A Multiwavelength, Multiepoch Monitoring Campaign of Accretion Variability in T Tauri Stars from the ODYSSEUS Survey. II. Photometric Light Curves
Abstract Classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) are young, low-mass stars that accrete material from their surrounding protoplanetary disk. To better understand accretion variability, we conducted a multiepoch, multiwavelength photometric monitoring campaign of four CTTSs, TW Hya, RU Lup, BP Tau, and GM Aur, in 2021 and 2022, contemporaneous with Hubble Space Telescope 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. There 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.
Authors
- John Wendeborn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6808-4066)
- Á. Kóspál (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7157-6275)
- K. N. Grankin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5707-8448)
- Caeley V. Pittman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9301-6252)
- Thanawuth Thanathibodee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4507-1710)
- J. Eislöffel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6496-0252)
- C. Robinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1639-510X)
- Catherine Espaillat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9227-5949)
- Zhen Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0292-4832)
- Nuria Calvet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3950-5386)
- Fredrick M. Walter
Institutions
- Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
- Boston University (US)
- Amherst College (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Konkoly Observatory (HU)
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE)
- HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (HU)
- Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (DE)
- Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (UA)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- University of Valparaíso (CL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Published
- 2024-08-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad543d
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.65
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- National Research, Development and Innovation Office
- Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico