Time-variable Accretion in the TW Hya Star/disk System

We present two epochs of observations of TW Hya from the high-dispersion near-IR spectrograph ARIES at the Multiple Mirror Telescope. We detect strong emission from the Br{gamma} transition of hydrogen, indicating an accretion rate substantially larger than previously estimated, using hydrogen line...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2010-10, Vol.722 (1), p.L28-L32
Main Authors: Eisner, J. A, Doppmann, G. W, Najita, J. R, McCarthy, D, Kulesa, C, Swift, B. J, Teske, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
DUSTS
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
HYDROGEN
NONMETALS
STARS
TELESCOPES
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Summary:We present two epochs of observations of TW Hya from the high-dispersion near-IR spectrograph ARIES at the Multiple Mirror Telescope. We detect strong emission from the Br{gamma} transition of hydrogen, indicating an accretion rate substantially larger than previously estimated, using hydrogen line emission. The Br{gamma} line strength varies across our two observed epochs. We also measure circumstellar-to-stellar flux ratios (i.e., veilings) that appear close to zero in both epochs. These findings suggest that TW Hya experiences episodes of enhanced accretion while the inner disk remains largely devoid of dust. We discuss several physical mechanisms that may explain these observations.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/722/1/L28