Open AccessHD 98800: A Unique Stellar System of Post–T Tauri Stars
Author(s) -
David R. Soderblom,
Jeremy R. King,
L. Siess,
Keith Noll,
Diane Gilmore,
Todd J. Henry,
Edmund Nelan,
Christopher J. Burrows,
Robert A. Brown,
M. A. C. Perryman,
G. F. Benedict,
Barbara J. McArthur,
O. G. Franz,
Laurence H. Wasserman,
B. F. Jones,
David W. Latham,
Guillermo Torres,
R. P. Stefanik
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the astrophysical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.376
H-Index - 489
eISSN - 1538-4357
pISSN - 0004-637X
DOI - 10.1086/305542
Subject(s) - physics , t tauri star , stars , astrophysics , astronomy , photometry (optics) , herbig ae/be star , infrared excess , k type main sequence star
HD 98800 is a system of four stars, and it has a large infrared excess that is thought to be due to a dust disk within the system. In this paper we present new astrometric observations made with Hipparcos, as well as photometry from Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images. Combining these observations and reanalyzing previous work allow us to estimate the age and masses of the stars in the system. Uncertainty in these ages and masses results from uncertainty in the temperatures of the stars and any reddening they may have. We find that HD 98800 is most probably about 10 Myr old, although it may be as young as 5 Myr or as old as 20 Myr old. The stars in HD 98800 appear to have metallicities that are about solar. An age of 10 Myr means that HD 98800 is a member of the post T Tauri class of objects, and we argue that the stars in HD 98800 can help us understand why post T Tauris have been so elusive, HD 98800 may have formed in the Centaurus star-forming region, but it is extraordinary in being so young and yet so far from where it was born.
Accelerating Research
Robert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom
Address
John Eccles HouseRobert Robinson Avenue,
Oxford Science Park, Oxford
OX4 4GP, United Kingdom