Mid-IR Observations of T Tauri stars: Probing the Star-Disk Connection in Rotational Evolution

Abstract

We present mid-IR N-band $(λ_{eff} = 10.2\micron)$ photometry of a carefully selected sample of T Tauri stars thought to be single from the Taurus-Auriga molecular cloud. Infrared excesses in these stars are generally attributed to circumstellar dust-disks. Combining observations at 2.16$\micron$ (K${}_s$-band) and 10.2$\micron$ (N-band) we probe a region in the circumstellar dust-disk from a few stellar radii through the terrestrial planet zone (0.02-1.0AU). By analyzing the distribution of the $(K_s-N)$ color index with respect to previously measured photometric rotation periods we investigate what role circumstellar disks play in the rotational evolution of the central star. The resulting positive correlation between these two variables is consistent with the notion that a star-disk interaction facilitates the regulation of angular momentum during the T Tauri stage. We also demonstrate, how including non-single stars in such an analysis will \textit{weaken} any correlation in the relation between $(K_s-N)$ color and period. To further understand disk properties we also present SEDs for a few objects with new ground based M-band $(λ_{eff} = 4.8\micron)$ and Q-band $(λ_{eff} = 20\micron)$ data and compare them to a geometrically thin, optically-thick disk model.

arXiv comment9 pages, 4 figures

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• Accretion discs as regulators of stellar angular momentum evolution in the ONC and Taurus-Auriga
• Exploring the Effects of Stellar Rotation and Wind Clearing: Debris Disks Around F Stars
• No Transition Disk? Infrared Excess, PAH, H2, and X-rays from the Weak-Lined T Tauri Star DoAr 21
• Nonradial and nonpolytropic astrophysical outflows IX. Modeling T Tauri jets with a low mass-accretion rate
• Photometric search for variable stars in young open cluster Berkeley 59
• Constraints to the magnetospheric properties of T Tauri stars - II. The Mg II ultraviolet feature
• A deep optical/near-infrared catalog of Serpens