Connecting Multiwavelength Variability of Protoplanetary Disks and Their Dynamic Host Stars

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

The team will study a wide set of observations taken at different wavelengths with a suite of observatories of the Classical T Tauri Star (CTTS) GM Aur and its dusty protoplanetary disk. The month-long dataset, collected in December 2019, represents the largest time-coordinated observation campaign of a CTTS. It comprises observations in wavelengths ranging from the radio to the X-ray. It includes ground-based observations from the CHIRON echelle spectrometer on the SMARTS 1.5 m telescope, the Las Cumbres Observatory and ALMA, as well as space-based observations from Swift, TESS and the Hubble Space Telescope. The objective of the work is to understand the influence of variable high-energy radiation fields on the protoplanetary disk. Additionally, the team will maintain and expand LUMA, a peer mentoring program started by the PI. The team will also conduct a career development workshop focused on astronomers from under-represented groups. The overarching question to be answered by this work is whether (and to what degree) high-energy radiation fields can influence the evolution of a protoplanetary disk and impact its properties. In particular, the team is interested in determining whether there are chemical and structural changes due to these radiation fields. The team will measure mass accretion rates and examine accretion structures in the disk. They will also measure the radiation field generated by the accretion process, as well as the structure of the accretion column and the flow illuminating the disk. The team will use CHIRON optical spectrometry, LCOGT photometry, TESS images, and HST data. The team will also model CO emission lines in the GM Aur disk. They will obtain CO emission data from ALMA and use disk models to derive the disk chemistry, using co-incident UV and X-ray luminosities as constraints on the system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.