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Density streams in the disc winds of Classical T Tauri stars

P. P. Petrov, K. N. Grankin, E. V. Babina, S. A. Artemenko, M. M. Romanova, S. Yu Gorda, A. A. Djupvik, J. F. Gameiro

Abstract
Spectral and photometric variability of the Classical T Tauri stars RY Tau and SU Aur from 2013 to 2022 is analysed. We find that in SU Aur the H α line’s flux at radial velocity RV  = −50 ± 7  km s−1 varies with a period P = 255 ± 5 d. A similar effect previously discovered in RY Tau is confirmed with these new data: P = 21.6 d at RV  = −95 ± 5  km s. In both stars, the radial velocity of these variations, the period, and the mass of the star turn out to be related by Kepler’s law, suggesting structural features on the disc plane orbiting at radii of 0.2 au in RY Tau and 0.9 au in SU Aur, respectively. Both stars have a large inclination of the accretion disc to the line of sight – so that the line of sight passes through the region of the disc wind. We propose there is an azimuthal asymmetry in the disc wind, presumably in the form of ‘density streams,’ caused by substructures of the accretion disc surface. These streams cannot dissipate until they go beyond the Alfven surface in the disc’s magnetic field. These findings open up the possibility to learn about the structure of the inner accretion disc of CTTS on scales less than 1 au and to reveal the orbital distances related to the planet’s formation.

Keywords
stars: individuals: RY Tau, SU Aur, stars: variables: T Tauri, Herbig Ae/Be, stars: winds, outflows

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume 524, Issue 4, Page 5944
2023 October

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Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia COMPETE 2020 PORTUGAL 2020 União Europeia