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Paper: Infalling Planetesimals in Young Star Clusters
Volume: 336, COSMIC ABUNDANCES as Records of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis in honor of David L. Lambert
Page: 327
Authors: Jacobson, H.R.; Pilachowski, C.A.
Abstract: Stars of spectral type A in eight young clusters varying in age from 3 to 100 million years were observed to identify stars showing the presence of infalling material similar to what is seen in β Pic. Infalling material into a central star, manifested through transient absorptions in strong absorption lines such as the Ca II K line, provides an approach to study both the composition and dynamics of planetesimals in young star systems. Clusters, which offer the opportunity for simultaneous observation of multiple stars, were selected to cover the age range of which the frequency of infalling material might be expected to decline. The multi-object Hydra spectrometers at the WIYN 3.5-m and Blanco 4-m telescopes were used in échelle-mode (resolving power ~15,000) to obtain Ca II K line profiles at multiple epochs for typically 10 stars per cluster. Target stars were selected for observation using published photometry. Here we present possible candidates exhibiting evidence of infall based on preliminary results.
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