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Narrow Na And K Absorption Lines Toward T Tauri Stars: Tracing The Atomic Envelope Of Molecular Clouds, I. Pascucci, Suzan Edwards, M Heyer, E. Rigliaco, L. Hillenbrand, U. Gorti, D. Hollenbach, M. N. Simon

Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present a detailed analysis of narrow Na I and K I absorption resonance lines toward nearly 40 T Tauri stars in Taurus with the goal of clarifying their origin. The Na I λ5889.95 line is detected toward all but one source, while the weaker K I λ7698.96 line is detected in about two-thirds of the sample. The similarity in their peak centroids and the significant positive correlation between their equivalent widths demonstrate that these transitions trace the same atomic gas. The absorption lines are present toward both disk and diskless young stellar objects, which excludes cold gas within the …