Star-crossed Lovers DI Tau A and B: Orbit Characterization and Physical Properties Determination

The stellar companion to the weak-line T Tauri star DI Tau A was first discovered by the lunar occultation technique in 1989 and was subsequently confirmed by a speckle imaging observation in 1991. It has not been detected since, despite being targeted by five different studies that used a variety o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shih-Yun Tang, Asa G. Stahl, L. Prato, G. H. Schaefer, Christopher M. Johns-Krull, Brian A. Skiff, Charles A. Beichman, Taichi Uyama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2023-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acc58b
Description
Summary:The stellar companion to the weak-line T Tauri star DI Tau A was first discovered by the lunar occultation technique in 1989 and was subsequently confirmed by a speckle imaging observation in 1991. It has not been detected since, despite being targeted by five different studies that used a variety of methods and spanned more than 20 yr. Here, we report the serendipitous rediscovery of DI Tau B during our Young Exoplanets Spectroscopic Survey (YESS). Using radial velocity data from YESS spanning 17 yr, new adaptive optics observations from Keck II, and a variety of other data from the literature, we derive a preliminary orbital solution for the system that effectively explains the detection and (almost all of the) non-detection history of DI Tau B. We estimate the dynamical masses of both components, finding that the large mass difference ( q ∼ 0.17) and long orbital period (≳35 yr) make the DI Tau system a noteworthy and valuable addition to studies of stellar evolution and pre-main-sequence models. With a long orbital period and a small flux ratio (f2/f1) between DI Tau A and B, additional measurements are needed for a better comparison between these observational results and pre-main-sequence models. Finally, we report an average surface magnetic field strength ( $\bar{B}$ ) for DI Tau A, of ∼0.55 kG, which is unusually low in the context of young active stars.
ISSN:1538-4357