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arXiv · 2405.21071

A Multi-wavelength, Multi-epoch Monitoring Campaign of Accretion Variability in T Tauri Stars from the ODYSSEUS Survey. II. Photometric Light Curves

John Wendeborn·Catherine C. Espaillat·Thanawuth Thanathibodee·Connor E. Robinson·Caeley V. Pittman·Nuria Calvet·Ágnes Kóspál·Konstantin N. Grankin·Fredrick M. Walter·Zhen Guo·Jochen Eislöffel
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Abstract

Classical T Tauri Stars (CTTSs) are young, low-mass stars which accrete material from their surrounding protoplanetary disk. To better understand accretion variability, we conducted a multi-epoch, multi-wavelength photometric monitoring campaign of four CTTSs: TW Hya, RU Lup, BP Tau, and GM Aur, in 2021 and 2022, contemporaneous with HST UV and optical spectra. We find that all four targets display significant variability in their light curves, generally on days-long timescales (but in some cases year-to-year) often due to periodicity associated with stellar rotation and to stochastic accretion variability. Their is a strong connection between mass accretion and photometric variability in all bands, but the relationship varies per target and epoch. Thus, photometry should be used with caution as a direct measure of accretion in CTTSs.

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John Wendeborn, Catherine C. Espaillat, Thanawuth Thanathibodee, Connor E. Robinson, Caeley V. Pittman, Nuria Calvet, Ágnes Kóspál, Konstantin N. Grankin, Fredrick M. Walter, Zhen Guo, Jochen Eislöffel. 2024-05-31. A Multi-wavelength, Multi-epoch Monitoring Campaign of Accretion Variability in T Tauri Stars from the ODYSSEUS Survey. II. Photometric Light Curves. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.21071

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