Disc light variability in the FUor star V646 Puppis as observed by TESS and from the ground

TL;DR

This study analyzes small-scale light variations in the FUor star V646 Puppis using multi-year ground-based and TESS data, revealing potential disc inhomogeneities and estimating stellar mass, thus providing insights into FUor variability mechanisms.

Contribution

It presents a combined analysis of ground-based and TESS observations of V646 Puppis, identifying disc inhomogeneities and estimating stellar mass, advancing understanding of FUor star variability.

Findings

Light variations are due to disc inhomogeneities rotating at 10-12 solar radii.

The star's brightness decreases at 0.018 mag/yr.

Estimated stellar mass is between 0.7 and 0.9 solar masses.

Abstract

We investigate small-scale light variations in V646 Pup occurring on different timescales with the aim to investigate whether this variability is similar to that observed in FU Ori. We observed V646 Pup at the SAAO and CTIO between 2013 and 2018 with Johnson and Sloan filters, typically using a one-day cadence maintained for 1-4 weeks. We also utilised the public-domain 1512-day-long ASAS-SN light curve and TESS photometry obtained in 2019 over 24.1 days with a 30 min cadence. New SAAO low-resolution spectra assist in updating major disc parameters, while the archival high-resolution Keck spectra are used to search for temporal changes in the disc rotational profiles. The ground-based observations confirm the constantly decreasing brightness of V646 Pup at the rate of 0.018 mag/yr. Precise TESS data show that the slight, 0.005-0.01 mag, light variations imposed on this general trend do consist of a few independent wave trains of an apparently time-coherent nature. Assuming that this is typical situation, based on an analysis of colour-magnitude diagrams obtained for earlier epochs, we were able to make a preliminarily inference that the bulk of the light changes observed could be due to the rotation of disc photosphere inhomogeneities, arising between 10-12 solar radii from the star. We do not exclude the possibility that these inhomogeneities could also manifest themselves in the rotational profiles of the disc, as obtained from the high-resolution spectra. Assuming Keplerian rotation of these inhomogeneities, we give a preliminary determination of the stellar mass at 0.7-0.9 solar mass. These preliminary results are similar to those better established for FU Ori, which suggests a common driving mechanism(s).