Discovery of Two Different Full Disk Evolutionary Patterns of M-type T Tauri Stars with LAMOST DR8

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 960; no. 1; pp. 58 - 71
• Main Authors: Haerken, Hasitieer, Li, Guang-Wei, Li, Min, Duan, Fuqing, Zhao, Yongheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia The American Astronomical Society 01.01.2024; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Accretion; Accretion disks; Astrophysics; Circumstellar disks; Infrared astronomy; Jupiter; Planet formation; Planets; Sky surveys (astronomy); Stars; Stellar mass; Stellar mass accretion; T Tauri stars
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad04d3

Abstract The full disk, full of gas and dust, determines the upper limit of planet masses, and its lifetime is critical for planet formation, especially for giant planets. In this work, we studied the evolutionary timescales of the full disks of T Tauri stars (TTSs) and their relations to accretion. Combined with Gaia EDR3, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer data, 1077 disk-bearing TTS candidates were found in LAMOST DR8, and stellar parameters were obtained. Among them, 783 are newly classified by spectra as classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs; 169) or weak-lined T Tauri stars (WTTSs). Based on EW and FWHM of H α , 157 TTSs in accretion were identified, with ∼82% also having full disks. For TTSs with M < 0.35 M ☉ , about 80% seem to already lose their full disks at ∼0.1 Myr, which may explain their lower mass, while the remaining 20% with full disks evolve at similar rates of non-full disks within 5 Myr, allowing enough time and material to form giant planets. The fraction of accreting TTSs to disk-bearing TTSs is stable at ∼10% and can last ∼5–10 Myr, suggesting that full disks and accretion evolve with similar rates as non-full disks. For TTSs with M > 0.35 M ☉ , almost all full disks can survive more than 0.1 Myr, most for 1 Myr and some even for 20 Myr. For TTSs with M > 0.35  M ☉ , almost all full disks can survive more than 0.1 Myr, most for 1 Myr, and some even for 20 Myr, which implies planets are more likely to be formed in their disks than those of M < 0.35  M ☉ , and thus M dwarfs with M > 0.35  M ☉  can have more planets. The fraction of full-disk TTSs to disk-bearing TTSs decreases with age following the relation f ∝ t −0.35 , and similar relations existed in the fraction of accreting TTSs and the fraction of full-disk CTTSs, suggesting faster full disks and accretion evolution than non-full disks. For full-disk stars, the ratio of accretion of lower-mass stars is systematically lower than that of higher-mass stars, confirming the dependence of accretion on stellar mass, which may be reflective of an observational bias in the detection of accretion levels, with the lower-mass stars crossing below the detection threshold earlier than higher-mass stars.