Search for Keplerian periods in light variations of T Tauri stars and Herbig Ae stars

Abstract

Long-term, uniform series of UBVR observations of T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars obtained over 20 yr at the Maidanak Observatory as part of the ROTOR program are analyzed. We find a linear relationship between the characteristic variability time scale and the bolometric luminosity of the star+disk system: the higher the luminosity, the slower the brightness variations. This dependence is valid over a wide range of masses and luminosities, from T Tauri stars to Herbig Ae stars. On average, the variability time scale is one-quarter the Keplerian period at the dust-sublimation radius, which is known from interferometric observations. Some T Tauri stars have periods from 25 to 120 days, which are preserved over several observing seasons. These periods correspond to Keplerian orbits with semi-major axes from 0.14 to 0.52 AU. The results obtained provide indirect evidence for the existence of protoplanets in the gas-dust disks of stars in early stages of their evolution toward the main sequence.

References in corpus (12)

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• Results of the ROTOR-program. I. The long-term photometric variability of classical T Tauri stars
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• Periodic radial velocity variations in RU Lupi

Cited by in corpus (10)

• 3D MHD Simulations of Accretion onto Stars with Tilted Magnetic and Rotational Axes
• Accretion discs as regulators of stellar angular momentum evolution in the ONC and Taurus-Auriga
• Accretion-powered chromospheres in classical T Tauri stars
• The GRAVITY Young Stellar Object survey. VII. The inner dusty disks of T Tauri stars
• Rotation Effects in Classical T Tauri Stars
• Near-IR Spectroscopic Monitoring of Class I Protostars: Variability of Accretion and Wind Indicators
• The SPHERE view of three interacting twin disc systems in polarised light
• Modulated accretion in T Tauri star RY Tau -- stable MHD propeller or a planet at 0.2 AU?
• Variable Stars in Young Open Cluster NGC 2244
• Evidence of a substellar companion around a very young T Tauri star