Search results for "Disks"

A TEST of the NATURE of the FE K LINE in the NEUTRON STAR LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARY SERPENS X-1

2015

Broad Fe K emission lines have been widely observed in the X-ray spectra of black hole systems, and in neutron star systems as well. The intrinsically narrow Fe K fluorescent line is generally believed to be part of the reflection spectrum originating in an illuminated accretion disk, and broadened by strong relativistic effects. However, the nature of the lines in neutron star LMXBs has been under debate. We therefore obtained the longest, high-resolution X-ray spectrum of a neutron star LMXB to date with a 300 ks Chandra HETGS observation of Serpens X-1. The observation was taken under the "continuous clocking" mode and thus free of photon pile-up effects. We carry out a systematic analys…

Time Resolved X-Ray Spectral Analysis of Class II YSOs in NGC 2264 During Optical Dips and Bursts

2016

Pre-Main Sequence stars are variable sources. The main mechanisms responsible for their variability are variable extinction, unsteady accretion, and rotational modulation of both hot and dark photospheric spots and X-ray active regions. In stars with disks this variability is thus related to the morphology of the inner circumstellar region (<0.1 AU) and that of photosphere and corona, all impossible to be spatially resolved with present day techniques. This has been the main motivations of the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC2264, a set of simultaneous observations of NGC2264 with 15 different telescopes. We analyze the X-ray spectral properties of stars with disks extracted du…

Accretion in young stars: measure of the stream velocity of TW Hya from the X-ray Doppler shift

2015

High-resolution X-ray spectra are a unique tool to investigate the accretion process in young stars. In fact X-rays allow to investigate the accretion-shock region, where the infalling material is heated by strong shocks due to the impact with the denser stellar atmosphere. Here we show for the first time that it is possible to constrain the velocity of the accretion stream by measuring the Doppler shift of the emitted X-rays. To this aim we analyzed the deep Chandra/HETGS observation of the accreting young star TW Hya. We selected a sample of emission lines free from significant blends, fitted them with gaussian profiles, computed the radial velocity corresponding to each line, and average…

Effects of radiation in accretion regions of classical T Tauri stars

2019

Context. Models and observations indicate that the impact of matter accreting onto the surface of young stars produces regions at the base of accretion columns where optically thin and thick plasma components coexist. Thus, an accurate description of these impacts is necessary to account for the effects of absorption and emission of radiation. Aims. We study the effects of radiation emerging from shock-heated plasma in impact regions on the structure of the pre-shock down-falling material. We investigate whether a significant absorption of radiation occurs and if it leads to a pre-shock heating of the accreting gas. Methods. We developed a radiation hydrodynamics model describing an accreti…

Multiwavelength diagnostics of accretion in an X-ray selected sample of CTTSs

2011

Context. High resolution X-ray spectroscopy has revealed soft X-rays from high density plasma in classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs), probably arising from the accretion shock region. However, the mass accretion rates derived from the X-ray observations are consistently lower than those derived from UV/optical/NIR studies. Aims: We aim to test the hypothesis that the high density soft X-ray emission originates from accretion by analysing, in a homogeneous manner, optical accretion indicators for an X-ray selected sample of CTTSs. Methods: We analyse optical spectra of the X-ray selected sample of CTTSs and calculate the accretion rates based on measuring the Hα, Hβ, Hγ, He ii 4686 Å, He i 5016 …

Accretion onto Neutron Stars: spectral and timing investigation of Low Mass X-ray Binaries

2021

Inferring possible magnetic field strength of accreting inflows in EXor-type objects from scaled laboratory experiments

2021

Aims. EXor-type objects are protostars that display powerful UV-optical outbursts caused by intermittent and powerful events of magnetospheric accretion. These objects are not yet well investigated and are quite difficult to characterize. Several parameters, such as plasma stream velocities, characteristic densities, and temperatures, can be retrieved from present observations. As of yet, however, there is no information about the magnetic field values and the exact underlying accretion scenario is also under discussion. Methods. We use laboratory plasmas, created by a high power laser impacting a solid target or by a plasma gun injector, and make these plasmas propagate perpendicularly to …

Laboratory evidence for asymmetric accretion structure upon slanted matter impact in young stars

2020

Aims. Investigating the process of matter accretion onto forming stars through scaled experiments in the laboratory is important in order to better understand star and planetary system formation and evolution. Such experiments can indeed complement observations by providing access to the processes with spatial and temporal resolution. A previous investigation revealed the existence of a two-component stream: a hot shell surrounding a cooler inner stream. The shell was formed by matter laterally ejected upon impact and refocused by the local magnetic field. That laboratory investigation was limited to normal incidence impacts. However, in young stellar objects, the complex structure of magne…

Mapping accretion and its variability in the young open cluster NGC 2264: A study based on u-band photometry

2014

We aim at characterizing the accretion properties of several hundred members of the star-forming cluster NGC 2264 (3 Myr). We performed a deep u,g,r,i mapping and a simultaneous u+r monitoring of the region with CFHT/MegaCam in order to directly probe the accretion process from UV excess measurements. Photometric properties and stellar parameters are determined homogeneously for about 750 monitored young objects, spanning the mass range 0.1-2 Mo. About 40% are classical (accreting) T Tauri stars, based on various diagnostics (H_alpha, UV and IR excesses). The remaining non-accreting members define the (photospheric+chromospheric) reference UV emission level over which flux excess is detecte…

Gaia DR2 reveals a star formation burst in the disc 2-3 Gyr ago

2019

We use Gaia DR2 magnitudes, colours and parallaxes for stars with G<12 to explore a 15-dimensional space that includes simultaneously the initial mass function (IMF) and a non-parametric star formation history (SFH) for the Galactic disc. This inference is performed by combining the Besancon Galaxy Model fast approximate simulations (BGM FASt) and an approximate Bayesian computation algorithm. We find in Gaia DR2 data an imprint of a star formation burst 2-3 Gyr ago, in the Galactic thin disc domain, and a present star formation rate (SFR) of about 1 Msun. Our results show a decreasing trend of the SFR from 9-10 Gyr to 6-7 Gyr ago. This is consistent with the cosmological star formation …