Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars

An accurate estimation of the continuum excess emission from accretion spots and inner circumstellar disk regions is crucial for a proper derivation of fundamental stellar parameters in accreting systems. However, the presence of starspots can make disentangling the complicated multicomponent emissi...

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Main Authors: Facundo Pérez Paolino, Jeffrey S. Bary, Lynne A. Hillenbrand, Madison Markham, William J. Fischer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad93c6
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author Facundo Pérez Paolino
Jeffrey S. Bary
Lynne A. Hillenbrand
Madison Markham
William J. Fischer
author_facet Facundo Pérez Paolino
Jeffrey S. Bary
Lynne A. Hillenbrand
Madison Markham
William J. Fischer
author_sort Facundo Pérez Paolino
collection DOAJ
description An accurate estimation of the continuum excess emission from accretion spots and inner circumstellar disk regions is crucial for a proper derivation of fundamental stellar parameters in accreting systems. However, the presence of starspots can make disentangling the complicated multicomponent emission in these systems challenging. Subtraction of a single-temperature spectral template is insufficient to account for the composite stellar emission, as we demonstrated in a recent campaign involving weak-lined T Tauri stars. Here, we model the moderate-resolution near-infrared spectra of classical T Tauri stars, presenting new spectral models that incorporate spotted stars plus emission from accretion hot spots and a warm inner disk, allowing us to simultaneously reconstruct the entire 0.8–2.4 μ m spectrum of our 16 targets. Using these models, we re-derive the continuum excess emission. Our results indicate that accounting for starspots resolves the need to include a previously proposed intermediate-temperature component in the IYJ excess and highlights the importance of a proper treatment of starspots in studies of accreting low-mass stars.
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publishDate 2024-01-01
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series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-e41bb7c76d1e4305ab1d4c2a715a4eea2024-12-23T09:30:44ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-0197813210.3847/1538-4357/ad93c6Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri StarsFacundo Pérez Paolino0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4128-7867Jeffrey S. Bary1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8642-5867Lynne A. Hillenbrand2Madison Markham3https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9670-2194William J. Fischer4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3747-2496Colgate University , 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA ; fperezpa@caltech.edu; Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USAColgate University , 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA ; fperezpa@caltech.eduDepartment of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USAColgate University , 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA ; fperezpa@caltech.eduSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAAn accurate estimation of the continuum excess emission from accretion spots and inner circumstellar disk regions is crucial for a proper derivation of fundamental stellar parameters in accreting systems. However, the presence of starspots can make disentangling the complicated multicomponent emission in these systems challenging. Subtraction of a single-temperature spectral template is insufficient to account for the composite stellar emission, as we demonstrated in a recent campaign involving weak-lined T Tauri stars. Here, we model the moderate-resolution near-infrared spectra of classical T Tauri stars, presenting new spectral models that incorporate spotted stars plus emission from accretion hot spots and a warm inner disk, allowing us to simultaneously reconstruct the entire 0.8–2.4 μ m spectrum of our 16 targets. Using these models, we re-derive the continuum excess emission. Our results indicate that accounting for starspots resolves the need to include a previously proposed intermediate-temperature component in the IYJ excess and highlights the importance of a proper treatment of starspots in studies of accreting low-mass stars.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad93c6StarspotsPre-main sequence starsEarly stellar evolutionStar formationStellar accretion
spellingShingle Facundo Pérez Paolino
Jeffrey S. Bary
Lynne A. Hillenbrand
Madison Markham
William J. Fischer
Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars
The Astrophysical Journal
Starspots
Pre-main sequence stars
Early stellar evolution
Star formation
Stellar accretion
title Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars
title_full Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars
title_fullStr Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars
title_full_unstemmed Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars
title_short Starspots as an Explanation for the Mysterious IYJ Continuum Excess Emission in Classical T Tauri Stars
title_sort starspots as an explanation for the mysterious iyj continuum excess emission in classical t tauri stars
topic Starspots
Pre-main sequence stars
Early stellar evolution
Star formation
Stellar accretion
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad93c6
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