An Unusual Eclipse of a Pre-Main Sequence Star in IC 348

Abstract

A solar-like pre-main sequence star (TJ 108 = H 187 = LRLL 35 = HMW 15) in the extremely young cluster IC 348 has been found, which apparently experienced an eclipse lasting ~3.5 years, much longer than has ever been detected for any normal eclipsing binary. The light curve is flat-bottomed and rather symmetric, with a depth of 0.66 mag in Cousins I. During eclipse, the system reddened by \~0.17 mag in R-I. We argue that the eclipsing body is not a star because of the small probability of detecting an eclipse in what would be a very widely separated binary. Instead, it appears that the eclipse was caused by a circumstellar or circumbinary cloud or disk feature which occulted the star, or one of its components, if it is a binary system. We emphasize the importance of more detailed study of this object, which appears to be a new member of a small class of pre-main sequence stars whose variability can be firmly linked to occultation by circumstellar (or circumbinary) matter.

13 pages, 2 figures

References in corpus (4)

• A Census of the Young Cluster IC 348
• Eclipses by a Circumstellar Dust Feature in the Pre-Main Sequence Star KH15D
• Fine Structure in the Circumstellar Environment of a Young, Solar-like Star: the Unique Eclipses of KH 15D
• A Variability Study of Pre-Main Sequence Stars in the Extremely Young Cluster IC 348

Cited by in corpus (8)

• CSI 2264: Simultaneous optical and infrared light curves of young disk-bearing stars in NGC 2264 with CoRoT and Spitzer-- evidence for multiple origins of variability
• A Multi-Year Photometric Study of IC 348
• The unusual pre-main-sequence star V718 Per (HMW 15)
• Long-Term Photometry of IC 348 with the YETI Network
• Modulation of Circumstellar Extinction in a Young Binary System with a Low-Mass Companion in a Noncoplanar Orbit
• Inhomogeneous dust eclipses in young stars. The case of CQ Tauri
• The Recurrent Eclipse of an Unusual Pre--Main-Sequence Star in IC 348
• Interpretation of a Variable Reflection Nebula Associated with HBC 340 and HBC 341 in NGC 1333