Pulsed Accretion

Pulsed Accretion (English, German pulsed accretion ) describes in astronomy, a periodic modulation of the accretion rate of young stellar objects in binary systems. The Pulsed Accretion is observed as a periodic signal in the infrared light curves of T Tauri stars.

In double stars of young stellar objects forms around each star a protoplanetary disk is accreted from the matter at the stars. Does the binary system has an elliptical orbit so act in periastron stronger gravitational forces on the circumstellar disks, and such noise lead to a temporary increase in the accretion rate on the star. The increased accretion rates lead to a change in brightness mid-infrared, where the intensity of the protostar LRLL 54361 up tenfold increase. Brightness changes are always explained by Pulsed Accretion if the modulation in the light curve is identical to the orbital period of the binary system and can not be explained by covering effects as in the UX Orionis stars.