KH15D: a star eclipsed by a large scale dusty vortex?

Abstract

We propose that the large photometric variations of KH15D are due to an eclipsing swarm of solid particles trapped in giant gaseous vortex rotating at \~0.2 AU from the star. The efficiency of the capture-in-vortex mechanism easily explains the observed large optical depth. The weaker opacity at mid-eclipse is consistent with a size segregation of the particles toward the center of the vortex. This dusty structure must extend over ~1/3 of an orbit to account for the long eclipse duration. The estimated size of the trapped particles is found to range from 1 to 10cm, consistent with the gray extinction of the star. The observations of KH15D support the idea that giant vortices can grow in circumstellar disks and play a central role in planet formation.

Accepted in ApJ Letters - 4 pages - 2 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Turbulence in Accretion Disks. Vorticity Generation and Angular Momentum Transport via the Global Baroclinic Instability
• Fine Structure in the Circumstellar Environment of a Young, Solar-like Star: the Unique Eclipses of KH 15D
• Natural Coronagraphic Observations of the Eclipsing T Tauri System KH 15D: Evidence for Accretion and Bipolar Outflow in a WTTS
• Large-scale Vortices in Protoplanetary Disks: On the observability of possible early stages of planet formation

Cited by in corpus (18)

• Simulations of dust-trapping vortices in protoplanetary discs
• KH 15D: Gradual Occultation of a Pre-Main-Sequence Binary
• The Orbit and Occultations of KH 15D
• KH 15D: A Spectroscopic Binary
• The History of the Mysterious Eclipses of KH 15D: Asiago Observatory, 1967-1982
• The Disappearing Act of KH 15D: Photometric Results from 1995 to 2004
• Spectropolarimetry and Modeling of the Eclipsing T Tauri Star KH 15D
• Spectroscopy of Molecular Hydrogen Emission from KH 15D
• H${}_2$ Emission Nebulosity Associated with KH 15D
• Gap and rings carved by vortices in protoplanetary dust
• The History of the Mysterious Eclipses of KH 15D II. Asiago, Kiso, Kitt Peak, Mt. Wilson, Palomar, Tautenburg and Rozhen Observatories, 1954-97
• Complex Variability of the H$\alpha$ Emission Line Profile of the T Tauri Binary System KH 15D: The Influence of Orbital Phase, Occultation by the Circumbinary Disk, and Accretion Phenomenae
• Grey Milky Way Extinction from SDSS Stellar Photometry
• Blue and IR Light Curves of the Mysterious Pre-Main Sequence Star V582 Mon (KH 15D) from 1955 to 1970
• Extending the Model of KH 15D: Estimating the Effects of Forward Scattering and Curvature of the Occulting Ring Edge
• Modelling UX Ori Star Eclipses based on Spectral Observations with the Nordic Optical Telescope. I. RR Tau
• Planetesimal growth in turbulent discs before the onset of gravitational instability
• Evidence for Companion-Induced Secular Changes in the Turbulent Disk of a Be Star in the LMC MACHO Database