V. P. Grinin

Probing the accretion-ejection connection with VLTI/AMBER - High spectral resolution observations of the Herbig Ae star HD 163296

Context. Accretion and ejection are tightly connected and represent the fundamental mechanisms regulating star formation. However, the exact physical processes involved are not yet fully understood. Aims. We present high angular and spectral resolution observations of the Brγ emitting region in the Herbig Ae star HD 163296 (MWC 275) in order to probe the origin of this line and constrain the physical processes taking place at sub-AU scales in the circumstellar region. Methods. By means of VLTI-AMBER observations at high spectral resolution (R ∼ 12 000), we studied interferometric visibilities, wavelength-differential phases, and closure phases across the Brγ line of HD 163296. To constrain the physical origin of the Brγ line in Herbig Ae stars, all the interferometric observables were compared with the predictions of a line radiative transfer disc wind model. Results. The measured visibilities clearly increase within the Brγ line, indicating that the Brγ emitting region is more compact than the continuum. By fitting a geometric Gaussian model to the continuum-corrected Brγ visibilities, we derived a compact radius of the Brγ emitting region of ∼0.07 ± 0.02 AU (Gaussian half width at half maximum; or a ring-fit radius of ∼0.08 ± 0.02 AU). To interpret the observations, we developed a magneto-centrifugally driven disc wind model. Our best disc wind model is able to reproduce, within the errors, all the interferometric observables and it predicts a launching region with an outer radius of ∼0.04 AU. However, the intensity distribution of the entire disc wind emitting region extends up to ∼0.16 AU. Conclusions. Our observations, along with a detailed modelling of the Brγ emitting region, suggest that most of the Brγ emission in HD 163296 originates from a disc wind with a launching region that is over five times more compact than previous estimates of the continuum dust rim radius.

AMBER/VLTI high spectral resolution observations of the Brγ emitting region in HD 98922. A compact disc wind launched from the inner disc region

Context. High angular and spectral resolution observations can provide us with fundamental clues to the complex circumstellar structure of young stellar objects (YSOs) and to the physical processes taking place close to these sources. Aims. We analyse the main physical parameters and the circumstellar environment of the young Herbig Be star HD 98922. Methods. We present AMBER/VLTI high spectral resolution (R = 12 000) interferometric observations across the Brγ line, accompanied by UVES high-resolution spectroscopy and SINFONI-AO assisted near-infrared (NIR) integral field spectroscopic data. To interpret our observations, we develop a magneto-centrifugally driven disc-wind model. Results. Our analysis of the UVES spectrum shows that HD 98922 is a young (∼5 × 10 5 yr) Herbig Be star (SpT = B9V), located at a distance of 440± 60 pc, with a mass accretion rate ( u ( �� )( ( ◦ )

LBT/LUCIFER near-infrared spectroscopy of PV Cephei. An outbursting young stellar object with an asymmetric jet

Context. Young stellar objects (YSOs) occasionally experience enhanced accretion events, the nature of which is still poorly understood. The discovery of various embedded outbursting YSOs has recently questioned the classical definition of EXors and FUors. Aims. We present a detailed spectroscopic investigation of the young eruptive star PV Cep, to improve our understanding of its nature and characterise its circumstellar environment after its last outburst in 2004. Methods. The analysis of our medium-resolution spectroscopy in the near-infrared (NIR, 0.9–2.35 μm), collected in 2012 at the Large Binocular Telescope with the IR spectrograph LUCIFER, allows us to infer the main stellar parameters (visual extinction, accretion luminosity, mass accretion and ejection rates), and model the inner disc, jet, and wind. Results. The NIR spectrum displays several strong emission lines associated with accretion/ejection activity and circumstellar envi

Hydrogen lines as a diagnostic tool for studying multicomponent emitting regions in hot young stars: magnetosphere, X-wind, and disk wind

Infrared interferometric observations with high spatial and spectral resolution and their quantitative modeling provide us with a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of the circumstellar environment of young stars and the accretion-ejection process. The goal of this paper is to investigate various models of the emitting regions in young Herbig Ae/Be stars that consist of (i) a compact rotating magnetosphere; (ii) an X-wind; and (iii) a disk wind. These models can be used, for example, to quantitatively interpret line profile measurements and infrared interferometric observations with the AMBER instrument of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in the high spectral resolution mode (R = 12 000). VLTI/AMBER observations allow us to resolve the disk wind region and study the flux contribution of the unresolved magnetosphere and X-wind region to the total line flux. Analyzing the results of our nonLTE calculations, we conclude that the mechanisms of the different broadening of emission lines of different series include (1) the kinematic expansion due to the motion of the outflowing, accelerating gas in the magneto-centrifugal disk wind; (2) the Stark effect; and (3) the rotation of the magnetosphere. We also investigated extinction effects that can influence the shape of the line profiles. We considered the obscuration of the outer disk wind by an opaque dust and gas disk, the obscuration of the disk wind by a flared disk or by dust in the disk wind itself, and absorption of the star and disk continuum radiation in the disk wind along the line of sight. We show that due to extinction effects, the line profiles can change from double-peaked to single-peaked and P Cygni profiles. We studied the contribution of the different components of the stellar environment to different hydrogen emission lines and investigated how this contribution is dependent on the model parameters. The results of this study can be used for the detailed modeling of the emitting regions of individual young stars.

Brightness oscillations in models of young binary systems with low-mass secondary components

We consider a model for the cyclic brightness variations of a young star with a low-mass companion that accretes matter from the remnants of a protostellar cloud. At small inclinations of the binary orbit to the line of sight, the streams of matter and the density waves excited in the circumbinary disk can screen the primary component of the binary from the observer. To study these phenomena, we have computed grids of hydrodynamic models for binary systems by the SPH method based on which we have calculated the phase light curves for the different orientations of the orbit. The model parameters were varied within the following ranges: the component mass ratio q = 0.01–0.1 and the eccentricity e = 0–0.5. We adopted optical grain characteristics typical of circumstellar dust. Our computations have shown that the brightness oscillations with orbital phase can have a complex structure. The amplitudes and shapes of the light curves depend strongly on the inclination of the binary orbit and its orientation relative to the observer and on the accretion rate. The results of our computations are used to analyze the cyclic activity of UX Ori stars.

Photometric Activity of the UX Ori Star V1184 Tau in the Optical and Near-Infrared Spectral Ranges

We present the results of our infrared JHK photometry for the unusual UX Ori star V1184 Tau. Comparison with previous observations performed before the catastrophic decline in its optical brightness in 2004 (when the star faded approximately by a factor of 100) has shown the following: the star faded approximately by 2m and 1m in the J and H bands, respectively, while its K brightness remained almost constant. This pattern of infrared variability seems incompatible with the mechanism of variable circumstellar extinction responsible for the dramatic decline in the star’s optical brightness. However, if this mechanism is considered in the context of an accretion disk model with a puffed-up inner rim in the dust sublimation zone and with a disk wind producing an expanding gas-dust atmosphere above the disk surface, then the paradox can be resolved. In this model, the photometric activity of V1184 Tau in both visible and near-infrared spectral ranges, including the sharp brightness decline in 2004, can be explained by an increase in the geometric thickness of the disk in the dust sublimation zone caused by enhanced accretion of circumstellar matter onto the star. There is reason to believe that such events occur periodically and result from the presence of a companion to V1184 Tau moving in a highly eccentric orbit. The offered interpretation of the photometric activity of V1184 Tau allows this object to be classified as an UX Ori star based on the observed photometric effect and, at the same time, as a FU Ori star based on the pattern of the physical process that produced this effect.

Investigating the origin and spectroscopic variability of the near-infrared H i lines in the Herbig star VV Ser

The origin of the near-infrared (NIR) HI emission lines in young stellar objects are not yet understood. To probe it, we present multi-epoch LBT-LUCIFER spectroscopic observations of the Pa{\delta}, Pa{\beta}, and Br{\gamma} lines observed in the Herbig star VVSer, along with VLTI-AMBER Br{\gamma} spectro-interferometric observations at medium resolution. Our spectroscopic observations show line profile variability in all the HI lines. The strongest variability is observed in the redshifted part of the line profiles. The Br{\gamma} spectro-interferometric observations indicate that the Br{\gamma} line emitting region is smaller than the continuum emitting region. To interpret our results, we employed radiative transfer models with three different flow configurations: magnetospheric accretion, a magneto-centrifugally driven disc wind, and a schematic bipolar outflow. Our models suggest that the HI line emission in VVSer is dominated by the contribution of an extended wind, perhaps a bipolar outflow. Although the exact physical process for producing such outflow is not known, this model is capable of reproducing the averaged single-peaked line profiles of the HI lines. Additionally, the observed visibilities, differential and closure phases are best reproduced when a wind is considered. Nevertheless, the complex line profiles and variability could be explained by changes in the relative contribution of the magnetosphere and/or winds to the line emission. This might indicate that the NIR HI lines are formed in a complex inner disc region where inflow and outflow components might coexist. Furthermore, the contribution of each of these mechanisms to the line appears time variable, suggesting a non-steady accretion/ejection flow.

Brackett γ radiation from the inner gaseous accretion disk, magnetosphere, and disk wind region of Herbig AeBe stars

Various disk and outflow components such as the magnetosphere, the disk wind, the gaseous accretion disk, and other regions may contribute to the hydrogen line emission of young Herbig AeBe stars. Non-LTE modeling was performed to show the influence of the model parameters of each emitting region on the intensity and shape of the Br γ line profile, to present the spatial brightness distribution of each component, and to compare the contribution of each component to the total line emission. The modeling shows that the disk wind is the dominant contributor to the Br γ line rather than the magnetosphere and inner gaseous accretion disk. The contribution of the disk wind region to the H α line is also considered.

Disk Wind in Young Binaries with Low-Mass Secondary Components: Optical Observational Manifestations

We consider a model of a young binary with a low-mass secondary component. Mass accretion from the remnants of the protostellar cloud onto the binary components is assumed to take place in accordance with current models; i.e., it proceeds mainly onto the low-mass component. The accretion is accompanied by mass outflow (disk wind), whose low-velocity component can be partially captured by the primary component. As a result, an asymmetric common envelope is formed. Its densest part is involved in the orbital motion of the secondary and can periodically shield the primary component of the binary from the observer. Assuming a standard dust-to-gas ratio for the disk wind (1: 100), we calculated the possible photometric effects from such eclipses and showed that they could be observed even at moderate accretion rates onto the low-mass binary component, ∼10−8–10−9M⊙ per year. In this case, the parameters of the minima depend on the model of the disk wind, on the ratio of its characteristic velocity to the orbital velocity of the secondary, and on its orbital inclination to the line of sight. These results can form the basis for interpreting a wide range of phenomena observed in young stars, such as the activity cycles in UX Ori stars, the unusually broad minima in some young eclipsing systems, etc., and for searching for substellar objects and massive protoplanets. In addition, the peripheral parts of the gas and dust disk around a young binary can fall within the shadow zone produced by the opaque part of the common envelope. In such cases, a shadow from the common envelope must be observed on the disk; this shadow must move over the disk following the orbital motion of the low-mass component. Detection and investigation of such structures in the images of protoplanetary disks may become a method of searching for protoplanets and studying binaries at early stages of their evolution.

On the Nature of the Photometric Activity of the T Tauri Star V1184 Tau

We present our 2-year-long photometric (V, Rc, Ic) observations of the T Tauri star V1184 Tau. They show that the relatively quiet “photometric life” of this object, which ended in 2004 with a sharp brightness decline by four magnitudes, was succeeded by a qualitatively new (in nature) period of activity characterized by high-amplitude irregular photometric variability. Judging by its color variations, the object belongs to the class of UX Ori stars and, hence, variable circumstellar extinction is responsible for its brightness variations. Moreover, the (V−Ic)/V color-magnitude diagram for the object is identical to that for UX Ori itself, suggesting that the optical properties of dust grains in the circumstellar space of these stars are similar. At the same time, V1184 Tau is quite dissimilar to UX Ori stars in its light curve, variability amplitude (reaching 4.5 magnitudes in the V band), and some other parameters.