T Tauri star

This article is about the type of variable star. For the particular variable star called "T Tauri", see T Tauri.
Artist's impression of a T Tauri star with a circumstellar accretion disc
Star formation
Object classes
Theoretical concepts

T Tauri stars (TTS) are a class of variable stars that are less than about ten million years old.[1] This class is named after the prototype, T Tauri, a young star in the Taurus star-forming region. They are found near molecular clouds and identified by their optical variability and strong chromospheric lines. T Tauri stars are pre-main-sequence stars in the process of contracting to the main sequence along the Hayashi track, a luminosity–temperature relationship obeyed by infant stars of less than 3 solar masses (M☉) in the pre-main-sequence phase of stellar evolution.[2] It ends when a star of 0.5 M☉ or larger develops a radiative zone, or when a smaller star commences nuclear fusion on the main sequence.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference appenzeller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Stellar Evolution - Cycles of Formation and Destruction; Young Stellar Objects". chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-31.