A Photometric Study of Stars in the MBM 12 Association

William Herbst, Eric C. Williams, Wendy P. Hawley

Published 2004-01-07Version 1

We have monitored four fields containing nine previously identified members of the MBM 12 association to search for photometric variability and periodicity in these pre-main sequence stars. Seven of the nine are found to be variable and definite periodicity (of 1.2, 2.6 and 6.2 days) is found for three of them, including the classical T Tauri star LkH-alpha 264. Two other members are possibly periodic but each requires confirmation. In addition, a "field" star that is associated with the X-ray source RX J0255.9+2005 was discovered to be a variable with a period of 4.2 days. Our results indicate that the photometric variability characteristics of the known MBM 12 association members are typical of what is found in ~few My old stellar groups such as IC 348, supporting arguments for a similar age. In particular, there is a mix of periodic and non-periodic variables with typical amplitudes (in Cousins I) of 0.1-0.5 mag, in addition to a small number of larger amplitude variables. The periods, as a group, are somewhat shorter than in IC 348 but when allowance is made for the known dependence of period on mass in pre-main sequence stars the difference may not be significant. Our data confirm and illustrate the value of photometric monitoring as a tool for identifying likely association members and for studying rotation in extremely young stellar groups.