Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)

Abstract: We analyse the forces that control the dynamic evolution of a flux rope eruption in a three-dimensional (3D) radiative magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) simulation. The confined eruption of the flux rope gives rise to a C8.5 flare. The flux rope rises slowly with an almost constant velocity of a few km/s in the early stage, when the gravity and Lorentz force are nearly counterbalanced. After the flux rope rises to the height at which the decay index of the external poloidal field satisfies the torus instability criterion, the significantly enhanced Lorentz force breaks the force balance and drives rapid acceleration of the flux rope. Fast magnetic reconnection is immediately induced within the current sheet under the erupting flux rope, which provides a strong positive feedback to the eruption. The eruption is eventually confined due to the tension force from the strong external toroidal field. Our results suggest that the gravity of plasma plays an important role in sustaining the quasi-static evolution of the pre-eruptive flux rope. The Lorentz force, which is contributed from both the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability and magnetic reconnection, dominates the dynamic evolution during the eruption process.

Abstract: We report on the spectral features of the Si IV 1402.77 \AA, C II 1334.53 \AA, and Mg II h or k lines, formed in the layers from the transition region to the chromosphere, in three two-ribbon flares (with X-, M-, and C-class) observed with IRIS. All the three lines show significant redshifts within the main flare ribbons, which mainly originate from the chromospheric condensation during the flares. The average redshift velocities of the Si IV line within the main ribbons are 56.6, 25.6, and 10.5 km s$^{-1}$ for the X-, M-, and C-class flares, respectively, which show a decreasing tendency with the flare class. The C II and Mg II lines show a similar tendency but with smaller velocities compared to the Si IV line. Additionally, the Mg II h or k line shows a blue-wing enhancement in the three flares in particular at the flare ribbon fronts, which is supposed to be caused by an upflow in the upper chromosphere due to the heating of the atmosphere. Moreover, the Mg II h or k line exhibits a central reversal at the flare ribbons, but turns to pure emission shortly after 1--4 minutes. Correspondingly, the C II line also shows a central reversal but in a smaller region. However, for the Si IV line, the central reversal is only found in the X-class flare, but not in the other two flares. As usual, the central reversal of these lines can be caused by the opacity effect. This implies that in addition to the optically thick lines (C II and Mg II lines), the Si IV line can become optically thick in a strong flare, which is likely related to the nonthermal electron beam heating.

Abstract: We present the results for orbital period analysis of 9 contact binaries (CBs). The photometric data analyzed in this work is collected using ARIES 1-m and 1.3-m telescopes as well as many ground and space-based photometric surveys. The precise orbital periods of the binary systems are studied using the long temporal baseline of data acquired over the last 12-15 years. The changes in the times of minimum brightness are calculated using (O-C) diagram. Out of these 9 CBs, four systems show no change in the orbital period with time while the remaining five systems show non-linear (O-C) variations with time. We derive mass transfer rates for these five CBs which suggests mass is being transferred from secondary to primary components in three systems while it is from primary to secondary components in the other two systems.

Abstract: We present the physical parameters of an eclipsing binary system EPIC 211982753 derived through photometric and radial velocity data modeling. We make use of photometric data from NASA's K2 mission, ASAS-SN, and 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) while spectroscopic data have been acquired from the HERMES spectrograph at the 1.2-m Mercator telescope. The linear ephemeris for the system is updated using the K2 mission data. The synthetic light curve and radial velocity curves are generated with the help of eclipsing binary modeling package PHOEBE 1.0. The masses of primary and secondary components are determined as 1.64 $\pm$0.02 and 1.55 $\pm$0.01 $M_{\odot}$, respectively. The radius for primary and secondary components are estimated as 1.73 $\pm$0.02 and 1.47 $\pm$0.02 $R_{\odot}$, respectively. The distance of the system is calculated as 238 $\pm$ 4 pc. The eclipsing binary is found to be a total eclipsing system with a high mass ratio of q=0.94.

Abstract: The accretion of material from protoplanetary disks onto their central stars is a fundamental process in the evolution of these systems and a key diagnostic in constraining the disk lifetime. We analyze the relationship between the stellar accretion rate and the disk mass in 32 intermediate-mass Herbig Ae/Be systems and compare them to their lower-mass counterparts, T Tauri stars. We find that the $\dot{M}$--$M_{\rm{disk}}$ relationship for Herbig Ae/Be stars is largely flat at $\sim$10$^{-7}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ across over three orders of magnitude in dust mass. While most of the sample follows the T Tauri trend, a subset of objects with high accretion rates and low dust masses are identified. These outliers (12 out of 32 sources) have an inferred disk lifetime of less than 0.01 Myr and are dominated by objects with low infrared excess. This outlier sample is likely identified in part by the bias in classifying Herbig Ae/Be stars, which requires evidence of accretion that can only be reliably measured above a rate of $\sim$10$^{-9}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ for these spectral types. If the disk masses are not underestimated and the accretion rates are not overestimated, this implies that these disks may be on the verge of dispersal, which may be due to efficient radial drift of material or outer disk depletion by photoevaporation and/or truncation by companions. This outlier sample likely represents a small subset of the larger young, intermediate-mass stellar population, the majority of which would have already stopped accreting and cleared their disks.