The detections of some long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) relevant to mergers of neutron star (NS)-NS or black hole (BH)-NS, as well as some short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) probably produced by collapsars, muddle the boundary of two categories of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In both cases, a plausible candidate of central engine is a BH surrounded by a hyperaccretion disc with strong outflows, launching relativistic jets driven by Blandford-Znajek mechanism. In the framework of compact binary mergers, we test the applicability of the BH hyperaccretion inflow-outflow model on powering observed GRBs. We find that, for a low outflow ratio, ~50 per cent, post-merger hyperaccretion processes could power not only all SGRBs but also most of LGRBs. Some LGRBs might originate from merger events in the BH hyperaccretion scenario, at least on the energy requirement. Moreover, kilonovae might be produced by neutron-rich outflows, and their luminosities and time-scales significantly depend on the outflow strengths. GRBs and their associated kilonovae are competitive with each other on the disc mass and total energy budgets. The stronger the outflow, the more similar the characteristics of kilonovae to supernovae (SNe). This kind of 'nova' might be called 'quasi-SN'.
We report the discovery of accretion disks associated with ~13Myr old intermediate/low-mass stars in h and {chi} Persei. Optical spectroscopy of ~5000 stars in these clusters and a surrounding halo population reveal 32 A-K stars with Halpha emission. Matching these stars with 2MASS and optical photometry yields 25 stars with the highest probability of cluster membership and EW(Halpha)>=5{AA}. Sixteen of these sources have EW(Halpha)>=10{AA}.
Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAeBes) span a key mass range that links low- and high-mass stars, and thus provide an ideal window from which to explore their formation. This paper presents Very Large Telescope/X-shooter spectra of 91 HAeBes, the largest spectroscopic study of HAeBe accretion to date. A homogeneous approach to determining stellar parameters is undertaken for the majority of the sample. Measurements of the ultraviolet are modelled within the context of magnetospheric accretion, allowing a direct determination of mass accretion rates. Multiple correlations are observed across the sample between accretion and stellar properties: the youngest and often most massive stars are the strongest accretors, and there is an almost 1:1 relationship between the accretion luminosity and stellar luminosity. Despite these overall trends of increased accretion rates in HAeBes when compared to classical T Tauri stars, we also find noticeable differences in correlations when considering the Herbig Ae and Herbig Be subsets. This, combined with the difficulty in applying a magnetospheric accretion model to some of the Herbig Be stars, could suggest that another form of accretion may be occurring within Herbig Be mass range.
We present an analysis of late-O/early-B-powered, parsec-sized bubbles and associated star formation using Two Micron All Sky Survey, GLIMPSE, MIPSGAL, and MAGPIS surveys. Three bubbles were selected from the Churchwell et al. catalog (2007, Cat. J/ApJ/670/428). We confirm that the structure identified in Watson et al. (2008ApJ...681.1341W) holds in less energetic bubbles, i.e., a photodissociated region, identified by 8um emission due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons surrounding hot dust, identified by 24um emission and ionized gas, and identified by 20cm continuum. We estimate the dynamical age of two bubbles by comparing bubble sizes to numerical models of Hosokawa and Inutsuka. We also identify and analyze candidate young stellar objects using spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting and identify sites of possible triggered star formation. Lastly, we identify likely ionizing sources for two sources based on SED fitting.
Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks around young stars, with inner holes or gaps which are surrounded by optically thick outer, and often inner, disks. Here we present observations of 62 new transitional disks in the Orion A star-forming region. These were identified using the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Spectrograph and followed up with determinations of stellar and accretion parameters using the Infrared Telescope Facility's SpeX. We combine these new observations with our previous results on transitional disks in Taurus, Chamaeleon I, Ophiuchus, and Perseus, and with archival X-ray observations. This produces a sample of 105 transitional disks of "cluster" age 3Myr or less, by far the largest hitherto assembled. We use this sample to search for trends between the radial structure in the disks and many other system properties, in order to place constraints on the possible origins of transitional disks. We see a clear progression of host-star accretion rate and the different disk morphologies. We confirm that transitional disks with complete central clearings have median accretion rates an order of magnitude smaller than radially continuous disks of the same population. Pre-transitional disks--those objects with gaps that separate inner and outer disks--have median accretion rates intermediate between the two. Our results from the search for statistically significant trends, especially related to dM/dt, strongly support that in both cases the gaps are far more likely to be due to the gravitational influence of Jovian planets or brown dwarfs orbiting within the gaps, than to any of the photoevaporative, turbulent, or grain-growth processes that can lead to disk dissipation. We also find that the fraction of Class II YSOs which are transitional disks is large, 0.1-0.2, especially in the youngest associations.
K2 Campaign 2: young disk-bearing stars in Sco & Oph
Short Name:
J/AJ/156/71
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
The K2 Mission has photometrically monitored thousands of stars at high precision and cadence in a series of ~80-day campaigns focused on sections of the ecliptic plane. During its second campaign, K2 targeted over 1000 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the ~1-3 Myr {rho} Ophiuchus and 5-10 Myr Upper Scorpius regions. From this set, we have carefully vetted photometry from WISE and Spitzer to identify those YSOs with infrared excess indicative of primordial circumstellar disks. We present here the resulting comprehensive sample of 288 young disk-bearing stars from B through M spectral types and analysis of their associated K2 light curves. Using statistics of periodicity and symmetry, we categorize each light curve into eight different variability classes, notably including "dippers" (fading events), "bursters" (brightening events), stochastic, and quasi-periodic types. Nearly all (96%) of disk-bearing YSOs are identified as variable at 30-minute cadence with the sub-1% precision of K2. Combining our variability classifications with (circum)stellar properties, we find that the bursters, stochastic sources, and the largest amplitude quasi-periodic stars have larger infrared colors, and hence stronger circumstellar disks. They also tend to have larger H{alpha} equivalent widths, indicative of higher accretion rates. The dippers, on the other hand, cluster toward moderate infrared colors and low H{alpha}. Using resolved disk observations, we further find that the latter favor high inclinations, except for a few notable exceptions with close to face-on disks. These observations support the idea that YSO time-domain properties are dependent on several factors, including accretion rate and view angle.
Using adaptive optics assisted Gemini/NIFS data, I study the present and past gas accretion in the central 3" of the M32 nucleus. From changes in the spectral slope and CO line depths near the center, I find evidence for unresolved dust emission resulting from black hole (BH) accretion. With a luminosity of ~2x10^38^erg/s, this dust emission appears to be the most luminous tracer of current BH accretion, 2 orders of magnitude more luminous than previously detected X-ray emission. These observations suggest that using high-resolution infrared data to search for dust emission may be an effective way to detect other nearby, low-luminosity BHs, such as those in globular clusters. I also examine the fossil evidence of gas accretion contained in the kinematics of the stars in the nucleus. The higher order moments (h3 and h4) of the line-of-sight velocity distribution show patterns that are remarkably similar to those seen on larger scales in elliptical galaxies and in gas-rich merger simulations. The kinematics suggests the presence of two components in the M32 nucleus, a dominant disk overlying a pressure supported component.
We estimate the accretion rates of 235 Classical T Tauri star (CTTS) candidates in the Lagoon Nebula using ugri H{alpha} photometry from the VST Photometric H{alpha} survey+. Our sample consists of stars displaying H{alpha} excess, the intensity of which is used to derive accretion rates. For a subset of 87 stars, the intensity of the u-band excess is also used to estimate accretion rates. We find the mean variation in accretion rates measured using H{alpha} and u-band intensities to be ~0.17dex, agreeing with previous estimates (0.04-0.4dex) but for a much larger sample. The spatial distribution of CTTS align with the location of protostars and molecular gas suggesting that they retain an imprint of the natal gas fragmentation process. Strong accretors are concentrated spatially, while weak accretors are more distributed. Our results do not support the sequential star-forming processes suggested in the literature.
We present a multiwavelength study of three star-forming regions, spanning the age range 1-14Myr, located between the 30 Doradus complex and supernova SN 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We reliably identify about 1000 pre-main-sequence (PMS) star candidates actively undergoing mass accretion and estimate their stellar properties and mass accretion rate (dM/dt). Our measurements represent the largest dM/dt data set of low-metallicity stars presented so far. As such, they offer a unique opportunity to study on a statistical basis the mass accretion process in the LMC and, more in general, the evolution of the mass accretion process around low-metallicity stars.
Our study aims at characterizing the accretion properties of several hundred members of the star-forming region NGC 2264 (3Myr). We performed a deep u,g,r,i mapping of the cluster with CFHT/MegaCam, and monitored the simultaneous u+r variability of its members over a baseline of two weeks. Stellar parameters are determined homogeneously for about 750 monitored young objects, 40% of which are accreting T Tauri stars. Accretion properties and accretion variability are investigated and characterized from UV excess measurements. Non-accreting members of the cluster define the reference UV emission level over which flux excess is detected and measured.
