CSI 2264: simultaneous optical and infrared light curves of young disk-bearing stars in NGC 2264 with CoRoT and Spitzer—evidence for multiple origins of variability
- Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- LESIA, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92195 Meudon (France)
- INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento 1, I-90134 Palermo (Italy)
- Centro de Astrobiología, Dpto. de Astrofísica, INTA-CSIC, P.O. Box 78, ESAC Campus, E-28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid (Spain)
- Department of Astrophysics, Denys Wilkinson Building, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom)
- UJF-Grenoble 1/CNRS-INSU, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) UMR 5274, F-38041 Grenoble (France)
- Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2451 (United States)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
- Departamento de Física - ICEx - UFMG, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 30270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)
- Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, K. U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 5151 State University Drive, California State University at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032 (United States)
We present the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC 2264, a continuous 30 day multi-wavelength photometric monitoring campaign on more than 1000 young cluster members using 16 telescopes. The unprecedented combination of multi-wavelength, high-precision, high-cadence, and long-duration data opens a new window into the time domain behavior of young stellar objects. Here we provide an overview of the observations, focusing on results from Spitzer and CoRoT. The highlight of this work is detailed analysis of 162 classical T Tauri stars for which we can probe optical and mid-infrared flux variations to 1% amplitudes and sub-hour timescales. We present a morphological variability census and then use metrics of periodicity, stochasticity, and symmetry to statistically separate the light curves into seven distinct classes, which we suggest represent different physical processes and geometric effects. We provide distributions of the characteristic timescales and amplitudes and assess the fractional representation within each class. The largest category (>20%) are optical 'dippers' with discrete fading events lasting ∼1-5 days. The degree of correlation between the optical and infrared light curves is positive but weak; notably, the independently assigned optical and infrared morphology classes tend to be different for the same object. Assessment of flux variation behavior with respect to (circum)stellar properties reveals correlations of variability parameters with Hα emission and with effective temperature. Overall, our results point to multiple origins of young star variability, including circumstellar obscuration events, hot spots on the star and/or disk, accretion bursts, and rapid structural changes in the inner disk.
- OSTI ID:
- 22340305
- Journal Information:
- Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 147, Issue 4; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-3881
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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CSI 2264: characterizing accretion-burst dominated light curves for young stars in NGC 2264
CSI 2264: CHARACTERIZING YOUNG STARS IN NGC 2264 WITH SHORT-DURATION PERIODIC FLUX DIPS IN THEIR LIGHT CURVES