PASJ: Publ. Astron. Soc.

Japan 56, S183–S192, 2004 March 25

c 2004. Astronomical Society of Japan.

Deep Fading of the New Herbig Be Star MisV1147

Makoto U EMURA,1 Taichi K ATO,1 Ryoko I SHIOKA,1 Seiichi YOSHIDA,2 Ken-ichi K ADOTA,3
Nobuo O HKURA,4 Arne H ENDEN,5 Ondrej P EJCHA,6 Kenzo K INUGASA ,7 Mitsugu F UJII ,8
Mike S IMONSEN,9 John G REAVES,10 Pavol A. D UBOVSKY,11 Gary P OYNER,12 Doug W EST,13
Robert J. S TINE ,14 Dan TAYLOR,15 Michael P OXON,16 Eddy M UYLLAERT ,17

Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/pasj/article/56/sp1/S183/1469578 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics user on 09 May 2024

José R IPERO,18 Maciej R ESZELSKI,19 and Christopher P. J ONES20
1
Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502
uemura@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp
2
MISAO Project, 2-4-10-708 Tsunashima-nishi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-0053
3
MISAO Project, 791-8 Koshikiya, Ageo, Saitama 362-0064
4
MISAO Project, 25 Senoh, Okayama, Okayama 701-0205
5
US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, P. O. Box 1149, Flagstaff, AZ 86002-1149, Universities Space Research Association, USA
6
MEDUZA group, Okrouhla 1, 625 00 Brno – Bohunice, Czech Republic
7
Gunma Astronomical Observatory, 6860-86 Nakayama Takayama-mura, Agatsuma-gun, Gunma 377-0702
8
Fujii-Bisei Observatory, 4500 Kurosaki, Tamashima, Okayama 713-8126
9
C. E. Scovil Observatory, 2615 S. Summers Rd., Imlay City, Michigan, 48444, USA
10
15 Borrowdale Walk, Northampton, NN3 6PW, UK
11
MEDUZA group, Slovak Association of Amateur Astronomers, 027 42 Podbiel 194, Slovakia
12
BAA Variable Star Section, 67 Ellerton Road, Kingstanding, Birmingham B44 0QE, England
13
AAVSO; IAPPP, P.O. Box 517, Derby, KS 67037, USA
14
297 Eagle Ridge Street, Newbury Park, CA 91320-5072, USA
15
BAA Variable Star Section, 17 Cross Lane, Wakefield, W Yorkshire WF2 8DA, UK
16
29 Rosebery Road, Great Plumstead, Norwich, UK
17
Vereniging Voor Sterrenkunde, Werkgroep Veranderlijke Sterren (VVS Belgium), Eksterstraat 6, B-8400 Oostende, Belgium
18
President of CAA (Centro Astronomico de Avila) and Variable and SNe Group M1, Buenavista 7,
Ciudad Sto. Domingo, 28110 Algete/Madrid, Spain
19
Al. 1-go Maja 29/4, 64500 Szamotuly, Poland
20
BAA, Variable Star Section, 29 Buller Road, Laindon, Essex SS15 6BA, England

(Received 2003 December 4; accepted 2004 January 15)

Abstract
We report on the discovery of a new variable star, MisV1147, by the MISAO Project and its unusual photometric
variations. The light curve of the object is characterized by two distinct states, that is, a relatively calm, bright
state and an active state during which repetitive fadings with large amplitudes of ∼ 2mag were observed. The fading
events were associated with optical reddening. The object is identified with a catalogued Hα emission star, which has
been confirmed by our spectroscopic observations. The Hα emission line is narrow and symmetric both in the bright
and faint phases. The object has infrared colors analogous to T Tau stars or Herbig Ae/Be stars. In conjunction with
the detection of a NaD absorption line and its position close to Cep OB1, we conclude that MisV1147 is a Herbig
Be star with its spectral type of B2. Its optical-infrared spectral energy distribution is typical for Herbig Ae/Be stars,
which supports this classification. The overall properties of the light curve are reminiscent of a UX Ori sub-group,
showing Algol-type minima. The most noteworthy feature of MisV1147 is that it has a spectral type B2, whereas
known UX Ori stars have spectral types later than B8. The object, furthermore, has one of the largest amplitudes
of variations among known Herbig Ae/Be stars. Hence the object breaks the very strong correlation between the
variation amplitude and the spectral type. This implies that dust clumps in circumstellar matter can significantly
obscure a central object even in the early-type system.
Key words: stars: circumstellar matter — stars: individual (MisV1147) — stars: pre-main sequence

1. Introduction photospheric continuum, indicating a strong contribution of

The Herbig Ae/Be stars are pre-main sequence stars with
intermediate masses (Herbig 1960; Strom et al. 1972). They
share a number of characteristics of spectra in common
with the T Tauri stars, for example, Balmer and metal
emission lines and a large infrared excess above the stellar
the emission from circumstellar dust and gas (for a recent
review, see Waters, Waelkens 1998). Herbig Ae/Be stars gener-
ally show low-amplitude (
0.5 mag) photometric variations
(Shevchenko et al. 1993a; Shevchenko et al. 1993b; van den
Ancker et al. 1998; Herbst, Shevchenko 1999). Large varia-
tions with amplitudes of > 0.5mag are observed in a sub-group
S184 M. Uemura et al.
Fig. 1. CCD image of MisV1147 in a faint state. It is a V -band image
taken with the USNO 1.0-m telescope, having a field of view about
7.
9 × 3.
3. The marked object is MisV1147.
of Herbig Ae stars, called “UXORs”, named after their proto-
type UX Ori (Bibo, The 1991). They are characterized by deep
fading events, called “Algol-type minima” (Grinin et al. 1991;
Herbst 1994). The most promising interpretation for the Algol-
type minima is obscuration events by the circumstellar dust
clumps (Wenzel 1969; Wenzel et al. 1971). Such dust clumps
can be protoplanets or protocomets formed in the circumstellar
matter around young stellar objects.
Here, we report on a new variable discovered by the MISAO
Project,1 which is a peculiar Herbig Be star, as shown in the
following sections. In 2001 December, the PIXY System 2
developed by the MISAO Project discovered a new variable
from images on 2000 October 13 and 2001 October 3 taken
by Nobuo Ohkura, which was reported to the VSNET (Kato
et al. 2004). We named this new variable MisV1147. The
object was recorded with 13.4 mag in the first image, and
then apparently brightened to 12.3 mag in the second image.
Unfiltered CCD images of the field of the object are shown in
figure 1. The images are about 7. 9 × 3. 3, and MisV1147 is the
marked object. The position of MisV1147 was calculated to
be R.A. = 22h 54m 03.s 78, Dec. = 58◦ 54 02. 1 using neighboring
bright stars catalogued in USNO-A2.0. There is no extended
object around MisV1147. The object is identified with an
object listed in the Hamburg-Bergedorf Hα Stars in Northern
Milky Way, named HBHA 65-53 (Kohoutek, Wehmeyer 1999).
In the next section, we summarize our observations. In
section 3, we report on the properties of light curves,
color variations, spectra, and the spectral energy distribution
between the optical and infrared regimes. In section 4, we
discuss the nature of MisV1147 and its variations. We summa-
rize our findings in the last section.
2. Observations
Photometric CCD observations were performed at Kyoto,
Okayama, Brno, Derby, and Flagstaff. The journal of our
1
http://www.aerith.net/misao/.
[Vol. 56,
observations is listed in table 1. Observations at Kyoto were
made with an unfiltered CCD camera attached to a 30-cm
telescope. Differential magnitudes of MisV1147 were calcu-
lated using a neighboring comparison star of GSC 3997.2060
with its Rc -magnitude of 11.133.2 The MISAO Project yielded
unfiltered CCD magnitudes of MisV1147 for 11 nights using
images taken with a 16-cm Wright-Schmidt reflector, a 50-cm
camera lens, and a 30-cm Newtonian telescope. At Brno, data
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were taken with a 40-cm Newtonian telescope of the Nicholas
Copernicus Observatory and Planetarium. The comparison
star was GSC 3997.1739 with V RI magnitudes taken from
the same sequence as the Kyoto observations. Observations
at Derby were performed with a 20-m Schmidt-Cassegrain
telescope. Observations at Flagstaff were performed with the
USNO 1.0-m Ritchey-Chretien telescope, using various CCDs
and U BV Rc Ic filters. An ensemble of comparison stars from
the Henden sequence was used.
We obtained optical spectra of MisV1147 at the Gunma
Astronomical Observatory (GAO) and the Bisei Astronomical
Observatory (BAO). At GAO, spectra were obtained with the
Gunma Compact Spectrograph (GCS) attached to the classical-
Cassegrain focus of the GAO 65-cm telescope (F/12). The
spectral resolving power (λ/∆λ) of GCS is about 500 at
5500 Å and the wavelength coverage is from 3800 to 7600 Å.
On 2002 January 13, we took 12 spectra with a 5-min
exposure time. Another spectroscopic observation at GAO was
performed on 2002 September 19 when 6 spectra with 10-min
exposure time were obtained. A flux calibration was made
using a standard star HR718 on January 13 and HR8634 and
9087 on September 19. The observation at BAO was performed
with a 1.0-m telescope on 2002 October 25. We took seven
spectra with 15-min exposure time, and the spectral resolution
was about 500. The flux calibration was made using a standard
star, HR718.
3. Results
3.1. Light Curve and Color Variations
We found two distinct states in MisV1147, that is, the active
state and the calm state, as can be seen from the light curve in
figure 2. The object was in the calm state during JD 2452280–
2452390 and JD 2452850–2452930, which is characterized
by gradual variations with small amplitudes of
1 mag.
The average visual magnitudes during the calm state of JD
2452280–2452390 were calculated to be 13.50 ± 0.04 mag.
Our CCD observations show that the V -magnitude varied
between 12.5 and 13.4 during the calm state.
The object experienced a number of fading episodes with
large amplitudes of 1–3 mag during the active state. As can
be seen in figure 2, the object entered an active state around
JD 2452500. The light curve exhibits a wide variety of
fading profiles, for example, a sharp fading by ∼ 2.5 mag
on JD 2452517 and a long and gradual fading by ∼ 1.5 mag
around JD 2452600–2452625. Figure 3 shows examples of
time-series observations. A period analysis of our time-series
observations yielded no significant periodicity shorter than
1 d, while the light curve on JD 2452893 shows some hints
2
ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/aah/sequence/mv1147.dat.
No. 1] Deep Fading of the New Herbig Be Star MisV1147 S185
Table 1. Journal of observations.

Tstart mag filter Texp N Site Tstart mag filter Texp N Site
1787.0892 12.27 ± 0.10 un. 90 4 M 2645.2404 13.132 ± 0.026 Ic 60 3 B
1788.0622 12.57 ± 0.10 un. 90 3 M 2645.2396 14.016 ± 0.040 Rc 60 3 B
1829.0151 13.50 ± 0.15 un. 90 4 M 2645.2376 14.712 ± 0.062 V 90 3 B
1831.0111 13.43 ± 0.15 un. 90 4 M 2646.0593 14.474 ± 0.008 un. 30 22 K
2170.0697 14.19 ± 0.20 un. 90 4 M 2648.0439 13.924 ± 0.007 un. 30 16 K

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2185.0310 12.52 ± 0.10 un. 90 1 M 2649.9646 13.166 ± 0.010 un. 30 12 K
2186.0380 12.33 ± 0.10 un. 90 2 M 2651.0434 13.156 ± 0.012 un. 30 25 K
2213.9730 12.24 ± 0.10 un. 90 3 M 2651.2139 12.068 ± 0.028 Ic 60 3 B
2233.9215 12.16 ± 0.10 un. 90 1 M 2651.2171 12.857 ± 0.028 Rc 60 3 B
2234.9255 12.21 ± 0.10 un. 90 2 M 2651.2238 13.593 ± 0.100 V 90 3 B
2288.6100 14.266 ± 0.003 U 300 1 F 2652.0394 12.880 ± 0.007 un. 30 21 K
2288.6100 14.179 ± 0.002 B 80 1 F 2653.0449 13.059 ± 0.011 un. 30 27 K
2288.6100 13.365 ± 0.002 V 40 1 F 2656.0612 14.076 ± 0.012 un. 30 43 K
2288.6100 12.807 ± 0.002 Rc 30 1 F 2657.0323 14.363 ± 0.087 un. 30 47 K
2288.6100 12.179 ± 0.003 Ic 20 1 F 2658.6052 16.402 ± 0.040 U 300 1 F
2492.0771 12.68 ± 0.10 un. 30 2 M 2658.6052 16.292 ± 0.014 B 80 1 F
2550.1235 14.088 ± 0.011 un. 30 177 K 2658.6052 15.316 ± 0.008 V 40 1 F
2551.1308 13.719 ± 0.013 un. 30 149 K 2658.6052 14.577 ± 0.008 Rc 30 1 F
2553.2367 13.075 ± 0.005 un. 30 165 K 2658.6052 13.526 ± 0.009 Ic 20 1 F
2557.2291 12.332 ± 0.001 un. 30 154 K 2660.9090 14.031 ± 0.008 un. 30 34 K
2558.2572 12.277 ± 0.003 un. 30 152 K 2664.0547 13.514 ± 0.168 un. 30 3 K
2559.2805 12.426 ± 0.004 un. 30 90 K 2667.9581 13.022 ± 0.009 un. 30 15 K
2563.3358 12.687 ± 0.014 un. 30 13 K 2670.9408 13.677 ± 0.040 un. 30 11 K
2565.2927 13.197 ± 0.007 un. 30 36 K 2673.9174 14.856 ± 0.193 un. 30 13 K
2567.7569 13.913 ± 0.003 B 80 1 F 2674.8967 14.536 ± 0.027 un. 30 17 K
2567.7569 13.095 ± 0.003 V 40 1 F 2675.9467 14.256 ± 0.024 un. 30 9 K
2570.2130 12.568 ± 0.003 un. 30 242 K 2676.9035 14.159 ± 0.014 un. 30 15 K
2577.6706 15.853 ± 0.009 U 300 1 F 2677.9060 14.047 ± 0.086 un. 30 10 K
2577.6706 15.809 ± 0.005 B 80 1 F 2678.2974 12.866 ± 0.180 Ic 60 3 B
2577.6706 14.876 ± 0.005 V 40 1 F 2678.3927 13.795 ± 0.080 Rc 60 3 B
2577.6706 14.170 ± 0.005 Rc 30 1 F 2678.3841 14.481 ± 0.115 V 90 3 B
2577.6706 13.264 ± 0.010 Ic 20 1 F 2683.9414 13.689 ± 0.007 un. 30 32 K
2599.0005 12.773 ± 0.004 un. 30 202 K 2685.2215 12.962 ± 0.029 Ic 60 3 B
2601.1164 13.148 ± 0.002 un. 30 398 K 2685.2342 13.769 ± 0.042 Rc 60 3 B
2602.1269 13.158 ± 0.032 un. 30 85 K 2685.2290 14.560 ± 0.080 V 90 3 B
2605.1535 13.211 ± 0.018 un. 30 13 K 2707.0914 14.14 ± 0.05 V 30 3 D
2606.1085 13.329 ± 0.031 un. 30 23 K 2714.0732 < 15.3 V 30 3 D
2607.0538 13.753 ± 0.007 un. 30 18 K 2793.4773 12.320 ± 0.027 Ic 60 3 B
2607.9736 13.823 ± 0.018 un. 30 26 K 2793.4765 12.973 ± 0.041 Rc 60 3 B
2609.9859 13.849 ± 0.006 un. 30 40 K 2793.4759 13.625 ± 0.075 V 90 3 B
2610.9943 13.857 ± 0.010 un. 30 5 K 2802.4975 12.829 ± 0.025 Ic 60 3 B
2614.9954 14.086 ± 0.145 un. 30 13 K 2802.5007 13.621 ± 0.040 Rc 60 3 B
2618.8746 14.147 ± 0.012 un. 30 15 K 2802.5053 14.321 ± 0.074 V 90 3 B
2620.1024 14.019 ± 0.038 un. 30 11 K 2808.4822 12.246 ± 0.016 Ic 60 3 B
2621.1102 13.730 ± 0.007 un. 30 14 K 2808.4814 12.868 ± 0.022 Rc 60 3 B
2623.1079 13.768 ± 0.010 un. 30 19 K 2808.4808 13.504 ± 0.033 V 90 3 B
2623.5395 14.62 ± 0.05 V 30 3 D 2811.4850 12.805 ± 0.023 Ic 60 3 B
2624.0985 13.683 ± 0.011 un. 30 29 K 2811.4842 13.637 ± 0.036 Rc 60 3 B
2630.5631 14.76 ± 0.05 V 30 3 D 2811.4836 14.292 ± 0.057 V 90 3 B
2632.0515 14.100 ± 0.009 un. 30 36 K 2829.5041 11.638 ± 0.010 Ic 60 3 B
2633.0535 14.127 ± 0.035 un. 30 22 K 2829.5033 12.176 ± 0.013 Rc 60 3 B
2638.1131 12.741 ± 0.030 un. 30 12 K 2829.5041 12.729 ± 0.020 V 90 3 B
2639.0270 12.826 ± 0.008 un. 30 31 K 2835.4664 11.732 ± 0.010 Ic 60 3 B
2640.0642 13.209 ± 0.017 un. 30 32 K 2835.4656 12.280 ± 0.011 Rc 60 3 B
2835.4650 12.827 ± 0.016 V 90 3 B
S186 M. Uemura et al. [Vol. 56,
Table 1. (Continued.) of small (
0.1 mag) short-term modulations of an order of
hours. Another active state with large variations was recorded
Tstart mag filter Texp N Site before the calm state of JD 2452280–2452380. While their
2840.4034 11.529 ± 0.016 Ic 60 3 B detailed structure is unclear, the pattern of active states seems
2840.4046 12.035 ± 0.016 Rc 60 3 B to repeat, two occasions have been observed, and the timescale
2840.4061 12.574 ± 0.019 V 90 3 B is typically 300 days.
2840.4938 11.494 ± 0.008 Ic 60 3 B Using our CCD observations between JD 2452550–2452683
2840.4930 12.024 ± 0.009 Rc 60 3 B (the filled circles in figure 2), we performed a Fourier analysis;

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2840.4924 12.549 ± 0.013 V 90 3 B the result is shown in figure 4. The most prominent period-
2843.3994 12.186 ± 0.016 Ic 60 3 B icity is 13.6 days. The vertical dotted lines in figure 2 repre-
2843.4178 12.861 ± 0.025 Rc 60 3 B sent this period. As can be seen from figure 2, the light
2843.4205 13.453 ± 0.034 V 90 3 B curve between JD 2452630–2452680 appears to be sinusoidal,
2853.2771 12.124 ± 0.003 un. 30 120 K having a 13.6-d period, rather than the sharp fading observed
2855.9772 13.683 ± 0.004 B 80 1 F on JD 2452517. The pattern seems to keep coherency for about
2855.9772 12.802 ± 0.006 V 40 1 F ∼ 10 cycles, except for an interruption around the long fading
2855.9772 12.251 ± 0.005 Rc 30 1 F of JD 2452600–2452625.
2855.9772 11.649 ± 0.005 Ic 20 1 F Color variations are associated with fading events, as shown
2856.4820 11.583 ± 0.008 Ic 60 3 B in figure 5. The top panel of figure 5 is the V -mag–color
2856.4813 12.181 ± 0.010 Rc 60 3 B (V − Rc and Rc − I c) diagram. The object monotonically
2856.4807 12.784 ± 0.015 V 90 3 B became redder with fadings in the V -band. The middle panel
2856.9223 13.783 ± 0.005 B 80 1 F of figure 5 is a color–color diagram of (V − Rc )–(Rc − Ic ). The
2856.9223 12.861 ± 0.004 V 40 1 F dotted lines represent the direction of the interstellar reddening.
2856.9223 12.282 ± 0.006 Rc 30 1 F As can be seen from the figure, the reddening behavior of
2856.9223 11.657 ± 0.003 Ic 20 1 F the object is almost consistent with the dotted lines, which
2858.4538 11.635 ± 0.008 Ic 60 3 B implies that the extinction by dust causes the fading events.
2858.4530 12.252 ± 0.009 Rc 60 3 B In the faintest state of V ∼ 14.5–15.3, the Rc − Ic values are
2858.4525 12.886 ± 0.013 V 90 3 B possibly larger than those expected from the corresponding
2867.4773 11.871 ± 0.009 Ic 60 3 B V − Rc values. Since the object shows the Hα emission line,
2867.4765 12.462 ± 0.011 Rc 60 3 B the Rc -magnitude may be influenced by possible variations of
2867.4759 12.994 ± 0.014 V 90 3 B the line. We show the (B − V )–(V − Ic ) diagram in the bottom
2885.4458 11.559 ± 0.003 Ic 60 3 B panel of figure 5. While the number of observations is smaller,
2885.4450 12.109 ± 0.004 Rc 60 3 B we can confirm a similar characteristic, that is, a larger V − Ic
2885.4443 12.637 ± 0.004 V 90 3 B in this diagram.
2895.7538 13.622 ± 0.006 B 80 1 F The light curve and color variations are reminiscent of
2895.7538 12.827 ± 0.008 V 40 1 F Herbig Ae/Be stars or T Tau stars, rather than other emission
2895.7538 12.293 ± 0.005 Rc 30 1 F line objects, such as cataclysmic variables and late-type stars
2895.7538 11.707 ± 0.004 Ic 20 1 F with emission lines.
2899.4964 12.255 ± 0.003 Ic 60 3 B 3.2. Optical Spectrum
2899.4955 12.989 ± 0.005 Rc 60 3 B
2899.4950 13.638 ± 0.006 V 90 3 B Our spectroscopic observations confirmed the Hα emission
2899.7129 14.693 ± 0.007 B 80 1 F line, as indicated from the identification with HBHA 65-53.
2899.7129 13.766 ± 0.007 V 40 1 F Figure 6 shows the optical spectrum of MisV1147. The two
2901.7389 14.575 ± 0.005 B 80 1 F spectra correspond to that in a bright state at 13.1 mag on JD
2901.7389 13.589 ± 0.008 V 40 1 F 2452288 and that in a faint state at 14.8 mag on JD 2452537.
2930.3530 12.157 ± 0.004 Ic 60 3 B These magnitudes were estimated by an interpolation of the
2930.3522 12.763 ± 0.007 Rc 60 3 B visual magnitudes. The most prominent feature of the spectra
2930.3516 13.333 ± 0.007 V 90 3 B is the single-peaked, narrow and symmetric Hα emission line.
2937.2076 13.914 ± 0.003 un. 30 311 K We also significantly detected the NaD and Hβ absorption
2938.1864 13.545 ± 0.007 un. 30 102 K lines. The NaD line must be a blend of the NaD 5890 and
2939.1283 13.173 ± 0.004 un. 30 77 K 5896 Å doublet. The properties of these lines, calculated by a
2940.2374 12.900 ± 0.002 un. 30 534 K Gaussian fitting, are listed in table 2.
2943.1180 12.874 ± 0.008 un. 30 36 K Table 2 shows an increase in the equivalent width (EW)
2945.1036 13.209 ± 0.011 un. 30 52 K of the Hα emission associated with a fading from 13.1 to
2950.0182 12.327 ± 0.005 un. 30 37 K 14.8 mag. This apparent increase of EW probably arises from
a decrease of the continuum emission, as can be seen from
Tstart = HJD − 2450000.
filter: “un.” = unfiltered CCD.
figure 6. The reddening behavior in figure 5 is confirmed with
Texp = Exposure time in seconds. the evolution of these spectra.
N = Number of images. The significant detection of the NaD absorption line implies
Site: “K” = Kyoto, “B” = Brno, “M” = MISAO, “F” = Flagstaff, a large interstellar extinction. A linear relationship between
“D” = Derby.
No. 1] Deep Fading of the New Herbig Be Star MisV1147 S187

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Fig. 2. Light curve of MisV1147. The abscissa and ordinate denote the time in HJD and magnitudes, respectively. The filled circles, open circles, and
filled triangles represent the unfiltered CCD magnitude observed at Kyoto, by the MISAO Project, and V -magnitude, respectively. Crosses are visual
estimates reported to the VSNET. We added 0.6 mag for unfiltered CCD magnitudes observed at Kyoto in the figure to clearly show the profile of
variations combined with the visual estimates. The vertical dotted lines represent the 13.6-d cycle, which was obtained from our period analysis.
S188 M. Uemura et al.
Fig. 3. Examples of time-series observations. The abscissa denotes
the time in HJD. The average rising or fading trends were subtracted in
the shown light curves. The ordinate denotes the differential magnitude
from the average trends.
Fig. 4. Power spectra for MisV1147 during the active state. The
abscissa and ordinate denote the frequency in day−1 and the power
in an arbitrary unit, respectively.
the distance–NaD line provides a distance of  3.4 kpc (Allen
2000). This long distance favors an early type star, like a
Herbig Ae/Be star, rather than a late type one, like a T Tau
star. We note that the above estimate provides an upper limit
of the distance, since the absorption by cool gas components
in the circumstellar matter can contribute to the observed line
in the case of Herbig Ae/Be systems. High-resolution spectro-
scopic observations are required to resolve the interstellar and
circumstellar absorption components.
It is also important to note that there is no feature of TiO
absorption bands. The object is hence less likely to be a late-
type object. The lack of He I and II emission lines supports the
[Vol. 56,
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Fig. 5. Optical color variations of MisV1147. (Top panel:) Color–
magnitude diagram. Filled and open circles denote V − Rc and Rc − Ic ,
respectively. (Middle panel:) Color–color diagram of (V − Rc )–
(Rc − Ic ). Dashed lines represent a direction of interstellar reddening.
(Bottom panel:) Color–color diagram of (B − V )–(V − Ic ).
conclusion that the object is not a cataclysmic variable.
3.3. Infrared Color–Color Diagram
Infrared observations of MisV1147 are available in 2MASS
All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources (Cutri et al. 2003), which are
J = 11.101 ± 0.026, H = 10.186 ± 0.032, and Ks = 9.356 ±
0.022. Based on these observations, apparent infrared colors
are calculated to be J − H = 0.915 ± 0.041 and H − Ks =
0.830 ± 0.039. We compare these colors of MisV1147 with
No. 1] Deep Fading of the New Herbig Be Star MisV1147 S189

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Fig. 6. (Left panel:) Optical spectra during the calm, bright (13.1 mag) state and during the active, faint (14.8 mag) state. A steep feature around 5460 Å
in the upper spectrum is due to a failure of sky subtraction. Steep absorption features in lower spectrum are due to bad pixels. (Right panel:) Spectra
around the Hα emission line.

Table 2. Line properties.

mag date λ(Hα; Å) λ(Hβ; Å) λ(NaD; Å)

13.1 ± 0.2 2002/01/13 6563.53 ± 0.32 4862.56 ± 1.64 5891.05 ± 1.03
13.6 ± 0.2 2002/10/25 6563.73 ± 0.34 ··· 5891.31 ± 1.16
14.8 ± 0.2 2002/09/19 6563.14 ± 0.20 ··· 5892.10 ± 1.63
EW(Hα; Å) EW(Hβ; Å) EW(NaD; Å)
13.1 ± 0.2 2002/01/13 −17.76 ± 0.43 2.62 ± 0.43 2.63 ± 0.29
13.6 ± 0.2 2002/10/25 −21.37 ± 0.32 ··· 1.84 ± 0.38
14.8 ± 0.2 2002/09/19 −30.87 ± 0.51 ··· 1.71 ± 0.43
FWHM(Hα; km s−1 ) FWHM(Hβ; km s−1 ) FWHM(NaD; km s−1 )
13.1 ± 0.2 2002/01/13 632 ± 17 852 ± 135 727 ± 103
13.6 ± 0.2 2002/10/25 455 ± 9 ··· 588 ± 150
14.8 ± 0.2 2002/09/19 574 ± 7 ··· 579 ± 203

those of normal dwarfs, giants, and pre-main sequence stars in
the infrared color-color diagram, as shown in figure 7. In this
figure, we show main-sequence stars, giants, weak-line T Tauri
stars with open triangles, classical T Tauri stars with crosses,
and Herbig Ae/Be stars with open circles, which are selected
in Lee and Chen (2002). The arrow in the figure indicates the
direction of the interstellar reddening by dust. As can be seen
in figure 7, MisV1147 lies in the Herbig Ae/Be region. It is also
close to the classical T Tauri region; however, the detection of
the NaD absorption line favors the Herbig Ae/Be scenario of
MisV1147.
3.4. Optical–Infrared Spectral Energy Distribution
In order to calculate a de-reddened spectral energy distri-
bution (SED), we must determine the distance of MisV1147.
Based on the NaD absorption line in the optical spectrum, we
consider that the object is under heavy interstellar extinction.
This indicates a large distance, which is preferable not for faint,
late-type objects, but for luminous, early-type objects. There is
an OB association, Cep OB1, in the direction of MisV1147.
We consider that MisV1147 is a member of Cep OB1 whose
distance is 3.5 kpc (Lang 1992). This distance is roughly
consistent to that estimated from the EW of NaD as reported
in subsection 3.2.
We determined the intrinsic B − V of MisV1147 with an
iterative procedure, as in Hillenbrand et al. (1992): we first
assume the earliest possible spectral type, and then compute
the color excess using the distance of Cep OB1. The color
excess provides the visual extinction, and then the absolute
magnitude, which is compared with the absolute magnitude of
S190 M. Uemura et al.
Fig. 7. 2MASS infrared color–color diagram including MisV1147.
MisV1147 is shown with the filled circle. The other objects are selected
in Lee and Chen (2002). The open triangles denote main-sequence,
giants, and weak-line T Tauri stars. The crosses and open circles denote
classical T Tauri stars and Herbig Ae/Be stars, respectively. The arrow
indicates the direction of the interstellar reddening.
Fig. 8. Optical–infrared spectral energy distribution of MisV1147.
The abscissa and ordinate denote the wavelength in µm and the flux,
λFλ , in erg s−1 cm−2 . The filled circles are optical U BV Rc Ic obser-
vations. The open circles are 2MASS J H Ks infrared observations.
The solid line is the model spectrum of a B2V star reported in Kurucz
(1979).
the assumed spectral type. This procedure is repeated until the
absolute magnitudes are consistent. In the case of MisV1147
in the bright phase, the B − V of a B1–2 star is the best-fit
spectral type. The color excess is calculated to be E(B − V ) =
1.05–1.14. Using the dust maps in Schlegel, Finkbeiner, and
Davis (1998), we can obtain E(B −V ) = 1.68 in the direction of
MisV1147, which provides an upper limit of the color excess,
and is consistent of the above estimate. With the same proce-
dure, the best-fit spectral type in the faint phase is B5–6. We
[Vol. 56,
note that this estimation is valid when the object has a spectral
type analogous to that of main-sequence stars.
Using the optical observation during the bright phase
and 2MASS infrared observations, we obtained the optical–
infrared SED of MisV1147, as shown in figure 8, with filled
and open circles. Flux calibrations were performed with the
extinction laws in Fiorucci and Munari (2003). As can be seen
in figure 8, the optical regime can be described with the SED of
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/pasj/article/56/sp1/S183/1469578 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics user on 09 May 2024
a B2 (solid line). The model spectrum in the figure is presented
by Kurucz (1979). Since we have no optical data on the date
of 2MASS observation, it is unclear whether the object was in
the bright or faint phase. In figure 8, we assume the extinc-
tion to be in the bright phase for the infrared observations. On
the other hand, the figure evidently shows that MisV1147 has
infrared excess. The SED is typical for Herbig Ae/Be stars. We
can see a slight excess in the I -band in the SED of the faintest
phase. This may be due to a relatively large contribution of the
infrared excess component. The large Rc −Ic in the faint phase,
which is shown in figure 5 and mentioned in subsection 3.1, is
possibly caused by this effect.
As shown above, we revealed that the optical–infrared SED
supports the Herbig Ae/Be nature of MisV1147, as indicated
by other observational features, that is, the narrow Hα emission
and the infrared color–color diagram. As can be seen in
table 2, the EW of the NaD appears to decrease with the
brightness. Similar phenomena have also been reported in
other Herbig Ae/Be systems, which probably arise from the
accreting circumstellar matter (Rodgers et al. 2002; Grinin
et al. 1994). Based on these observational facts, we conclude
that MisV1147 is a new Herbig Be star whose spectral type is
B2.
In a few Herbig Ae/Be systems, short-term (a few hours)
variations of line profiles are observed (Catala et al. 1997;
Beskrovnaya et al. 1995; Catala et al. 1991). If they are caused
by accreting objects in the circumstellar matter, it may be
possible that the light curve also shows a variability of hours.
The possible short-term modulations shown in figure 3 may be
associated with such variations.
4. Discussion
There is a very strong correlation between the amplitude
of variations and the spectral types in Herbig Ae/Be stars
(Finkenzeller, Mundt 1984; van den Ancker et al. 1998;
Herbst, Shevchenko 1999). This correlation can be shown in
figure 9. The most noteworthy feature of MisV1147 is deep
fadings breaking this correlation; the system with its spectral
type of B2 has one of the largest amplitudes of variations,
although Herbig Be stars only show small-amplitude variations
of
0.5 mag, as shown with filled circles in figure 9.
The overall properties of the light curve are reminiscent
of UXORs, that is, long bright states terminated by sudden
fadings. Other characteristics in common with UXORs are
reddening and an increase of the EW of the Hα emission line
associated with fadings (Grinin et al. 1991; Bibo, The 1991).
These observations support that MisV1147 is a peculiar UXOR
star.
On the other hand, there are three unique characteris-
tics that are atypical for UXORs. First, the time-scales
No. 1] Deep Fading of the New Herbig Be Star MisV1147
Fig. 9. Relationship between the variation amplitude and the effec-
tive temperature. The filled circle and square describe the ampli-
tude of MisV1147, calculated using our CCD observations and visual
observations reported to the VSNET, respectively. Its amplitude is the
maximum one calculated from our unfiltered CCD observations. The
open circles are the other Herbig Ae/Be stars listed in van den Ancker
et al. (1998). The magnitude system of their sample is the Hipparcos
magnitude (3500–8500 Å; the effective wavelength is 5275 Å).
of several fadings were shorter than that of typical UXOR
systems: MisV1147 experienced a ∼ 1.7-mag fading only
within 2.5 days (around JD 2452517, see figure 2), while
the variation time-scale of typical systems is about a week.
Second, Algol-type minima were observed only in the early
phase of the active state in MisV1147 (around JD 2452517
and 2452547, see figure 2). The later fadings had broader
or sinusoidal profiles. These broad fadings are unfavorable
for the binary scenario for MisV1147 in which the fadings
are explained with eclipses by a secondary star. Finally,
the object exhibited a 13.6-d periodicity, whereas Algol-type
fading events are non-periodic phenomena. Shevchenko et al.
(1993b) report that 23 systems in their catalog of Herbig Ae/Be
stars have quasi-cyclic variability with periods of 10–100 days
and amplitudes of V = 0.05–0.5mag. The 13.6-period variation
of MisV1147, however, has larger amplitudes of ∼ 2 mag.
Obscurations by circumstellar dust clumps have been
proposed for the large-amplitude Algol-type fadings in UXORs
(Wenzel 1969; Wenzel et al. 1971). If the circumstellar matter
forms an accretion disk, the correlation between the amplitude
of variations and the spectral type can be naturally explained
with the inclination effect (Grinin, Rostopchina 1996; van den
Ancker et al. 1998): since a dust-formation region in the disk
must be more distant in an earlier-type system, the range of
inclination angles to allow the obscuration is narrower in early-
type systems than late-type systems. The observed number
of early-type UXORs is hence smaller than that of late-type
systems. In this scenario, MisV1147 may be a rare, Herbig Be
UXOR star. An objection against this scenario is the unusual,
single-peaked Hα emission line. According to van den Ancker,
de Winter, and Tjin A Djie (1998), Herbig Ae/Be stars showing
large variations have emission lines with a deep absorption at
S191
the center, which forms double-peaked line profiles. It can
be interpreted with the edge-on view of the accretion disk.
The single-peaked line in MisV1147 may imply a spherical or
quasi-spherical dust distribution (e.g., Hartmann et al. 1993;
Miroshnichenko et al. 1997) or totally different mechanism
of fadings. Note that our low-resolution spectra provide an
upper limit of the peak separation of 180kms−1 , which implies
that we may have overlooked a double-peaked feature. High-
Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/pasj/article/56/sp1/S183/1469578 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics user on 09 May 2024
resolution spectroscopic observations are required to study the
detailed structures of lines and their evolution associated with
photometric variations.
Another scenario for the amplitude–spectral type correlation
is the evolutionary effect (van den Ancker et al. 1998).
Theoretical calculations for the evolution of Herbig Ae/Be
stars predict that early-type systems only become optically
visible when they are very close to the ZAMS (Palla, Stahler
1993). The contribution of the circumstellar matter is hence
small in those systems, which leads to relatively smooth light
curves. This scenario can explain the amplitude–spectral type
correlation, however, it is definitely difficult to explain the large
variations due to the dust obscuration in an early-type system,
like MisV1147. The object implies that the circumstellar dust
clumps can significantly obscure the central object and lead to
large-amplitude variations, even in early-type systems.
5. Summary
We discovered a new variable star, MisV1147, which
suddenly entered an active phase characterized by deep
fadings. Our period analysis revealed a 13.6-d periodicity
that lasted for about 10 cycles. We conclude that MisV1147
is a Herbig Be star based on the following observational
features: i) a narrow Hα emission line, ii) the detection
of the NaD absorption line, implying a heavy interstellar
extinction, iii) infrared colors typical for Herbig Ae/Be stars,
iv) reddening associated with fading events, and v) an optical–
infrared spectral energy distribution typical of Herbig Ae/Be
stars. The reddening and the emission line evolution with
fading events indicate that MisV1147 is a peculiar UX Ori-type
star. In other words, the fading events are probably obscura-
tions by dust clouds in circumstellar matter. Their amplitudes
are, however, much larger than those reported for other Herbig
Be stars. This implies that dust clumps in circumstellar matter
can obscure a central object, even in an early-type system.
We are grateful to a number of observers who have been
reporting their observations to VSNET. We would like to thank
Dr. Lee, Hsu-Tai and Dr. Chen, W. P. who kindly sent us their
samples. The authors are also grateful to Dr. D. Nogami, for
useful comments on the paper. This work is partly supported by
Grants-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (No. 13640239, 15037205). Part of
this work is supported by a Research Fellowship of the Japan
Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists.
S192 M. Uemura et al.
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