling gives disk masses that are significantly larger than what is obtained from the measured millimeter fluxes assuming optically thin emission, suggesting that the FUor disks are optically thick at this wavelength. In comparison with samples of regular Class II and Class I objects, the disks of FUors are typically a factor of 2.9-4.4 more massive and a factor of 1.5-4.7 smaller in size. A significant fraction of them (65-70%) may be gravitationally unstable.
EX Lupi-type objects (EXors) form a sub-class of T Tauri stars, defined by sudden sporadic flare-ups of 1-5 magnitudes at optical wavelengths. These eruptions are attributed to enhanced mass accretion from the circumstellar disk to the star, and may constitute important events in shaping the structure of the inner disk and the forming planetary system. Although disk properties must play a fundamental role in driving the outbursts, they are surprisingly poorly known. In order to characterize the dust and gas components of EXor disks, here we report on observations of the $^{12}$CO J=3-2 and 4-3 lines, and the $^{13}$CO 3-2 line in EX Lup, the prototype of the EXor class. We reproduce the observed line fluxes and profiles with a line radiative transfer model, and compare the obtained parameters with corresponding ones of other T Tauri disks.
The earliest phases of star formation are characterised by intense mass accretion from the circumstellar disk to the central star. One group of young stellar objects, the FU Orionis-type stars exhibit accretion rate peaks accompanied by bright eruptions. The occurrence of these outbursts might solve the luminosity problem of protostars, play a key role in accumulating the final star mass, and have a significant effect on the parameters of the envelope and the disk. In the framework of the Structured Accretion Disks ERC project, we are conducting a systematic investigation of these sources with millimeter interferometry to examine whether they represent normal young stars in exceptional times or they are unusual objects. Our results show that FU Orionis-type stars can be similar to both Class I and Class II systems and may be in a special evolutionary phase between the two classes with their infall-driven episodic eruptions being the main driving force of the transition.
We present the results of high-resolution (R $ge$ 30,000) optical and near-infrared spectroscopic monitoring observations of a FU Orionis-type object, V960 Mon, which underwent an outburst in 2014 November. We have monitored this object with the Bohyunsan Optical Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) and the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) since 2014 December. Various features produced by a wind, disk, and outflow/jet were detected. The wind features varied over time and continually weakened after the outburst. We detected double-peaked line profiles in the optical and near-infrared, and the line widths tend to decrease with increasing wavelength, indicative of Keplerian disk rotation. The disk features in the optical and near-infrared spectra fit well with G-type and K-type stellar spectra convolved with a kernel to account for the maximum projected disk rotation velocity of about 40.3$pm$3.8 km s$^{-1}$ and 36.3$pm$3.9 km s$^{-1}$, respectively. We also report the detection of [S II] and H$_{2}$ emission lines, which are jet/outflow tracers and rarely found in FUors.
Like other young stellar objects (YSOs), FU Ori-type stars have been detected as strong X-ray emitters. However, little is known about how the outbursts of these stars affect their X-ray properties. We assemble available X-ray data from XMM Newton and Chandra observations of 16 FU Ori stars, including a new XMM Newton observation of Gaia 17bpi during its optical rise phase. Of these stars, six were detected at least once, while 10 were non-detections, for which we calculate upper limits on intrinsic X-ray luminosity ($L_X$) as a function of plasma temperature ($kT$) and column density ($N_H$). The detected FU Ori stars tend to be more X-ray luminous than typical for non-outbursting YSOs, based on comparison to a sample of low-mass stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster. FU Ori stars with high $L_X$ have been observed both at the onset of their outbursts and decades later. We use the Kaplan-Meier estimator to investigate whether the higher X-ray luminosities for FU Ori stars is characteristic or a result of selection effects, and we find the difference to be statistically significant ($p<0.01$) even when non-detections are taken into account. The additional X-ray luminosity of FU Ori stars relative to non-outbursting YSOs cannot be explained by accretion shocks, given the high observed plasma temperatures. This suggests that, for many FU Ori stars, either 1) the outburst leads to a restructuring of the magnetosphere in a way that enhances X-ray emission, or 2) FU Ori outbursts are more likely to occur among YSOs with the highest quiescent X-ray luminosity.