A Far-ultraviolet-detected Accretion Shock at the Star–Disk Boundary of FU Ori

Abstract

FU Ori objects are the most extreme eruptive young stars known. Their 4–5 mag photometric outbursts last for decades and are attributed to a factor of up to 10,000 increase in the stellar accretion rate. The nature of the accretion disk-to-star interface in FU Ori objects has remained a mystery for decades. To date, attempts to directly observe a shock or boundary layer have been thwarted by the apparent lack of emission in excess of the accretion disk photosphere down to λ = 2300 Å. We present a new near-ultraviolet and the first high-sensitivity far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum of FU Ori. The FUV continuum is detected for the first time and, at λ = 1400 Å, is more than 10 ^4 times brighter than predicted by a viscous accretion disk. We interpret the excess as arising from a shock at the boundary between the disk and the stellar surface. We model the shock emission as a blackbody and find that the temperature of the shocked material is T _FUV ≈ 16,000 ± 2000 K. The shock temperature corresponds to an accretion flow along the surface of the disk that reaches a velocity of 40 km s ^−1 at the boundary, consistent with predictions from simulations.

Keywords

• Stellar accretion
• Stellar accretion disks
• FU Orionis stars
• Young stellar objects
• Ultraviolet astronomy