Infrared study of the eta Chamaeleontis cluster and the longevity of circumstellar discs

Details Infrared study of the eta Chamaeleontis cluster and the longevity of circumstellar discs Infrared study of the eta Chamaeleontis cluster and the longevity of circumstellar discs

2002-09-27

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0209571v1

Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 338 (2003) 616

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for MNRAS

Scientific paper

10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06084.x

We have analyzed JHKL observations of the stellar population of the ~9 Myr-old eta Chamaeleontis cluster. Using infrared (IR) colour-colour and colour-excess diagrams, we find the fraction of stellar systems with near-IR excess emission is 0.60 pm 0.13 (2_sigma). This results implies considerably longer disc lifetimes than found in some recent studies of other young stellar clusters. For the classical T Tauri (CTT) and weak-lined T Tauri (WTT) star population, we also find a strong correlation between the IR excess and H_alpha emission. The IR excesses of these stars indicate a wide range of star-disc activity; from a CTT star showing high levels of accretion, to CTT - WTT transition objects with evidence for some on-going accretion, and WTT stars with weak or absent IR excesses. Of the 15 known cluster members, 4 stars with IR excesses delta(K-L) > 0.4 mag are likely experiencing on-going accretion owing to strong or variable optical emission. The resulting accretion fraction (0.27 pm 0.13; 2_sigma) shows that the accretion phase, in addition to the discs themselves, can endure for at least ~10 Myr.

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