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Published October 10, 2011 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

GSC 07396-00759 = V4046 Sgr C[D]: A Wide-separation Companion to the Close T Tauri Binary System V4046 Sgr AB

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Rochester Institute of Technology
  • 2. ROR icon Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • 3. ROR icon University of Palermo
  • 4. ROR icon Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
  • 5. ROR icon University of Geneva
  • 6. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 7. ROR icon University of Vienna
  • 8. ROR icon European Southern Observatory
  • 9. ROR icon Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris

Abstract

We explore the possibility that GSC 07396-00759 (spectral type M1e) is a widely separated (~2'.82, or projected separation ~12,350 AU) companion to the "old" (age ~12 Myr) classical T Tauri binary system V4046 Sgr AB, as suggested by the proximity and similar space motions of the two systems. If the two systems are equidistant and coeval, then GSC 07396-00759, like V4046 Sgr AB, must be a spectroscopic binary with nearly equal-mass components, and V4046 Sgr must be at least ~8 Myr old. Analysis of a serendipitous Chandra X-ray grating spectrum and light curve as well as XMM-Newton light curves and CCD spectra of GSC 07396-00759 obtained during long exposures targeting V4046 Sgr AB reveals a relatively hard (T_X ~ 10^7 K) X-ray spectrum, strong flaring, and relatively low-density plasma. These X-ray characteristics of GCS 07396-00759 are indicative of a high level of coronal activity, consistent with its apparent weak-lined T Tauri star status. Interactions between V4046 Sgr AB and GCS 07396-00759 when the two systems were more closely bound may be responsible for (1) their dissolution ~10^6 yr ago, (2) the present tight, circular orbit of V4046 Sgr AB, and (3) the persistence of the gaseous circumbinary disk still orbiting V4046 Sgr AB.

Additional Information

© 2011 American Astronomical Society. Received 2011 July 29; accepted 2011 September 2; published 2011 September 20. This research was supported by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility and the NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program grants to RIT (NASA grant numbers NNX09AT15G and NNX09AC96G, respectively). D.P.H. was supported by NASA through the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) contract SV3-73016 for the Chandra X-Ray Center and Science Instruments. M.A. acknowledges support from the SwissNational Science Foundation (grants PP002–110504 and PP00P2–130188). The authors thank B. Zuckerman for useful discussions, the anonymous referee for a thorough and insightful review, and Emily Thompson (West Irondequoit [NY] High School) for contributions to the catalog research reported herein.

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
27244
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20111017-102843827

Funding

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility
NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program
NNX09AT15G
NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program
NNX09AC96G
NASA Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)
SV3-73016
Swiss National Science Foundation
PP002–110504
Swiss National Science Foundation
PP00P2–130188

Dates

Created
2011-10-18
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-09
Created from EPrint's last_modified field