Magnetically Controlled Accretion on the Classical T Tauri Stars GQ Lupi and TW Hydrae

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution spectropolarimetry to measure magnetic fields in classical T Tauri stars GQ Lupi and TW Hydrae, revealing strong localized fields near accretion shocks and differences in emission line regions.

Contribution

It provides the first high-resolution magnetic field measurements in the extsc{He} I lines of these stars, showing strong fields and clarifying the formation regions of emission components.

Findings

Detected maximum field strength of 6.05 kG in GQ Lupi's extsc{He} I line.

Found consistent magnetic field strengths in the narrow extsc{He} I lines.

No polarization detected in broad emission components.

Abstract

We present high spectral resolution ($R\approx108,000$) Stokes $V$ polarimetry of the Classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) GQ Lup and TW Hya obtained with the polarimetric upgrade to the HARPS spectrometer on the ESO 3.6 m telescope. We present data on both photospheric lines and emission lines, concentrating our discussion on the polarization properties of the \ion{He}{1} emission lines at 5876 \AA\ and 6678 \AA. The \ion{He}{1} lines in these CTTSs contain both narrow emission cores, believed to come from near the accretion shock region on these stars, and broad emission components which may come from either a wind or the large scale magnetospheric accretion flow. We detect strong polarization in the narrow component of the two \ion{He}{1} emission lines in both stars. We observe a maximum implied field strength of $6.05 \pm 0.24$ kG in the 5876 \AA\ line of GQ Lup, making it the star with the highest field strength measured in this line for a CTTS. We find field strengths in the two \ion{He}{1} lines that are consistent with each other, in contrast to what has been reported in the literature on at least one star. We do not detect any polarization in the broad component of the \ion{He}{1} lines on these stars, strengthening the conclusion that they form over a substantially different volume relative the formation region of the narrow component of the \ion{He}{1} lines.