arXiv subjects

P. Wilson Cauley

Publications and source records attributed to P. Wilson Cauley.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Untangling the Near-IR Spectral Features in the Protoplanetary Environment of KH 15D

We report on Gemini/GNIRS observations of the binary T Tauri system V582 Mon (KH 15D) at three orbital phases. These spectra allow us to untangle five components of the system: the photosphere and magnetosphere of star B, the jet, scattering properties of the ring material, and excess near-IR radiation previously attributed to a possible self-luminous planet. We confirm an early-K subgiant classification for star B and show that the magnetospheric He I emission line is variable, possibly indicating increased mass accretion at certain times. As expected, the H$_2$ emission features associated with the inner part of the jet show no variation with orbital phase. We show that the reflectance spectrum for the scattered light has a distinctive blue slope and spectral features consistent with scattering and absorption by a mixture of water and methane ice grains in the 1-50 $μ$m size range. This suggests that the methane frost line is closer than $\sim$5 AU in this system, requiring that the grains be shielded from direct radiation. After correcting for features from the scattered light, jet, magnetosphere, and photosphere, we confirm the presence of leftover near-IR light from an additional source, detectable near minimum brightness. A spectral emission feature matching the model spectrum of a 10 M$_{J}$, 1 Myr old planet is found in the excess flux, but other expected features from this model are not seen. Our observations, therefore, tentatively support the picture that a luminous planet is present within the system, although they cannot yet be considered definitive.

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arXiv2016

Spectroscopic Evolution of Disintegrating Planetesimals: Minutes to Months Variability in the Circumstellar Gas Associated with WD 1145+017

With the recent discovery of transiting planetary material around WD 1145+017, a critical target has been identified that links the evolution of planetary systems with debris disks and their accretion onto the star. We present a series of observations, five epochs over a year, taken with Keck and the VLT, which for the first time show variability of circumstellar absorption in the gas disk surrounding WD 1145+017 on timescales of minutes to months. Circumstellar absorption is measured in more than 250 lines of 14 ions among ten different elements associated with planetary composition, e.g., O, Mg, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni. Broad circumstellar gas absorption with a velocity spread of 225 km/s is detected, but over the course of a year blue shifted absorption disappears while redshifted absorption systematically increases. A correlation of equivalent width and oscillator strength indicates that the gas is not highly optically thick (median tau approximately 2). We discuss simple models of an eccentric disk coupled with magnetospheric accretion to explain the basic observed characteristics of these high resolution and high signal-to-noise observations. Variability is detected on timescales of minutes in the two most recent observations, showing a loss of redshifted absorption for tens of minutes, coincident with major transit events and consistent with gas hidden behind opaque transiting material. This system currently presents a unique opportunity to learn how the gas causing the spectroscopic, circumstellar absorption is associated with the ongoing accretion evidenced by photospheric contamination, as well as the transiting planetary material detected in photometric observations.

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arXiv2016

A Candidate Young Massive Planet in Orbit around the Classical T Tauri Star CI Tau

The ~2 Myr old classical T Tauri star CI Tau shows periodic variability in its radial velocity (RV) variations measured at infrared (IR) and optical wavelengths. We find that these observations are consistent with a massive planet in a ~9-day period orbit. These results are based on 71 IR RV measurements of this system obtained over 5 years, and on 26 optical RV measurements obtained over 9 years. CI Tau was also observed photometrically in the optical on 34 nights over ~one month in 2012. The optical RV data alone are inadequate to identify an orbital period, likely the result of star spot and activity induced noise for this relatively small dataset. The infrared RV measurements reveal significant periodicity at ~9 days. In addition, the full set of optical and IR RV measurements taken together phase coherently and with equal amplitudes to the ~9 day period. Periodic radial velocity signals can in principle be produced by cool spots, hot spots, and reflection of the stellar spectrum off the inner disk, in addition to resulting from a planetary companion. We have considered each of these and find the planet hypothesis most consistent with the data. The radial velocity amplitude yields an Msin(i) of ~8.1 M_Jup; in conjunction with a 1.3 mm continuum emission measurement of the circumstellar disk inclination from the literature, we find a planet mass of ~11.3 M_Jup, assuming alignment of the planetary orbit with the disk.

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arXiv2016

Investigating the origin of hot gas lines in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

We analyze high-resolution UV spectra of a small sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAEBES) in order to explore the origin of the $T\sim10^5$ K gas in these stars. The C IV 1548,1550 Å line luminosities are compared to non--simultaneous accretion rate estimates for the objects showing C IV emission. We show that the correlation between $L_{CIV}$ and $\dot{M}$ previously established for classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) seems to extend into the HAEBE mass regime, although the large spread in literature $\dot{M}$ and $A_V$ values makes the actual relationship highly uncertain. With the exception of DX Cha, we find no evidence for hot, optically thick winds in our HAEBE sample. All other objects showing clear doublet emission in C IV can be well described by a two component (i.e., a single component for each doublet member) or four component (i.e., two components for each doublet member) Gaussian emission line fit. The morphologies and peak-flux velocities of these lines suggest they are formed in weak, optically thin stellar winds and not in an accretion flow, as is the case for the hot lines observed in CTTSs. The lack of strong outflow signatures and lack of evidence for line formation in accretion flows is consistent with the conclusion presented in our recent optical and He I 10830 Å studies that the immediate circumstellar environments of HAEBES, in general, are not scaled-up analogs of the immediate environments around CTTSs. The conclusions presented here for hot gas lines around HAEBES should be verified with a larger sample of objects.

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arXiv2016

Variation in the pre-transit Balmer line signal around the hot Jupiter HD 189733 b

As followup to our recent detection of a pre-transit signal around HD 189733 b, we obtained full pre-transit phase coverage of a single planetary transit. The pre-transit signal is again detected in the Balmer lines but with variable strength and timing, suggesting that the bow shock geometry reported in our previous work does not describe the signal from the latest transit. We also demonstrate the use of the Ca II H and K residual core flux as a proxy for the stellar activity level throughout the transit. A moderate trend is found between the pre-transit absorption signal in the 2013 data and the Ca II H flux. This suggests that some of the 2013 pre-transit hydrogen absorption can be attributed to varying stellar activity levels. A very weak correlation is found between the Ca II H core flux and the Balmer line absorption in the 2015 transit, hinting at a smaller contribution from stellar activity compared to the 2013 transit. We simulate how varying stellar activity levels can produce changes in the Balmer line transmission spectra. These simulations show that the strength of the 2013 and 2015 pre-transit signals can be reproduced by stellar variability. If the pre-transit signature is attributed to circumplanetary material, its evolution in time can be described by accretion clumps spiraling towards the star, although this interpretation has serious limitations. Further high-cadence monitoring at H-alpha is necessary to distinguish between true absorption by transiting material and short-term variations in the stellar activity level.

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arXiv2015

Optical hydrogen absorption consistent with a thin bow shock leading the hot Jupiter HD 189733b

Bow shocks are ubiquitous astrophysical phenomena resulting from the supersonic passage of an object through a gas. Recently, pre-transit absorption in UV metal transitions of the hot Jupiter exoplanets HD 189733b and WASP12-b have been interpreted as being caused by material compressed in a planetary bow shock. Here we present a robust detection of a time-resolved pre-transit, as well as in-transit, absorption signature around the hot Jupiter exoplanet HD 189733b using high spectral resolution observations of several hydrogen Balmer lines. The line shape of the pre-transit feature and the shape of the time series absorption provide the strongest constraints on the morphology and physical characteristics of extended structures around an exoplanet. The in-transit measurements confirm the previous exospheric H-alpha detection although the absorption depth measured here is ~50% lower. The pre-transit absorption feature occurs 125 minutes before the predicted optical transit, a projected linear distance from the planet to the stellar disk of 7.2 planetary radii. The absorption strength observed in the Balmer lines indicates an optically thick, but physically small, geometry. We model this signal as the early ingress of a planetary bow shock. If the bow shock is mediated by a planetary magnetosphere, the large standoff distance derived from the model suggests a large equatorial planetary magnetic field strength of 28 G. Better knowledge of exoplanet magnetic field strengths is crucial to understanding the role these fields play in planetary evolution and the potential development of life on planets in the habitable zone.

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arXiv2015

Optical Mass Flow Diagnostics in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

We examine a broad range of mass flow diagnostics in a large sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAEBES) using high resolution optical spectra. The H-beta and He I 5876 angstrom lines show the highest incidence of P-Cygni (30%) and inverse P-Cygni (14%) morphologies, respectively. The Fe II 4924 angstrom line also shows a large incidence of P-Cygni profiles (11%). We find support for many of the conclusions reached in a study based on the analysis of the He I 10830 angstrom line in a large sample of HAEBES. Namely, HAEBES exhibit smaller fractions of both blue-shifted absorption (i.e. mass outflow) and red-shifted absorption (i.e. mass infall or accretion) than their lower mass cousins, the classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs). In particular, the optical data supports the conclusion that HAEBES displaying red-shifted absorption, in general, show maximum red-shifted absorption velocities that are smaller fractions of their stellar escape velocities than is found for CTTSs. This suggests that HAEBE accretion flows are originating deeper in the gravitational potentials of their stars than in CTTS systems. In addition, we find a lack of inner disk wind signatures in the blue-shifted absorption objects; only stellar wind signatures are clearly observed. These findings, along with the lack of detected magnetic fields around HAEBES, support the idea that large magnetospheres are not prevalent around HAEBES and that accretion flows are instead mediated by significantly smaller magnetospheres with relatively smaller truncation radii (e.g. 1-2 stellar radii). Red-shifted absorption is much more common around Herbig Ae stars than Be stars, suggesting that Herbig Be stars may accrete via a boundary layer rather than along magnetic field lines.

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arXiv2014

Diagnosing Mass Flows Around Herbig Ae/Be Stars Using the He I 10830 Line

We examine He I 10830 profile morphologies for a sample of 56 Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAEBES). We find significant differences between HAEBES and CTTSs in the statistics of both blue-shifted absorption (i.e. mass outflows) and red-shifted absorption features (i.e. mass infall or accretion). Our results suggest that, in general, Herbig Be (HBe) stars do not accrete material from their inner disks in the same manner as CTTSs, which are believed to accrete material via magnetospheric accretion, while Herbig Ae (HAe) stars generally show evidence for magnetospheric accretion. We find no evidence in our sample of narrow blue--shifted absorption features which are typical indicators of inner disk winds and are common in He I 10830 profiles of CTTSs. The lack of inner disk wind signatures in HAEBES, combined with the paucity of detected magnetic fields on these objects, suggests that accretion through large magnetospheres which truncate the disk several stellar radii above the surface is not as common for HAe and late-type HBe stars as it is for CTTSs. Instead, evidence is found for smaller magnetospheres in the maximum red-shifted absorption velocities in our HAEBE sample. These velocities are, on average, a smaller fraction of the system escape velocity than is found for CTTSs, suggesting accretion is taking place closer to the star. Smaller magnetospheres, and evidence for boundary layer accretion in HBe stars, may explain the less common occurrence of red--shifted absorption in HAEBES. Evidence is found that smaller magnetospheres may be less efficient at driving outflows compared to CTTS magnetospheres.

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arXiv2012

Testing Disk-Locking in NGC 2264

We test analytic predictions from different models of magnetospheric accretion, which invoke disk-locking, using stellar and accretion parameters derived from models of low resolution optical spectra of 36 T Tauri stars (TTSs) in NGC 2264 (age~3 Myrs). Little evidence is found for models that assume purely dipolar field geometries; however, strong support is found in the data for a modified version of the X-wind model (Shu et al. 1994) which allows for non-dipolar field geometries. The trapped flux concept in the X-wind model is key to making the analytic predictions which appear supported in the data. By extension, our analysis provides support for the outflows predicted by the X-wind as these also originate in the trapped flux region. In addition, we find no support in the data for accretion powered stellar winds from young stars. By comparing the analysis presented here of NGC 2264 with a similar analysis of stars in Taurus (age~1-2 Myr), we find evidence that the equilibrium interaction between the magnetic field and accretion disk in TTS systems evolves as the stars grow older, perhaps as the result of evolution of the stellar magnetic field geometry. We compare the accretion rates we derive with accretion rates based on U-band excess, finding good agreement. In addition, we use our accretion parameters to determine the relationship between accretion and H-beta luminosity, again finding good agreement with previously published results; however, we also find that care must be used when applying this relationship due to strong chromospheric emission in young stars which can lead to erroneous results in some cases.

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