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Creators/Authors contains: "López-Valdivia, Ricardo"

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  1. Abstract

    We present average magnetic field measurements derived from high-resolution near-infrared IGRINS spectra of a carefully selected sample of 28 M dwarfs. All 28 have reported magnetic field strengths in the literature. The main goal of this work is to investigate the accuracy, precision, and limitations of magnetic field measurements from IGRINS spectra. This investigation is critical to validating the robustness of our methods before we apply them to over 500 IGRINS-observed M dwarfs in the next paper of the series. We used the Zeeman broadening and Zeeman intensification methods to measure average magnetic fields. Our measurements are all consistent with the previous measurements to within ±1 kG, with an average offset of −0.17 kG for the broadening method and +0.19 kG for the intensification method. We find that the detection limit of IGRINS is ∼0.9 kG with the Zeeman broadening method, in accordance with the instrumental broadening limit of the spectrograph. With the Zeeman intensification method, we are able to detect down to ∼0.7 kG with a signal-to-noise ratio of 150 or greater. We find an advantage of using the intensification method over the broadening method, which is the ability to reliably measure the magnetic field strengths of stars that are cooler than 3100 K where the spectrum becomes dominated by molecular lines. Therefore, the intensification method is crucial to study stellar magnetism of late-M and brown dwarfs.

     
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  2. Abstract Determining accurate effective temperatures of stars buried in the dust-obscured Galactic regions is extremely difficult from photometry. Fortunately, high-resolution infrared spectroscopy is a powerful tool for determining the temperatures of stars with no dependence on interstellar extinction. It has long been known that the depth ratios of temperature-sensitive and relatively insensitive spectral lines are excellent temperature indices. In this work, we provide the first extensive line depth ratio (LDR) method application in the infrared region that encompasses both the H and K bands (1.48 μ m − 2.48 μ m). We applied the LDR method to high-resolution ( R ≃ 45,000) H- and K -band spectra of 110 stars obtained with the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph. Our sample contained stars with 3200 < T eff (K) < 5500, 0.20 ≤ log g < 4.6, and −1.5 < [M/H] < 0.5. The application of this method in the K band yielded 21 new LDR– T eff relations. We also report five new LDR– T eff relations found in the H -band region, augmenting the relations already published by other groups. The temperatures found from our calibrations provide reliable temperatures within ∼70 K accuracy compared to spectral  T eff values from the literature. 
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available June 1, 2024
  3. Abstract

    We used the Immersion GRating Infrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) to determine fundamental parameters for 61 K- and M-type young stellar objects (YSOs) located in the Ophiuchus and Upper Scorpius star-forming regions. We employed synthetic spectra and a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to fit specificK-band spectral regions and determine the photospheric temperature (T), surface gravity (logg), magnetic field strength (B), projected rotational velocity (vsini), andK-band veiling (rK). We determinedBfor ∼46% of our sample. Stellar parameters were compared to the results from Taurus-Auriga and the TW Hydrae association presented in Paper I of this series. We classified all the YSOs in the IGRINS survey with infrared spectral indices from Two Micron All Sky Survey and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer photometry between 2 and 24μm. We found that Class II YSOs typically have lowerloggandvsini, similarB, and higherK-band veiling than their Class III counterparts. Additionally, we determined the stellar parameters for a sample of K and M field stars also observed with IGRINS. We have identified intrinsic similarities and differences at different evolutionary stages with our homogeneous determination of stellar parameters in the IGRINS YSO survey. Consideringloggas a proxy for age, we found that the Ophiuchus and Taurus samples have a similar age. We also find that Upper Scorpius and TWA YSOs have similar ages, and are more evolved than Ophiuchus/Taurus YSOs.

     
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  4. Abstract We present measurements of the H- and K -band veiling for 141 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region using high-resolution spectra from the Immersion Grating Near-Infrared Spectrometer. In addition to providing measurements of r H and r K , we produce low-resolution spectra of the excess emission across the H and K bands. We fit temperatures to the excess spectra of 46 members of our sample and measure near-infrared excess temperatures ranging from 1200–2200 K, with an average of 1575 ± 225 K. We compare the luminosity of the excess continuum emission in Class II and Class III YSOs and find that a number of Class III sources display a significant amount of excess flux in the near-infrared. We conclude that the mid-infrared SED slope, and therefore young stellar object classification, is a poor predictor of the amount of near-infrared veiling. If the veiling arises in thermal emission from dust, its presence implies a significant amount of remaining inner-disk (<1 au) material in these Class III sources. We also discuss the possibility that the veiling effects could result from massive photospheric spots, unresolved binary companions, or accretion emission. Six low-mass members of our sample contain a prominent feature in their H -band excess spectra that is consistent with veiling from cool photospheric spots. 
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  5. Abstract

    Very young (t≲ 10 Myr) stars possess strong magnetic fields that channel ionized gas from the interiors of their circumstellar disks to the surface of the star. Upon impacting the stellar surface, the shocked gas recombines and emits hydrogen spectral lines. To characterize the density and temperature of the gas within these accretion streams, we measure equivalent widths of Brackett (Br) 11–20 emission lines detected in 1101 APOGEE spectra of 326 likely pre-main-sequence accretors. For sources with multiple observations, we measure median epoch-to-epoch line strength variations of 10% in Br11 and 20% in Br20. We also fit the measured line ratios to predictions of radiative transfer models by Kwan & Fischer. We find characteristic best-fit electron densities ofne= 1011–1012cm−3, and excitation temperatures that are inversely correlated with electron density (fromT∼ 5000 K forne∼ 1012cm−3toT∼ 12,500 K atne∼ 1011cm−3). These physical parameters are in good agreement with predictions from modeling of accretion streams that account for the hydrodynamics and radiative transfer within the accretion stream. We also present a supplementary catalog of line measurements from 9733 spectra of 4255 Brackett emission-line sources in the APOGEE Data Release 17 data set.

     
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