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[5.11] Photospheric Spot Temperature Models of Young Stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster

M.J. Miller (Swarthmore College), K.G. Stassun (Vanderbilt University), E.L.N. Jensen (Swarthmore College)

We apply a simple photospheric spot temperature model to photometric variability measurements of T Tauri stars in the Trapezium region of the Orion Nebula Cluster. Our aim is to search for the relationship, if any, between spot temperatures and stellar rotation periods to better understand the relationship between accretion and angular momentum regulation in T Tauri stars. Current magnetic disk-locking models of young stars ascribe spot temperatures hotter than the photosphere to signatures of active accretion from a circumstellar disk. If accretion acts to brake stellar rotation, spot temperatures hotter than the photosphere should be more prevalent among slow rotators. From the variability amplitudes at four wavelengths (B, V, R, I), we determine spot temperatures and the areal coverage of the spot on the stellar surface. The results of our model show that we can unambiguously distinguish spots hotter than the photosphere from spots cooler than the photosphere for most stars. We present the results of our search for correlations between spot temperatures and previously determined rotation periods.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.