Artist's impressions of the two disks surrounding both stars
The two stars of the HK Tauri system are separated by 2.32″, equivalent to 309 AU at the distance of HK Tauri. The primary is a pre-main sequence star with a mass of 0.44 M☉, while the secondary has a mass of 0.37 M☉.[4]
Properties
Both members of the binary are medium-mass objects still contracting towards the main sequence and accreting mass. Their ages are probably young (below 10 million years) but cannot be estimated with any accuracy because both stars are strongly obscured by the protoplanetary disks.[6]
Protoplanetary system
HK Tauri, with the edge-on disk around the B component with Hubble
The companion star HK Tauri B is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk visible nearly edge-on. It contains water and carbon dioxide ices, along with gaseous carbon monoxide.[7] The disk is unusually flat, with an aspect ratio of 4.4, while most young stars host disks with aspect ratios of about 3.[8] The disk also contain relatively few large dust particles compared to fine dust, with a size distribution power-law slope of 4.2. The disk mass is relatively small, not larger than 0.0005M☉, and dust distribution is asymmetric.[9] The plane of the disk is not aligned with the orbit of the binary.[10]
Multiple planets embedded in the disk of HK Tauri B have been suspected since 1993,[11] although none were detected by 2020.[12]
^ abcSimon, M.; Guilloteau, S.; Beck, Tracy L.; Chapillon, E.; Folco, E. Di; Dutrey, A.; Feiden, Gregory A.; Grosso, N.; Piétu, V.; Prato, L.; Schaefer, Gail H. (2019), "Masses and Implications for Ages of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in Taurus and Ophiuchus", The Astrophysical Journal, 884 (1): 42, arXiv:1908.10952, Bibcode:2019ApJ...884...42S, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab3e3b, S2CID201668492
^Aikawa, Y.; Kamuro, D.; Sakon, I.; Itoh, Y.; Noble, J. A.; Pontoppidan, K. M.; Fraser, H. J.; Terada, H.; Tamura, M.; Kandori, R.; Kawamura, A.; Ueno, M. (2011). "AKARI observations of ice absorption bands towards edge-on YSOs". The Molecular Universe. 280: 78. arXiv:1112.3736. Bibcode:2011IAUS..280P..78A.
^Wolff, S.; Duchêne, G.; Stapelfeldt, K.; Ménard, F.; Flores, C.; Padgett, D.; Pinte, C.; Villenave, M.; van der Plas, G.; Perrin, M. (2021), "The Anatomy of an Unusual Edge-on Protoplanetary Disk. I. Dust Settling in a Cold Disk", The Astronomical Journal, 161 (5): 238, arXiv:2103.02665, Bibcode:2021AJ....161..238W, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/abeb1d, S2CID232110830
^Wallace, A. L.; Kammerer, J.; Ireland, M. J.; Federrath, C.; Kraus, A. L.; Maddison, S. T.; Rizzuto, A.; Birchall, E. K.; Martinache, F. (2020), "High-resolution survey for planetary companions to young stars in the Taurus molecular cloud", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 498: 1382–1396, arXiv:2008.06065, doi:10.1093/mnras/staa2434
