Direct Optical Evidence of Late-Stage Infall in AB Aurigae: A Stagnant [O I] Reservoir and a Crushed Magnetosphere

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Original abstract

Massive planet-carved cavities in transition disks should theoretically throttle inward gas transport, challenging our understanding of how central stars maintain vigorous accretion. To investigate how macro-scale late-stage infall traverses these gaps, we present multi-epoch, extreme-resolution (R ~ 107,000) PARAS-2 optical spectroscopy of the benchmark Herbig Ae system AB Aurigae. By resolving the kinematics of H-alpha, He I 5876, [O I] 6300, 6363, and Na I D, we map the innermost accretion environment. We find that the [O I] emission is centered near the stellar rest velocity with symmetric broadening of ~ 35 km/s. Restricted to T <= 3800 K, this profile traces a stagnant, gravitationally bound Keplerian gas reservoir at ~ 1 au. Therefore, it provides strong optical evidence that late-stage infall accumulates in an inner gas reservoir and subsequently feeds the innermost dust cavity. From this reservoir, gas is transported inward and crashes onto the star, driving a highly active accretion rate of dM/dt ~ 4 x 10^-7 M_sun/yr. The associated ram pressure crushes the stellar magnetosphere to R_mag ~ 1.2 R_star, which explains the restricted He I free-fall velocities and the highly variable inner wind. We also isolate a stable, slow H-alpha wind component, likely tracing an extended photoevaporative disk wind.

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