Near-Infrared Spectropolarimetry of T Tauri

Details Near-Infrared Spectropolarimetry of T Tauri Near-Infrared Spectropolarimetry of T Tauri

May 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997apj...481..936k&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal v.481, p.936

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

6

Ism: Jets And Outflows, Polarization, Stars: Binaries: Close, Stars: Formation, Stars: Individual Constellation Name: T Tauri, Stars: Pre-Main-Sequence

Scientific paper

We present near-infrared spectropolarimetric data between 0.9 and 4.2 mu m for T Tauri. The data clearly show two polarization components: one has a position angle of ~90 deg at wavelengths shortward of ~1.6 mu m, while the other has a position angle of ~20 deg at wavelengths longward of ~1.6 mu m. The degree of polarization of the former component decreases as the wavelength increases, while the reverse occurs for the latter component. Because the polarization position angle rotates gradually from 1.4 to 1.8 mu m, the rotation can probably be explained by a combination of several scattering components and/or dichroic extinction. In addition, an enhancement of the polarization of the longer wavelength component was clearly observed in 1990 January, when T Tau's infrared companion, T Tau S, was in the outburst phase. The polarization increased to about 3 times that of the quiescent phase at 1.4--2.4 mu m. The enhancement of the polarization in the brighter phase of T Tau S means that T Tau S is a highly polarized source. We estimate the polarization of T Tau S in the K band (2.2 mu m) at 5.7% +/- 1.3%, assuming that the polarization is constant in both the quiescent and the outburst phase. This high polarization suggests that the polarization originates from scattering by a compact nebulosity in the vicinity of T Tau S. In view of the high polarization resulting from the scattering, we suggest that the infrared companion T Tau S is an embedded protostellar object.

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