Understanding the atmospheric structure of T Tauri stars — I. Improved atomic physics applied to IUE data of BP Tauri

Abstract

ABSTRA C T Recent advances in modelling the radiating character of dynamic laboratory and astrophysical plasmas are applied here in a new examination of the properties of the atmosphere of the classical T Tauri star BP Tau. We analyse archived International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) UV spectra of BP Tau. We adopt a collisional-radiative model and utilize emission measure (EM) and differential emission measure (DEM) techniques to try to constrain the distribution of emitting material in temperature in the atmosphere of this star. We use spectroscopic diagnostic techniques to probe atmospheric parameters such as electron density, and to set constraints on the volume of emission regions. This work is important for understanding the fundamental properties of BP Tau and other T Tauri stars, and for providing a more complete basis for models of their atmospheres.