Astronomy:KH 15D

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Short description: Binary star system in the constellation Monoceros

Coordinates: Sky map 6h 41m 10.3387s, +9° 28′ 33.4310″

KH 15D
NGC 2264 KH 15D.jpg
KH 15D in NGC 2264
Credit: ESO
Observation data
Equinox J2000.0]] (ICRS)
Constellation Monoceros
Right ascension  6h 41m 10.31s[1]
Declination +9° 28′ 33.2″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 15.5 - 21.5[2]
Characteristics
A
Evolutionary stage Pre-main-sequence
Spectral type K7[3]
Apparent magnitude (V) 16.039±0.003[4]
Apparent magnitude (R) 15.257±0.005[4]
Apparent magnitude (I) 14.489±0.001[4]
Apparent magnitude (J) 13.504±0.017[4]
Apparent magnitude (H) 12.825±0.015[4]
Apparent magnitude (K) 12.541±0.014[4]
Variable type T Tauri star
B
Evolutionary stage Pre-main-sequence
Spectral type K1±0.5[5]
Apparent magnitude (V) 15.509±0.009[4]
Apparent magnitude (R) 14.776±0.008[4]
Apparent magnitude (I) 14.198±0.009[4]
Apparent magnitude (J) 13.285±0.010[4]
Apparent magnitude (H) 12.570±0.013[4]
Apparent magnitude (K) 12.421±0.022[4]
Variable type T Tauri star
Astrometry
A
Parallax (π)1.27 ± 0.08[6][7] mas
Distance773+50.0
−43.6
[8] pc
Absolute magnitude (MV)6.756±0.055[4]
B
Parallax (π)1.27 ± 0.08[6][7] mas
Distance773+50.0
−43.6
[8] pc
Absolute magnitude (MV)6.226±0.056[4]
Orbit
PrimaryB
CompanionA
Period (P)48.37 days[3]
Semi-major axis (a)0.25 AU[9]
Eccentricity (e)0.574±0.017[9]
Inclination (i)92.5±2.5[9]°
Details
A
Mass0.715±0.005[4] M
Radius1.41±0.05[4] R
Temperature3970±40[4] K
B
Mass0.74+0.09
−0.04
[4] M
Radius1.52±0.16[4] R
Temperature4140±155[4] K
Other designations
Database references
SIMBADdata

KH 15D (V582 Monocerotis), described as a winking star because of its unusual dips in brightness,[11] is a binary T Tauri star system embedded in a circumbinary disk. It is a member of the young open cluster NGC 2264, located about 2,500 light-years (770 pc) from the Sun in the constellation of Monoceros.

Discovery

The unique brightness variations of KH 15D were discovered at Wesleyan University's Van Vleck Observatory in 1995 by Dr. William Herbst and his then-master's student Kristin Kearns.[12] The star was found to alternate, on a 48.37-day period[3] between a brighter "on" state and a fainter "off" state that was less than 4% of the bright state (or up to 96% dimmed). As the years went by, the star spent more and more time "off", such that by 2010 it was always in the faint state, although still periodically variable. In 2012 it unexpectedly began to "wink" on and off again and has now entered a phase where its "on" state is almost twice as bright as it was in the mid-1990s (see light curve).

Hypotheses

A consensus model of this puzzling behavior has emerged, which attributes the winking to the rising and setting of one star relative to the edge of a circumbinary ring that occults part of the orbit.[13][14][15][16] Precession of the ring has caused the gradual evolution of the winking behavior as shown in the diagrams below. Radial velocity measurements confirmed the system as a spectroscopic binary[17] composed of two weak-lined T Tauri stars.[18]

The orbit of the binary system is nearly edge-on to our line of sight and the circumbinary disk is tilted with respect to that orbit, resulting in nodal precession. At the time of the 1996 observation only one star (designated star A) was visible while the occulting ring fully blocked the light from star B. The winking observed was caused by star A rising and setting from behind the ring. By 2010, the ring covered both stars and the system was permanently in the "off" state, being seen only by scattered light off the ring. By 2018, star B was fully uncovered and star A fully occulted. Star B has turned out to be somewhat brighter, hotter and more massive than star A, but the labels have not been changed since this might cause confusion in the literature.[19][20][21][22]

The importance of KH 15D derives from the unique opportunity it provides to study the terrestrial planet formation zone of a protoplanetary disk. From its rate of precession it is known that the occulting ring is located about 3 AU from the stars,[9] which would put it at the asteroid belt in the Solar System. The age of KH 15D is around 3 Myr and its total mass is around 1.5 solar masses,[4] so the system may provide some guidance on when and how planetesimals – the precursors of planets such as the Earth – form. The regular occultations also provide opportunities to study the magnetospheres and photospheres of T Tauri stars in unprecedented detail.[9]

The Disk

Composition

Though the composition of the disk is not known for sure, there has been evidence of methane and water ice features with grain sizes of 1-50 μm.[23]

Bipolar outflows

It has also been observed that there are bipolar outflow jets inclined by 84% coming from the disk itself.[18] Both hydrogen and carbon dioxide outflows have been observed extending from the north and south sides of the disk.[4] These observations have led to an upper mass limit of 3.2266e27 kg for the disk.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Dahm, S. E. et al. (2005). "The T Tauri Star Population of the Young Cluster NGC 2264". The Astronomical Journal 129 (2): 829. doi:10.1086/426326. Bibcode2005AJ....129..829D. 
  2. "V582 Monocerotis". The International Variable Star Index. American Association of Variable Star Observers. https://www.aavso.org/vsx/index.php?view=detail.top&oid=19410. Retrieved 29 June 2018. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hamilton, Catrina M. et al. (2001). "Eclipses by a Circumstellar Dust Feature in the Pre-main-Sequence Star KH 15D". The Astronomical Journal 554 (2): L201–L204. doi:10.1086/321707. Bibcode2001ApJ...554L.201H. 
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 Aronow, Rachel A. et al. (2018). "Optical and Radio Observations of the T Tauri Binary KH 15D (V582 Mon): Stellar Properties, Disk Mass Limit, and Discovery of a CO Outflow". The Astronomical Journal 155 (1): 47. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa9ed7. Bibcode2018AJ....155...47A. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Capelo, Holly L. et al. (2012). "Locating the Trailing Edge of the Circumbinary Ring in the KH 15D System". The Astrophysical Journal Letters 757 (1): L18. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/757/1/L18. Bibcode2012ApJ...757L..18C. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 Prusti, T. et al. (2016). "The Gaia mission". Astronomy & Astrophysics 595: A1. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629272. Bibcode2016A&A...595A...1G. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Brown, A. G. A. (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics 616: A1. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Bibcode2018A&A...616A...1G.  Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Bailer-Jones, C. A. L. et al. (April 2018). "Estimating distances from parallaxes IV: Distances to 1.33 billion stars in Gaia Data Release 2". The Astronomical Journal 156 (2): 58. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aacb21. Bibcode2018AJ....156...58B. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Winn, Joshua N. et al. (2006). "The Orbit and Occultations of KH 15D". The Astronomical Journal 644 (1): 510–524. doi:10.1086/503417. Bibcode2006ApJ...644..510W. 
  10. "V582 Mon". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=V582+Mon.  — some of the data is located under "Measurements".
  11. Wilford, John Noble (20 June 2002). "Star's 'Wink' May Be Clue To Creation of Planets". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/20/us/star-s-wink-may-be-clue-to-creation-of-planets.html. Retrieved 26 June 2018. 
  12. Kearns, Kristin E. et al. (1998). "Additional Periodic Variables in NGC 2264". The Astronomical Journal 116 (1): 261–265. doi:10.1086/300426. Bibcode1998AJ....116..261K. 
  13. Winn, Joshua N. et al. (2004). "KH 15D: Gradual Occultation of a Pre-Main-Sequence Binary". The Astrophysical Journal 603 (1): L45–L48. doi:10.1086/383089. Bibcode2004ApJ...603L..45W. 
  14. Chiang, Eugene I. et al. (2004). "The Circumbinary Ring of KH 15D". The Astrophysical Journal 607 (2): 913–920. doi:10.1086/383522. Bibcode2004ApJ...607..913C. 
  15. Herbst, William et al. (2010). "The Light Curve of the Weakly Accreting T Tauri Binary KH 15D from 2005-2010: Insights into the Nature of its Protoplanetary Disk". The Astronomical Journal 140 (6): 2025–2035. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/2025. Bibcode2010AJ....140.2025H. 
  16. Hamilton, Catrina M et al. (2012). "Complex Variability of the Hα Emission Line Profile of the T Tauri Binary System KH 15D: The Influence of Orbital Phase, Occultation by the Circumbinary Disk, and Accretion Phenomena". The Astrophysical Journal 751 (2): 147. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/751/2/147. Bibcode2012ApJ...751..147H. 
  17. Johnson, John A. et al. (2004). "KH 15D: A Spectroscopic Binary". The Astronomical Journal 128 (3): 1265–1272. doi:10.1086/422735. Bibcode2004AJ....128.1265J. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 Hamilton, Catrina M. et al. (2003). "Natural Coronagraphic Observations of the Eclipsing T Tauri System KH 15D: Evidence of Accretion and Bipolar Outflow in a Weak-Line T Tauri Star". The Astrophysical Journal 591 (1): L45–L48. doi:10.1086/377039. Bibcode2003ApJ...591L..45H. 
  19. Hessman, F. V.; Dhillon, V. S.; Winget, D. E.; Schreiber, M. R.; Horne, K.; Marsh, T. R.; Guenther, E.; Schwope, A.; Heber, U. (2010). "On the naming convention used for multiple star systems and extrasolar planets". arXiv:1012.0707 [astro-ph.SR].
  20. Winn, Joshua N. et al. (2003). "Limits on Eclipses of the Pre-Main-Sequence Star KH 15D in the First Half of the 20th Century". The Astrophysical Journal 593 (2): L121–L124. doi:10.1086/378314. Bibcode2003ApJ...593L.121W. 
  21. Johnson, John A. et al. (2004). "The History of the Mysterious Eclipses of KH 15D: Asiago Observatory, 1967-1982". The Astronomical Journal 127 (4): 2344–2351. doi:10.1086/382520. Bibcode2004AJ....127.2344J. 
  22. Johnson, John A. et al. (2005). "The History of the Mysterious Eclipses of KH 15D. II. Asiago, Kiso, Kitt Peak, Mount Wilson, Palomar, Tautenburg, and Rozhen Observatories, 1954-1997". The Astronomical Journal 129 (4): 1978–1984. doi:10.1086/428597. Bibcode2005AJ....129.1978J. 
  23. 23.0 23.1 Arulanantham, Nicole A. et al. (2017). "Untangling the Near-IR Spectral Features in the Protoplanetary Environment of KH 15D". The Astrophysical Journal 834 (2): 119. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/119. Bibcode2017ApJ...834..119A.