Variable accretion as a mechanism for brightness variations in T Tauri S
The southern “infrared companion” of T Tau is known to show strong photometric variations of several magnitudes on timescales of years, as well as more modest 1 mag variations on timescales as short as one week. The physical mechanism driving these variations is debated, intrinsic luminosity variati...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
26 July 2010
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| In: |
Astronomy and astrophysics
Year: 2010, Volume: 517, Pages: 1-15 |
| ISSN: | 1432-0746 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/200913840 |
| Online Access: | Resolving-System, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200913840 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2010/09/aa13840-09/aa13840-09.html 
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| Author Notes: | R. van Boekel, A. Juhász, Th. Henning, R. Köhler, Th. Ratzka, T. Herbst, J. Bouwman, and W. Kley |
| Summary: | The southern “infrared companion” of T Tau is known to show strong photometric variations of several magnitudes on timescales of years, as well as more modest 1 mag variations on timescales as short as one week. The physical mechanism driving these variations is debated, intrinsic luminosity variations due to a variable accretion rate were initially proposed, but later challenged in favor of apparent fluctuations due to time-variable foreground extinction. We seek to investigate the nature of the observed photometric variability. Based on simple geometric arguments and basic physics laws, a minimum variability timescale can be derived for which variable extinction is a viable mechanism. Because this timescale increases rapidly with wavelength, observations at long wavelengths provide the strongest constraints. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 29.08.2023 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1432-0746 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/200913840 |