# On the mass accretion rate and infrared excess in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

## TL;DR

This study utilizes Gaia data to accurately determine stellar parameters of Herbig Ae/Be stars, revealing how their mass accretion rates decay over time and differ between star types, with implications for disk evolution.

## Contribution

First comprehensive analysis combining Gaia data with H-alpha flux to estimate mass accretion rates and disk dissipation timescales in Herbig Ae/Be stars.

## Key findings

- Mass accretion rate decays exponentially with age.
- Estimated disk dissipation timescale of 1.9 Myr.
- Differences in disk structure between Herbig Be and Herbig Ae stars.

## Abstract

The present study makes use of the unprecedented capability of the Gaia mission to obtain the stellar parameters such as distance, age, and mass of HAeBe stars. The accuracy of Gaia DR2 astrometry is demonstrated from the comparison of the Gaia DR2 distances of 131 HAeBe stars with the previously estimated values from the literature. This is one of the initial studies to estimate the age and mass of a confirmed sample of HAeBe stars using both the photometry and distance from the Gaia mission. Mass accretion rates are calculated from $H\alpha$ line flux measurements of 106 HAeBe stars. Since we used distances and the stellar masses derived from the Gaia DR2 data in the calculation of mass accretion rate, our estimates are more accurate than previous studies. The mass accretion rate is found to decay exponentially with age, from which we estimated a disk dissipation timescale of $1.9\pm 0.1$ Myr. Mass accretion rate and stellar mass exhibits a power law relation of the form, $\dot{M}_{acc}$ $\propto$ $M_{*}^{2.8\pm0.2}$. From the distinct distribution in the values of the infrared spectral index, $n_{2-4.6}$, we suggest the possibility of difference in the disk structure between Herbig Be and Herbig Ae stars.