HST/COS Spectra of DF Tau and V4046 SGR: First Detection of Molecular Hydrogen Absorption Against the Ly$α$ Emission Line

Details HST/COS Spectra of DF Tau and V4046 SGR: First Detection of Molecular Hydrogen Absorption Against the Ly$α$ Emission Line HST/COS Spectra of DF Tau and V4046 SGR: First Detection of Molecular Hydrogen Absorption Against the Ly$α$ Emission Line

2011-02-17

arxiv.org/abs/1102.3659v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

13 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJL in February 2011

Scientific paper

We report the first detection of molecular hydrogen (H$_{2}$) absorption in the Lyman-$\alpha$ emission line profiles of two classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs), DF Tau and V4046 Sgr, observed by \emph{HST}/COS. This absorption is the energy source for many of the Lyman-band H$_{2}$ fluorescent lines commonly seen in the far-ultraviolet spectra of CTTSs. We find that the absorbed energy in the H$_{2}$ pumping transitions from a portion of the Lyman-$\alpha$ line significantly differ from the amount of energy in the resulting fluorescent emission. By assuming additional absorption in the H I Lyman-$\alpha$ profile along our light of sight, we can correct the H$_{2}$ absorption/emission ratios so that they are close to unity. The required H I absorption for DF Tau is at a velocity close to the radial velocity of the star, consistent with H I absorption in the edge-on disk and interstellar medium. For V4046 Sgr, a nearly face-on system, the required absorption is between +100 km/s and +290 km/s, most likely resulting from H I gas in the accretion columns falling onto the star.

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