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ABSTRACT We investigate the origin of photometric variability in the classical T Tauri star TW Hya by comparing light curves obtained by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and ground-based telescopes with light curves created using three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. TW Hya is modelled as a rotating star with a dipole magnetic moment, which is slightly tilted about the rotational axis. We observed that for various model parameters, matter accretes in the unstable regime and produces multiple hotspots on the star’s surface, which leads to stochastic-looking light curves similar to the observed ones. Wavelet and Fourier spectra of observed and modelled light curves show multiple quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with quasi-periods from less than 0.1 to 9 d. Models show that variation in the strength and tilt of the dipole magnetosphere leads to different periodograms, where the period of the star may dominate or be hidden. The amplitude of QPOs associated with the stellar period can be smaller than that of other QPOs if the tilt of the dipole magnetosphere is small and when the unstable regime is stronger. In models with small magnetospheres, the short-period QPOs associated with rotation of the inner disc dominate and can be mistaken for a stellar period. We show that longer period (5–9 d) QPOs can be caused by waves forming beyond the corotation radius. 

ABSTRACT Spectral and photometric variability of the Classical T Tauri stars RY Tau and SU Aur from 2013 to 2022 is analysed. We find that in SU Aur the H α line’s flux at radial velocity RV  = −50 ± 7  km s−1 varies with a period P = 255 ± 5 d. A similar effect previously discovered in RY Tau is confirmed with these new data: P = 21.6 d at RV  = −95 ± 5  km s. In both stars, the radial velocity of these variations, the period, and the mass of the star turn out to be related by Kepler’s law, suggesting structural features on the disc plane orbiting at radii of 0.2 au in RY Tau and 0.9 au in SU Aur, respectively. Both stars have a large inclination of the accretion disc to the line of sight – so that the line of sight passes through the region of the disc wind. We propose there is an azimuthal asymmetry in the disc wind, presumably in the form of ‘density streams,’ caused by substructures of the accretion disc surface. These streams cannot dissipate until they go beyond the Alfven surface in the disc’s magnetic field. These findings open up the possibility to learn about the structure of the inner accretion disc of CTTS on scales less than 1 au and to reveal the orbital distances related to the planet’s formation. 

ABSTRACT Planets are thought to form at the early stage of stellar evolution when mass accretion is still ongoing. RY Tau is a T Tauri type star at the age of a few Myr, with an accretion disc seen at high inclination, so that the line of sight crosses both the wind and accretion gas flows. In a long series of spectroscopic monitoring of the star over the period 2013–2020, we detected variations in H$$\, {\alpha }$$ and Na i D absorptions at radial velocities of infall (accretion) and outflow (wind) with a period of about 22 d. The absorptions in the infalling and outflowing gas streams vary in antiphase: an increase of infall is accompanied by a decrease of outflow, and vice versa. These ‘flip-flop’ oscillations retain phase over several years of observations. We suggest that this may result from the magnetohydrodynamics processes at the disc–magnetosphere boundary in the propeller mode. Another possibility is that a massive planet is modulating some processes in the disc and is providing the observed effects. The period, if Keplerian, corresponds to a distance of 0.2 au, which is close to the dust sublimation radius in this star. The presence of the putative planet can be confirmed by radial velocity measurements: the expected amplitude is ≥90 m s−1 if the planet mass is ≥2 MJ.