Publications

Classical T Tauri stars are low-mass objects that are still accreting material from the surrounding circumstellar disk. The accretion process is essential in the formation of Sun-like stars and in setting the properties of the disk at the time when planet formation occurs. We constructed a complex data set in order to examine the accretion process of VW Cha, a classical T Tauri multiple system, with the aim of studying the physical origin of the photometric and spectroscopic variability of the system. The TESS space telescope observed VW Cha between 2019 April 22 and June 19, and we complemented these … Read more »

Gaia19fct is one of the Gaia-alerted eruptive young stars that has undergone several brightening events. We conducted monitoring observations using multifilter optical and near-infrared photometry, as well as near-infrared spectroscopy, to understand the physical properties of Gaia19fct and investigate whether it fits into the historically defined two classes. We present the analyses of light curves, color variations, spectral lines, and CO modeling. The light curves show at least five brightening events since 2015, and the multifilter color evolutions are mostly gray. The gray evolution indicates that bursts are triggered by mechanisms other than extinction. Our near-infrared spectra exhibit both absorption … Read more »

The coevolution of T Tauri stars and their surrounding protoplanetary disks dictates the timescales of planet formation. In this paper, we present magnetospheric accretion and inner disk wall model fits to near-UV (NUV) to near-IR (NIR) spectra of nine classical T Tauri stars in Orion OB1b as part of the Outflows and Disks around Young Stars: Synergies for the Exploration of ULLYSES Spectra (ODYSSEUS) survey. Using NUV-optical spectra from the Hubble UV Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards (ULLYSES) Director’s Discretionary Program and optical-NIR spectra from the PENELLOPE VLT Large Programme, we find that the accretion rates of … Read more »

Context. Gaia-CRF3 is the celestial reference frame for positions and proper motions in the third release of data from the Gaia mission, Gaia DR3 (and for the early third release, Gaia EDR3, which contains identical astrometric results). The reference frame is defined by the positions and proper motions at epoch 2016.0 for a specific set of extragalactic sources in the (E)DR3 catalogue.Aims: We describe the construction of Gaia-CRF3 and its properties in terms of the distributions in magnitude, colour, and astrometric quality.Methods: Compact extragalactic sources in Gaia DR3 were identified by positional cross-matching with 17 external catalogues of quasi-stellar objects … Read more »

Light curves of young star systems show photometric variability due to different kinematic and physical processes. One of the main contributors to the photometric variability is the changing mass accretion rate, which regulates the interplay between the forming young star and the protoplanetary disk. We collected high-resolution spectroscopy in eight different epochs, as well as ground-based and space-borne multiepoch optical and infrared photometry of WX Cha, an M0 binary system, with an almost edge-on disk (i = 87°) in the Chamaeleon I star-forming region. Spectroscopic observations cover 72 days, the ground-based optical monitoring covers 42 days while space-borne TESS photometry … Read more »

Young stars show variability on different time-scales from hours to decades, with a range of amplitudes. We studied two young stars, which triggered the Gaia Science Alerts system due to brightenings on a time-scale of a year. Gaia20bwa brightened by about half a magnitude, whereas Gaia20fgx brightened by about two and half magnitudes. We analysed the Gaia light curves, additional photometry, and spectra taken with the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Several emission lines were detected towards Gaia20bwa, including hydrogen lines from H α to H δ, Pa β, Br γ, and lines of Ca II, O … Read more »

Evidence of a relation between the mass accretion rate and the disk mass is established for young, Class II pre-main-sequence stars. This observational result opened an avenue to test theoretical models and constrain the initial conditions of disk formation, fundamental in the understanding of the emergence of planetary systems. However, it is becoming clear that planet formation starts even before the Class II stage, in disks around Class 0 and I protostars. We show for the first time evidence for a correlation between the mass accretion rate and the disk mass for a large sample of Class I young stars … Read more »

Historically, FU Orionis-type stars are low-mass, pre-main-sequence stars. The members of this class experience powerful accretion outbursts and remain in an enhanced accretion state for decades or centuries. V1515 Cyg, a classical FUor, started brightening in the 1940s and reached its peak brightness in the late 1970s. Following a sudden decrease in brightness, it stayed in a minimum state for a few months, then started brightening for several years. We present the results of our ground-based photometric monitoring complemented with optical/near-infrared spectroscopic monitoring. Our light curves show a long-term fading with strong variability on weekly and monthly timescales. The optical … Read more »

Exploring the properties of exoplanets near or inside the radius valley provides insight on the transition from the rocky super-Earths to the larger, hydrogen-rich atmosphere mini-Neptunes. Here, we report the discovery of TOI-1452b, a transiting super-Earth (R p = 1.67 ± 0.07 R ⊕) in an 11.1 day temperate orbit (T eq = 326 ± 7 K) around the primary member (H = 10.0, T eff = 3185 ± 50 K) of a nearby visual-binary M dwarf. The transits were first detected by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, then successfully isolated between the two 3.″2 companions with ground-based photometry from the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic and MuSCAT3. The … Read more »

The processes regulating protoplanetary disk evolution are constrained by studying how mass accretion rates scale with stellar and disk properties. The spread in these relations can be used as a constraint to the models of disk evolution, but only if the impact of accretion variability is correctly accounted for. While the effect of variability might be substantial in the embedded phases of star formation, it is often considered limited at later stages. Here we report on the observed large variation in the accretion rate for one target, XX Cha, and we discuss the impact on population studies of classical T … Read more »