2004A&A...419..249S -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 419, 249-267 (2004/5-3)
Rotation and accretion of very low mass objects in the σ Ori cluster.
SCHOLZ A. and EISLOEFFEL J.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report on two photometric monitoring campaigns of Very Low Mass (VLM) objects in the young open cluster around σOrionis. Our targets were pre-selected with multi-filter photometry in a field of 0.36sq.deg. For 23 of these objects, spanning a mass range from 0.03 to 0.7M☉, we detect periodic variability. Of these, 16 exhibit low-level variability, with amplitudes of less than 0.2mag in the I-band, which is mostly well-approximated by a sine wave. These periodicities are probably caused by photospheric spots co-rotating with the objects. In contrast, the remaining variable targets show high-level variability with amplitudes ranging from 0.25 to 1.1mag, consisting of a periodic light variation onto which short-term fluctuations are superimposed. This variability pattern is very similar to the photometric behaviour of solar-mass, classical T Tauri stars. Low-resolution spectra of a few of these objects reveal strong Hα and Ca-triplet emission, indicative of ongoing accretion processes. This suggests that 5-7% of our targets still possess a circumstellar disk. In combination with previous results for younger objects, this translates into a disk lifetime of 3-4Myr, significantly shorter than for solar mass stars. The highly variable objects rotate on average slower than the low-amplitude variables, which is expected in terms of a disk-locking scenario. There is a trend towards faster rotation with decreasing mass, which might be caused by shortening of the disk lifetimes or attenuation of magnetic fields.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
techniques: photometric - stars: low-mass, brown dwarfs - stars: rotation - stars: formation - stars: activity - stars: magnetic fields
VizieR on-line data:
<Available at CDS (J/A+A/419/249): table7.dat>
Nomenclature:
Table 7: [SE2004] NNN (Nos 1-135).
Simbad objects:
143
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