# A Test of Pre-Main Sequence Evolutionary Models Across the Stellar/Substellar Boundary Based on Spectra of the Young Quadruple GG Tau1footnote 11footnote 1Based partly on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract No. NAS5-26555.

## 1 Introduction

The masses and ages of T Tauri stars, a class of young ($`10^7`$yrs), low mass (M $``$ 2 M) stars, are primarily inferred from the comparison of their observationally determined stellar temperatures and luminosities to the predictions of theoretical pre-main sequence (PMS) evolutionary models (e.g., D’Antona & Mazzitelli 1994, 1997; Swenson et al. 1994; Burrows et al. 1997; Baraffe et al. 1998). Unfortunately, these mass and age estimates are currently very uncertain because of the uncertainties in the input physics of the evolutionary models. There are at best only minimal constraints on the choice of opacities, the convection prescription, and the proper treatment of the atmosphere (e.g., grey vs. non-grey). As a consequence, evolutionary models are computed with a variety of assumptions and predict discrepant masses and ages when compared to a specific luminosity and temperature. For example, a 1 Myr, 0.08 M star according to the Baraffe et al. (1998) model has the same luminosity and temperature as a 5 Myr, 0.12 M star according to the D’Antona & Mazzitelli (1997) model. Variations by a factor as large as 10 in age and 2 in mass are common between the models.

An additional problem in determining the masses and ages of T Tauri stars is that it is unclear whether a temperature scale similar to dwarfs or giants is more appropriate for these moderately over-luminous, young stars. While the dwarf and giant temperature scales are nearly identical near spectral type M0, the giant scale is more than 400<sup>o</sup>K hotter than the dwarf scale by spectral type M7 (e.g., Leggett et al. 1996 vs. Perrin et al. 1998). Thus even with accurate spectral types it is difficult to place T Tauri stars on an HR diagram for comparison with evolutionary models. For mid- and late-M T Tauri stars, these temperature scale differences lead to additional mass and age discrepancies by factors of a few.

Much of the uncertainty in the evolutionary models and the T Tauri temperature scale is a consequence of the limited observational constraints at the youngest ages and at solar or lower masses. Open clusters at an age $`100`$ Myrs such as the Pleiades have been used to test the later stages of evolutionary models; cluster members spanning a wide range in mass should lie along a single isochrone for an accurate evolutionary model using the proper temperature scale (e.g., Luhman 1998; Stauffer, Hartmann & Barrado y Navascues 1995; Stauffer et al. 1997). While this test has had some success in distinguishing between evolutionary models at these older ages, it is not possible to conduct this test with the youngest clusters or T associations such as Orion or Taurus-Auriga. The spread in ages for cluster members in these star forming regions is comparable to the age of the cluster (e.g., Hillenbrand 1997; Luhman & Rieke 1998; Luhman et al. 1998b).

Young binary stars provide a variety of methods for assessing the validity of the masses and ages inferred from evolutionary models. Binaries exhibiting orbital motion can be used to estimate the sum of the stellar masses (Ghez et al. 1995; Roddier et al. 1995; Thiébaut et al. 1995; Simon, Holfeltz & Taff 1996), double-lined spectroscopic binaries provide accurate mass ratios (Lee 1992; Figueiredo 1997; Prato 1998), and the rare eclipsing binaries yield both masses and radii (Popper 1987; Claret, Giménez & Martín 1995; Martín and Rebolo 1993; Corporon et al. 1994, 1996; Casey et al. 1998). Unfortunately, these types of binaries have offered little constraint on the earliest stages of PMS evolution as the orbital solutions are too preliminary and/or the the stellar components are near the zero age main-sequence (see review by Mathieu et al. 1998).

The relative ages of young multiple systems offer an additional constraint on evolutionary models and the T Tauri temperature scale. Unlike the youngest open clusters, the components of a multiple system, which can be thought of as a mini-cluster, are expected to have a negligible age difference. The correct evolutionary model and temperature scale should yield the same age for all components. Here we pursue this test using the relative ages of the PMS quadruple GG Tau in the nearby star forming region Taurus-Auriga (D = 140 pc; Kenyon, Dobrzycka & Hartmann 1994). GG Tau is a hierarchical quadruple comprised of two binary stars (Figure 1). The close pair, GG Tau A, with components Aa & Ab (separation 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$25 $``$ 35 AU) is separated by 10$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$1 from a wider pair, GG Tau B, with components Ba & Bb (= GG Tau/c; separation 1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$48 $``$ 207 AU). The GG Tau system is a particularly useful system for testing evolutionary models since there also exists a dynamical mass estimate for GG Tau A from kinematic studies of its circumbinary disk (Dutrey, Guilloteau & Simon 1994; Guilloteau, Dutrey & Simon 1998).

This test of evolutionary models requires accurately determined stellar properties for each component, which can only be extracted from spatially resolved spectra and photometry. We have therefore obtained spatially separated optical spectra of GG Tau Aa and Ab using the Hubble Space Telescope (section 2.1.1), and of GG Tau Ba and Bb with LRIS and HIRES on the 10-m W. M. Keck telescopes (sections 2.1.2 & 2.1.3). These spectra are used in conjunction with high spatial resolution photometry to determine the spectral type, luminosity and accretion activity of each component (section 3). Constraints on evolutionary models and the inferred stellar properties of the GG Tau components are discussed in section 4 and our conclusions are summarized in section 5.

## 2 Optical Spectroscopy and Data Analysis

### 2.1 Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope

The Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was used to obtain spatially resolved spectra of each component of the 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$25 binary GG Tau A on 1995 Nov 8. Each star was observed through the 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$09 $`\times `$ 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$09 aperture with the G570H (4600 - 6800 Å) and the G400H (3250 - 4800 Å) gratings, yielding a spectral resolution of R $``$ 1400 (cf. Keyes et al. 1995). Similar FOS observations of other close binary systems indicate that scattered light contamination from a nearby ($`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}3`$) point source is negligible ($`0.2`$ percent), as is expected from the sharp COSTAR PSF (Keyes et al. 1995). The HST spectra were initially calibrated by the FOS calibration pipeline (cf. Keyes et al. 1997). However, flat fielding information for small aperatures was not initially available, thus the spectra were later flat fielded using the appropriate sensitivity functions provided by T. Keyes & E. Smith (private communication), which are now available in the calibration pipeline.

### 2.2 HIRES at Keck

High resolution spectra of GG Tau Ba and Bb were obtained on 1997 Dec 10 with the Keck I telescope using the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES; Vogt et al. 1994). With the 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$86 slit (HIRES Decker ’C1’), the instrument yielded 15 spectral orders from 6350 - 8730 Å (with gaps between the orders) at a spectral resolution of R $``$ 45,000. The wavelength scale was determined from a thorium-argon calibration lamp exposure. Several mid-M Hyades stars were also observed with this setup for spectral comparison.

Spectra of both components of GG Tau B were obtained by aligning the pair along the slit. The spectra were binned by 2 in the spatial direction, which yielded an effective plate scale of 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$38/pixel. The peaks of the spatial intensity distribution for each component were clearly separated, although the wings overlapped. In order to deconvolve the spectra accurately, a simple model consisting of two Gaussians was fit to each 1D cut in the spatial direction of the two dimensional spectra. The full-width half maximum of the best fit Gaussians, approximately equal to the seeing, was 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$8.

### 2.3 LRIS at Keck

Low resolution spectra of the 1$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$48 binary GG Tau B were obtained 1997 Dec 9 with the Keck II Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (LRIS; Oke et al. 1995). The observations were conducted with a 400 l/mm grating and a one arcsecond slit. This setup yielded a spectral resolution of R $``$ 1300, spanning the wavelength range from 6400 - 9400 Å. The wavelength scale was determined from a Neon-Argon calibration lamp exposure.

A spectrum of the fainter component, GG Tau Bb, was obtained by centering the slit on the Bb component with the slit aligned perpendicular to the separation axis. This slit orientation was chosen to minimize the contamination from GG Tau Ba. To estimate the resulting contribution from Ba, a second ’offset’ spectrum was obtained on the opposite side of Ba at the same separation and slit orientation. This offset spectrum, which is dominated by scattered light from Ba, should not be contaminated by the faint companion Bb on the opposite side of Ba. We therefore assign the offset spectrum to GG Tau Ba.

Due to uncertainties in positioning the slit, the intensity of the offset spectrum was an overestimate of Ba’s contribution to Bb’s spectrum; a direct subtraction (Bb spectrum minus offset) resulted in a negative continuum at the blue end. The general appearance of Bb’s spectrum and the offset spectrum were markedly different (with Bb’s spectrum characteristic of a cooler object) and suggested only a minimal amount of contamination by Ba in Bb’s spectrum. In order to quantify and to remove Ba’s contribution, the offset spectrum was scaled such that the subtracted spectrum (Bb spectrum minus scaled offset) yielded TiO absorption strengths at 7124 Å, 7743 Å and 8432 Å identical to those measured in the HIRES spectrum. The subtraction removed only about 20 percent from Bb’s continuum at 6500 Å and 5 percent from Bb’s continuum at 9000 Å. Uncertainty in this subtraction led to an increased uncertainty in the continuum level near 6500 Å and thus in the inferred equivalent width (EW) of H$`\alpha `$ at 6563 Å for Bb (section 3.2). The inferred spectral type, however, is quite robust (section 3.1).

## 3 Results

The primary goal of our spectroscopic analysis is accurate spectral classification of each component, which includes determining their spectral types, confirming that all components are indeed T Tauri stars and establishing their T Tauri types (classical vs. weak). Classical T Tauri stars are thought to be accreting circumstellar material and, consequently, exhibit strong Balmer series emission attributable to the high temperature regions generated from the accretion flow (e.g., Basri & Bertout 1989; Gullbring 1994). Weak T Tauri stars are presumed to be experiencing no accretion and the ‘weak’ Balmer series emission common in their spectra is attributed to enhanced chromospheric activity (e.g., Walter et al. 1988). We use the strength of H$`\alpha `$ emission to distinguish classical from weak T Tauri stars, and a classical/weak dividing value set by Martín (1998); T Tauri stars are considered classical if their EW(H$`\alpha `$) $``$ 5 Å for K stars, $``$ 10 Å for M0-M2 stars and $``$ 20 Å for cooler stars. We characterize the excess optical emission or veiling for each component, which is common in classical T Tauri stars with large accretion rates; neglecting this excess emission can affect both the inferred spectral type and the stellar luminosity (e.g., Hartigan et al. 1991). The radial and rotational velocities of GG Tau Ba and Bb are also extracted from the HIRES spectra.

### 3.1 The Inferred Spectral Types

The HST FOS spectra of GG Tau Aa and Ab are shown in Figure 2. Their spectral types were established by comparison with spectral standards from Montes et al. (1997) over the temperature sensitive region 5700 - 6800 Å. This longer wavelength portion of each spectrum was used for spectral classification since it suffers the least from continuum excess emission common in classical T Tauri stars (cf. Basri & Batalha 1990; Hartigan et al. 1991; Gullbring et al. 1998). Additionally, this wavelength region is not strongly sensitive to surface gravity, which can affect spectral classification at even longer wavelengths for these moderately over-luminous stars. Based on these comparisons, we classify Aa as a K7 $`\pm `$ 1 and Ab as an M0.5 $`\pm `$ 0.5. The best fit dwarf spectra are also shown in Figure 2. As can be seen in the Figure, the CaH (6382 & 6389 Å; Kirkpatrick, Henry & McCarthy 1991) feature is weaker in both Aa and Ab than in the comparison dwarf and is indicative of a lower surface gravity.

The LRIS spectra of GG Tau Ba and Bb are shown in Figure 3. Sections of their HIRES spectra near Li I 6708 Å, H$`\alpha `$ 6563 Å and K I 7699 Å are shown in Figure 4. The spectral types for Ba and Bb were established by comparison of the LRIS spectra with spectral standards from Kirkpatrick et al. (1991) and Kirkpatrick, Henry & Irwin (1997) over the temperature sensitive region 6400 - 7600 Å. Based on these comparisons, we classify Ba as an M5 $`\pm `$ 0.5 and Bb as an M7 $`\pm `$ 0.5. The best fit dwarf and giant spectra are shown in Figure 3, and are roughly identical over this temperature sensitive region except near the gravity sensitive CaH band at $``$ 7000 Å (Kirkpatrick et al. 1991). Photospheric absorption features in the HIRES spectra are consistent with these inferred spectral types.

As with GG Tau Aa and Ab, the surface gravities of GG Tau Ba and Bb appear less than that of a dwarf. This is particularly striking in the LRIS spectrum of Bb. As Figure 3 shows, the strength of the gravity sensitive CaH band at $``$ 7000 Å for Bb is intermediate between that of giants and dwarfs, while other gravity sensitive features (K I at 7665 & 7699, Na I at 8183 & 8195; Kirkpatrick et al. 1991; Martín, Rebolo & Zapatero-Osorio 1996; Schiavon et al. 1997) are weak and are much more giant-like than dwarf-like. Figure 4 shows the K I absorption at 7699 Å in detail for both Ba and Bb. It is notably narrower in the T Tauri stars than in the Hyades M5 dwarf RHy 83 (Reid 1993), again indicative of a lower surface gravity. These results are consistent with the giant-like characteristics of other mid- to late-M T Tauri stars (Basri & Marcy 1995; Luhman, Liebert & Rieke 1997; Briceño et al. 1998; Luhman et al. 1998a; Luhman & Rieke 1998; Neuhäuser & Comerón 1998) and strengthens our conclusion that these are very young PMS objects.

### 3.2 The T Tauri Type and Continuum Excesses

All four GG Tau components exhibit prominent H$`\alpha `$ emission (Figures 2, 3, 4; Table 1). For the close pair, this emission is much stronger in Aa than Ab (EW\[H$`\alpha `$\]<sub>Aa</sub> = $`57\pm 2`$ Å and EW\[H$`\alpha `$\]<sub>Ab</sub> = $`16\pm 1`$ Å). For the wider pair, the EW\[H$`\alpha `$\] measured from both the LRIS and the HIRES spectra give similar values for GG Tau Ba ($`21\pm 1`$ Å & $`24\pm 1`$ Å). However, the value measured for Bb varied by a factor of two ($`43\pm 4`$ Å & $`20\pm 1`$ Å), which occurred over a 1 day timescale. Rapid variations such as this have been previously observed for T Tauri stars (e.g., Johns-Krull & Basri 1997), and may be quite common for late-M T Tauri stars where relatively small changes in the H$`\alpha `$ emission can result in significant changes in the observed EW because of the relatively low continuum flux.

Strong Li I absorption at 6708 Å, a signature of extreme youth, was detected in the HIRES spectra of both GG Tau Ba and Bb (Figure 4, Table 1). Because of the limited resolution of the FOS spectra, no Li I was detected in the spectra of GG Tau Aa or Ab (Table 1 gives upper limits). However, high resolution ground-based spectra of the unresolved pair, which are known to be a physical pair based on orbital motion (Ghez et al. 1995; Roddier et al. 1996), show strong Li I absorption (EW\[Li I\] = 0.72 Å; Basri, Martín & Bertout 1991). The low surface gravity features and Li I absorption, in conjunction with the strong H$`\alpha `$ emission above the weak T Tauri star limit (section 3) imply that all four components of the GG Tau system are classical T Tauri stars.

The resolution of our FOS spectra is insufficient to determine any continuum excess emission or veiling which may be present in the spectra of Aa and Ab. However, using higher resolution ground-based spectra of the unresolved GG Tau A pair, Gullbring et al. (1998) find GG Tau A exhibits only a small amount of excess emission. Specifically, they measure the ratio of excess flux to photospheric flux, $`r`$, to be only 0.24 over the spectral region 4500 - 5100 Å. This excess emission, which can be attributed to the optically brighter primary ($`\mathrm{\Delta }`$V = 2.9; section 2.2), is consistent with other continuum excess measurements for GG Tau A (Basri & Batalha 1990; Hartigan et al. 1991) implying that the veiling is not highly variable and is usually low. Since $`r`$ is known to decrease towards longer wavelengths where the photosphere becomes relatively brighter (Basri & Batalha 1990; Hartigan et al. 1991), we expect little effect on the inferred spectral types; large veilings at levels greater than $`r0.4`$ at 6300 Å are needed to alter the observed spectral type for Aa (K7) by one spectral subclass (M0), which is nevertheless within our uncertainties.

Additionally, since Balmer series emission is known to be correlated with continuum veiling (Basri & Batalha 1990; Hartigan et al. 1990), the relatively weak Balmer series emission for Ab, which is only modestly above the weak T Tauri star limit (section 3), suggests that it experiences little or no optical veiling as well.

With high resolution spectra of both GG Tau Ba and Bb, continuum excess emission can be measured directly from these spectra once their radial velocities and rotational velocities are established. The radial velocities for Ba and Bb were determined via cross-correlation with Gl 876, Gl 447 (Delfosse et al. 1998) and Hyades M dwarfs (Reid 1999). We measure radial velocities of $`16.8\pm 0.7`$ km/s for Ba and $`17.1\pm 1.0`$ km/s for Bb. The rotational velocities ($`v`$sin$`i`$) for Ba and Bb were determined from the width of the peak in their cross-correlation with the slowly rotating ($`<`$ 2 km/s) mid-M dwarfs Gl 876 and Gl 447 (Delfosse et al. 1998). We find a $`v`$sin$`i`$ of $`9\pm 1`$ km/s for Ba and $`8\pm 1`$ km/s for Bb. The uncertainties in both the radial and rotational velocities are determined from the scatter in these estimates over several orders.

The spectra of GG Tau Ba and Bb were then compared to dwarf spectra of similar spectral type and $`v`$sin$`i`$ to identify the presence of continuum veiling (Hartigan et al. 1989). The T Tauri spectra were modeled as a standard stellar spectrum plus a constant level of excess emission. Orders with no prominent telluric absorption features were divided up into 20 Å bins and the optical excess emission within each bin was determined by minimizing the $`\chi ^2`$ of the model fit. We found no detectable veiling for either GG Tau Ba or Bb over nearly the entire wavelength coverage of the spectra. The veiling upper limits at 6500 Å are $`r<0.1`$ for Ba and $`r<0.25`$ for Bb, while at 8400 Å the limits are $`r<0.05`$ for Ba and $`r<0.1`$ for Bb (where $`r=`$ F<sub>excess</sub> / F<sub>photosphere</sub>). These veiling upper limits can be used to place upper limits on the mass accretion rates. If it is assumed that veiling is caused by the gravitational energy released from accreting material (Hartigan, Edwards & Ghandour 1995; Gullbring et al. 1998), then the mass accretion rate for both Ba and Bb must be less than $`10^9`$ M/yr. Thus, although both GG Tau Ba and Bb do show signatures of accretion (strong H$`\alpha `$ emission, NIR excess emission), this accretion is not likely to alter their final masses significantly.

### 3.3 Extinction and Luminosity Estimates

The spatially resolved photometric measurements for the four components of GG Tau are shown in Figure 5 and listed in Table 2. The optical values are from the HST measurements of Ghez, White & Simon (1997), which have been transformed onto the more standard Johnson-Cousins system (cf. Ghez et al. 1997). The NIR measurements are the median of spatially resolved JHKL photometry for GG Tau compiled from both the literature and recent observations (White & Ghez 1999).

With spatially resolved photometry and spectral types, the line-of-sight extinction and stellar luminosity of each component can be determined from standard spectral type, color and bolometric correction relations. Much like the relative temperatures of dwarf and giant stars, the colors of late-K and early-M dwarfs and giants are similar, but by mid-M spectral types the optical colors of giant stars begin to become bluer than the colors of dwarf stars (cf. Bessell & Brett 1988). Since dwarf colors are better established than giant colors, we adopt dwarf colors in our analysis and give a simple argument for their preference based on the derived extinctions below. Specifically, we adopt the dwarf color relations of Bessell & Brett (1988) and Bessell (1991) for the K7 star and that of Kirkpatrick & McCarthy (1994) for M0 and cooler stars. We also use the V-L color relations of Kenyon & Hartmann (1995) for all spectral types.

A mean line-of-sight extinction is determined for each component from E(V-R<sub>c</sub>), E(R-I<sub>c</sub>) and E(I<sub>c</sub>-J), using the extinction law of Rieke & Lebofsky (1985) and color excess relations of Hillenbrand (1997) and Luhman & Rieke (1998). We assign the half-range of these three estimates as the uncertainty in the extinction. We note that if giant colors (Thé, Steenman & Alcaino 1984; Bessell & Brett 1988) are used to derive the extinction, the half-range uncertainty estimates are considerably larger, especially for the M5 and M7 components (A<sub>V</sub> error for Ba\[M5\] = 0.37 magnitudes for dwarf colors vs. 0.69 magnitudes using giant colors and A<sub>V</sub> error for Bb\[M7\] = 0.24 magnitudes for dwarf colors vs. 2.12 magnitudes for giant colors). This suggests that the intrinsic photospheric colors of these T Tauri stars may indeed be more similar to dwarfs than giants.

The luminosity is then derived from the reddening corrected I band measurements and a bolometric correction, assuming a distance of 140 pc, the distance to the Taurus-Auriga star forming region (Elias 1978; Kenyon, Dobrzycka & Hartmann 1994; Preibisch & Smith 1997). Typical uncertainties in the distance to Taurus-Auriga are 10 pc, although the large spatial extent of the star forming region on the sky suggests that the uncertainty in the distance to any particular star could be as large as 30 pc. The effect of errors in our assumed distance are discussed in section 4.2.

The bolometric corrections from Bessell (1991) are used for stars hotter than spectral type M3 while the values from Monet et al. (1992) are used for spectral type M3 and cooler. While bolometric corrections for early M stars are reasonably well established, their remains considerable uncertainty in the bolometric corrections for late-M stars (Monet et al. 1992; Kirkpatrick et al. 1993). We assign a generous uncertainty in our adopted bolometric corrections of 0.05 magnitudes for Aa and Ab, and 0.1 and 0.2 magnitudes for Ba and Bb, respectively. The uncertainty in the luminosity is determined from the convolved uncertainty in the bolometric correction, the extinction and the I band photometry. These values are listed in Table 1. It is worth noting that the close pair, GG Tau Aa and Ab with a projected separation of only 35 AU, differ in visual extinction by 2.5 magnitudes. These extinction values are consistent with the reddened photospheric continua observed in the FOS spectra. The extinction difference is most likely due to the differences in the local distribution of circumstellar material for each component. This demonstrates the need for obtaining spatially separated spectra of all components within a young multiple system in order to correctly determine their stellar and circumstellar properties.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 Evidence for Coeval Formation

The four components of the GG Tau system appear to represent a physical quadruple. The GG Tau A and GG Tau B pairs have a projected separation of only 1400 AU. This separation is considerably less than the size of a typical cloud core ($``$ 20,000 AU) and therefore on a scale consistent with that expected from core fragmentation models which are thought to produce multiple systems (e.g., Bonnell & Bastien 1993; Boss 1996; Sigalotti & Klapp 1997). All components exhibit classical T Tauri star signatures consistent with a similar stage of early evolution. More directly, GG Tau Aa and Ab are known to be a physical pair based on orbital motion studies (Ghez et al. 1995; Roddier et al. 1996). The HIRES radial velocity measurements of both GG Tau Ba and Bb are in good agreement with the radial velocity measurements for GG Tau A of $`17.9\pm 1.8`$ by Hartmann & Stauffer (1989), and thus are consistent with a comoving system. Millimeter maps of the ring around GG Tau A show a well defined extension towards GG Tau B, which may be interpreted as a tidal distortion due to GG Tau B (Koerner, Sargent & Beckwith 1993; Dutrey, Guilloteau & Simon 1994). It is also important to consider that there are no other known T Tauri stars within 30 arcminutes of the GG Tau system. It thus seems very unlikely that four closely spaced yet relatively isolated classical T Tauri stars with similar radial velocities and stellar properties would not be physically associated.

### 4.2 A Test of PMS Evolutionary Models and the T Tauri Temperature Scale

The relative ages of the PMS quadruple GG Tau offer an observational test of evolutionary models and the T Tauri temperature scale. The correct evolutionary model and temperature scale should yield the same age for all components. Currently, the GG Tau system is uniquely suited for the relative age test. Its multiple components span a wide range in spectral type and have all been resolved photometrically and spectroscopically. Other systems with apparently wide ranges in spectral type (e.g., UX Tau; Magazzú, Martín & Rebolo 1991) typically have components that have not been resolved spectroscopically (UX Tau B is a 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$14 binary; Duchêne 1998).

In order to place the components of GG Tau onto an H-R diagram for comparison with evolutionary models, the observed spectral types need to be converted into effective temperatures. Unfortunately, the spectral type - effective temperature relation for T Tauri stars is not well known. Since their surface gravity appears to be intermediate between that of dwarfs and giants, the correct T Tauri temperature scale is likely to be constrained between that of dwarfs and giants (Martín et al. 1994; Luhman et al. 1997). We use these extremes as boundaries for the range of plausible temperatures for T Tauri stars.

For the dwarf temperature scale, we use a K7 temperature of 4000<sup>o</sup>K (Bessell 1991) and the M dwarf temperature scale of Leggett et al. (1996) as fit by Luhman & Rieke (1998), which is consistent with the available observational constraints for dwarf stars (Luhman & Rieke 1998). We use the giant temperature scale of Perrin et al. (1998), which has been accurately established via interferometric angular diameter measurements of cool giant stars.

In Figure 6, the components of the GG Tau system are plotted on several H-R diagrams with both the dwarf (solid squares) and giant (open diamonds) temperature scales. A dotted line connects the dwarf and giant temperatures, identifying the range of plausible temperatures for each component. As the Figure illustrates, the dwarf and giant temperature scales are essentially identical for spectral types near M0, but diverge significantly for cooler spectral types. The errorbars plotted for each component correspond to the uncertainty in the spectral type (section 3.1) and luminosity (section 3.3).

The locations of the GG Tau components define an empirical isochrone which can be compared with PMS evolutionary models. We conduct this comparison using six popular PMS evolutionary models, which differ primarily in their prescription for convection, the assumed opacities and the assumption of a grey or non-grey atmosphere. The models we consider include (1) Swenson et al. (1994, model F, hereafter S94), computed with a mixing-length theory for convection, the opacities of Alexander (1992) and Iglesias, Rogers & Wilson (1992) and a grey atmosphere, (2) D’Antona & Mazzitelli (1994, hereafter DM94-MLT), computed with a mixing-length theory for convection, the opacities of Alexander (1992) and Rogers & Iglesias (1992) and a grey atmosphere, (3) D’Antona & Mazzitelli (1994, hereafter DM94-CM), computed with the Full Spectrum of Turbulence model for convection (Canuto & Mazzitelli 1992) and the same opacities and grey atmosphere as DM94-MLT<sup>2</sup><sup>2</sup>2D’Antona & Mazzitelli (1994) also compute evolutionary models using the Kurucz opacities. We do not consider these evolutionary models since the Kurucz opacities are inadequate for temperatures $`4000^\mathrm{o}`$K where molecules play an important role (D’Antona & Mazzitelli 1997)., (3) D’Antona & Mazzitelli (1997, hereafter DM97), also computed with the Full Spectrum of Turbulence convection model and a grey atmosphere, but with updated opacities (Alexander & Ferguson 1994, Iglesias & Rogers 1996), (5) Baraffe et al. (1998, hereafter B98-I), computed with a mixing-length theory for convection with the mixing-length equal to the pressure scale height in the atmosphere, updated opacities (Alexander & Ferguson 1994, Iglesias & Rogers 1996) and a non-grey atmosphere, and finally (6) Baraffe et al. (1998, hereafter B98-II), which is identical to B98-I except that the mixing length is increased by a factor of 1.9 for masses greater than 0.6 M<sup>3</sup><sup>3</sup>3A factor of two change in the mixing length has inconsequential effects on evolutionary models of mass $``$ 0.6 M (Chabrier & Baraffe 1997, Baraffe et al. 1998). Each of these models is computed with near solar abundances.

As shown in Figure 6, GG Tau Aa and Ab are coeval according to all evolutionary models and either temperature scale, although as noted above, the temperature scales are nearly identical for these spectral types (K7 and M0.5). We therefore use the isochrone defined by their average age (dashed line in Figure 6) to test the evolutionary models at cooler temperatures.

The S94 model yields the most discrepant ages (Figure 6a). The GG Tau A isochrone predicts temperatures considerably colder than the range of plausible temperatures for GG Tau Ba and, with modest extrapolation, GG Tau Bb. The DM97 model exhibits a similar problem (Figure 6b). The coldest component, GG Tau Bb, is coeval at a temperature consistent with the cool dwarf temperature, but its slightly hotter companion, GG Tau Ba, is coeval at a temperature well below even the dwarf temperature. The DM94-MLT and DM94-CM models appear moderately more successful. Both yield coeval ages (Figure 6c & 6d), but require a very cool dwarf temperature at M5 and then a considerable jump of more than a 200<sup>o</sup>K from the dwarf scale at M7.

The B98-I and B98-II models provide the most consistent ages with a temperature scale intermediate between that of dwarfs and giants (Figures 6e & 6f). For the B98-I model, a temperature scale hotter than the dwarf scale by $`160^\mathrm{o}`$K is needed to make both Ba and Bb coeval, resulting in effective temperatures of 3160<sup>o</sup>K and 2840<sup>o</sup>K, respectively. The B98-II model also suggests a temperature scale moderately hotter than the dwarf temperature scale, with perhaps some spectral type dependence; the M5 is coeval when 40<sup>o</sup>K hotter than the dwarf temperature while the M7 is coeval when 140<sup>o</sup>K hotter than the dwarf temperature, resulting in effective temperatures of 3050<sup>o</sup>K and 2820<sup>o</sup>K for Ba and Bb, respectively.

It is important to note that these results are not notably affected by the uncertainties in the distance to GG Tau, even if significant errors (30 pc) are assumed. This is because evolutionary models are primarily vertical in the H-R diagram, and the isochrones are roughly parallel, for these masses at a young age. Thus while changes in distance can notably affect the absolute age, there is much less of an effect on the relative age.

The success or failure of these evolutionary models in yielding consistent ages may identify inadequacies in the input physics of some evolutionary models. The earliest models (S94, DM-MLT94 & DM-CM94) all assume a grey atmosphere and similar but slightly outdated sets of opacities, but differ in their convection prescription. Their failure to yield coeval ages using a consistent temperature scale suggests that a grey atmosphere and these older sets of opacities are not appropriate for young stars, independent of the convection prescription. It is also worth noting that these models poorly match the empirical Pleiades isochrone for masses below $`0.5`$ M, although newer evolutionary models are moderately more successful (Stauffer et al. 1995; Luhman 1998; D’Antona & Mazzitelli 1997). However, the DM97 evolutionary model computed with updated opacities does not yield a coeval age, which suggests difficulties in the model other than the choice of opacities. Given the success of both the B98-I and B98-II models, it appears that the assumption of a non-grey atmosphere is an important condition for success. This is not a surprising result. Molecules become stable in the atmosphere at these low effective temperatures ($`5000^\mathrm{o}`$K), and constitute a significant source of absorption. Since molecular absorption coefficients are strongly depend upon wavelength, a grey atmosphere approximation is not expected to be valid (Chabrier & Baraffe 1997).

Although the relative age test cannot distinguish between the two Baraffe et al. (1998) models, a dynamical mass estimate for GG Tau A exists and offers an additional constraint. Orbital velocity measurements of the circumbinary disk surrounding GG Tau A imply a combined stellar mass (Aa plus Ab) of $`1.28\pm 0.08`$ M (Dutrey et al. 1994; Guilloteau et al. 1998). For comparison, the B98-I model implies a total mass for GG Tau A of $`2.00\pm 0.17`$ M, while the B98-II model implies a total mass of $`1.46\pm 0.10`$ M (section 4.3). The dynamical mass measurements are clearly in much closer agreement with the B98-II models. For completeness we also report that the sum of the masses inferred for Aa and Ab from S94 is $`1.08\pm 0.22`$ M, from DM94-MLT is $`1.12\pm 0.16`$ M, from DM94-CM is $`0.81\pm 0.17`$ M and from DM97 is $`0.80\pm 0.14`$ M. The successful B98-II model is also reasonably consistent with the available mass constraints for GM Aur and DM Tau based on dynamical studies of their circumstellar disks (see Appendix). This agreement suggests that convective mixing lengths nearly twice the pressure scale height are more appropriate for young stars than mixing lengths equal to the pressure scale height. Alternative prescriptions for convection such as the Full Spectrum of Turbulence method (Canuto & Mazzitelli 1992) will hopefully also be considered in future evolutionary models which incorporate a non-grey atmosphere. It is worth noting though that the two models computed with this more complicated convection prescription (DM-CM94 & DM97) consistently predict masses which are systematically less than the dynamical mass estimates for GG Tau A (given above), GM Aur and DM Tau (Appendix). We suggest that future evolutionary codes consider convective scales which result in masses consistent with dynamically inferred masses.

### 4.3 The Inferred Stellar Properties: A Substellar Companion

Since the B98-II evolutionary model is the most consistent with the available observational constraints, we use this model and the implied coeval temperature scale, at an age of 1.5 Myrs, to infer the stellar masses (Table 1). The uncertainties in mass for Aa and Ab are determined from the uncertainty in the spectral type, assuming a dwarf temperature scale. The uncertainties in the mass of Ba and Bb are determined from the uncertainty in their luminosity and the assumption that they are constrained to lie on the average age isochrone of Aa and Ab. Of particular interest is the lowest mass component, GG Tau Bb, with a mass of 0.044 $`\pm `$ 0.006 M. This mass is well below the hydrogen burning minimum mass of $`0.075`$ M (Chabrier & Baraffe 1997), and can therefore be considered a young brown dwarf. As can be seen by comparing the B98-I and B98-II models, changes in the assumed isochrone have little effect on the inferred mass for Bb. This is a consequence of the roughly steady state burning of deuterium, which keeps $`0.05`$ M objects at a similar luminosity and temperature for nearly 5 Myrs (Baraffe et al. 1998).

With a spectral type of M7, GG Tau Bb is currently the coldest, lowest mass, spectroscopically confirmed companion to a T Tauri star. The only confirmed T Tauri companion of similar spectral type is UX Tau C (M5 - M6; Magazzú et al. 1991; Basri & Marcy 1995). Other low mass companions to T Tauri stars have been suggested based on proximity and photometry (Tamura et al. 1998, Lowrance et al. 1999; Webb et al. 1999), but confirmation of their companionship and mass requires spatially resolved spectroscopy. GG Tau Bb is also one of the coldest, lowest mass T Tauri objects in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region. Only a few objects of comparable mass (Briceño et al. 1998; Luhman et al. 1998a) or possibly lower mass (Reid & Hawley 1999) are known in this region. Moreover, only a handful of T Tauri objects with temperatures cooler than GG Tau Bb are known in any star forming region (Hillenbrand 1997; Luhman et al. 1997; Luhman et al. 1998b; Neuhäuser & Comerón 1998; Wilking, Greene & Meyer 1999; Reid & Hawley 1999).

All components of the GG Tau system appear to support actively accreting circumstellar disks. These disks are inferred from the strong Balmer series emission (Figures 2, 3 and 4) as well as UV and NIR excess emission (Figure 5) characteristic of circumstellar accretion. While circumstellar accretion disks are common in binary systems of a few hundred AU separation (Brandner & Zinnecker 1997; Ghez et al. 1997; Prato 1998), it is intriguing that the substellar companion also supports a circumstellar disk. It appears that young brown dwarf companions of mass $``$ 0.05 M can support a circumstellar disk. The similarities in the circumstellar properties of GG Tau Bb compared to other low mass T Tauri binaries may also suggest, albeit very speculatively, that brown dwarf companions of mass $``$ 0.05 M form in the same fashion that it is believed young binary stars form, from the fragmentation of a collapsing cloud core (e.g., Boss 1988).

## 5 Summary

The spatially resolved optical spectra of the young quadruple GG Tau demonstrate that all components are classical T Tauri stars with surface gravities intermediate between that of dwarf and giants. The similarities in their position (and relative isolation within the cloud), kinematics, stellar and accretion properties further establish these stars as a physical quadruple.

The components of this ’mini-cluster’, which span from K7 to M7 in spectral type, provide a test of evolutionary models and the temperature scale for very young, low mass stars under the assumption of coeval formation. Of the evolutionary models tested, the Baraffe et al. (1998) models, which are unique in their assumption of a non-grey atmosphere, yield the most consistent ages using a temperature scale intermediate between that of dwarfs and giants. The Baraffe et al. (1998) model computed with a mixing length nearly twice that of the pressure scale height (B98-II) is the most consistent with the dynamical mass estimates for GG Tau A, and is also reasonably consistent with the dynamical mass estimates for GM Aur and DM Tau. This model suggests an age for the system of 1.5 Myrs and a T Tauri temperature scale which diverges modestly from the dwarf temperature scale: $``$ M0 T Tauri stars are consistent with the dwarf scale, M5 and M7 T Tauri stars are roughly 40<sup>o</sup>K and 140<sup>o</sup>K hotter than the dwarf scale. It is clear that PMS multiple systems with a wide range in stellar masses similar to GG Tau can be used as a powerful test of evolutionary models at this very interesting, but uncertain early stage of stellar evolution.

Using the successful Baraffe et al. model (B98-II) with the implied coeval temperature scale, we find that the GG Tau Bb component is substellar with a mass of $`0.044\pm 0.006`$ M. This substellar companion is particularly intriguing as its large H$`\alpha `$ emission and NIR excess emission suggest that it supports a circumstellar accretion disk. GG Tau Bb is currently the lowest mass, spectroscopically confirmed companion to a T Tauri star, and is one of the coldest, lowest mass T Tauri objects in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region.

Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation. Support for this work was provided by NASA through grant NAGW-4770 under the Origins of Solar Systems Program and grant number G0-06014.01-94A from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. The authors are grateful to W. Brandner, K. Luhman, J. Patience, D. Popper, L. Prato, R. Webb & B. Zuckerman for helpful comments and discussions and to G. Basri, D. Kirkpatrick & K. Luhman for spectral standards. We thank D. Kirkpatrick and J. Stauffer for helping with the LRIS observations and we greatly appreciate the assistance provided by the FOS instrument scientists T. Keyes and E. Smith.    

## Appendix A Mass Constraints on Evolutionary Models from GM Aur and DM Tau

The single T Tauri stars GM Aur and DM Tau have mass estimates from dynamical studies of their circumstellar material (Dutrey et al. 1998; Guilloteau & Dutrey 1994, 1998). Here we compare these mass estimates to the predictions of evolutionary models. In order to place these two stars on the H-R diagram, we adopt the spectral types of K7 for GM Aur (Gullbring et al. 1998, Basri & Batalha 1990, Hartigan et al. 1995) and M1 for DM Tau (Hartmann & Kenyon 1990). These spectral types are converted to effective temperatures using a dwarf temperature scale, which is similar to the giant temperature scale for these spectral types (section 4.2). The line-of-sight extinctions and luminosities are derived from the broad-band photometry reported in Kenyon & Hartmann (1995), assuming dwarf colors, a distance of 140 pc and the methodology outlined in section 3.3. For GM Aur (log T<sub>eff</sub> = 3.602, A<sub>V</sub> = 0.10 mag, log(L/L) = $`0.25`$), the evolutionary models considered in section 4.2 predict masses of 0.70 M (S94), 0.70 M (DM94-MLT), 0.53 M (DM94-CM), 0.51 M (DM97), 1.06 M (B98-I) and 0.78 M (B98-II). The B98-II model offers the best agreement with the dynamical mass estimates of $`0.84\pm 0.05`$ M (Dutrey et al. 1998). For DM Tau (log T<sub>eff</sub> = 3.566, A<sub>V</sub> = 0.63 mag, log(L/L) = -0.60), the evolutionary models predict masses of 0.58 M (S94), 0.48 M (DM94-MLT), 0.43 M (DM94-CM), 0.44 M (DM97), 0.67 M (B98-I) and 0.64 M (B98-II). Here the B98-II model is less consistent the dynamical mass of $`0.47\pm 0.06`$ M (Guilloteau & Dutrey 1998), while the various models by D’Antona & Mazzitelli (DM97, DM94-CM, DM94-MLT) are in agreement with the dynamical mass. However, DM Tau is known to be considerably veiled (Hartmann & Kenyon 1990), which typically causes the optical spectrum to look like a hotter star. If the intrinsic spectral type for DM Tau is cooler by one spectral subclass (M2), then the Baraffe et al. models (both B98-I and B98-II are identical at this mass) predict a mass of 0.50 M which is consistent with the dynamical mass. We caution however that GM Aur and DM Tau currently only offer weak mass constraints due to the uncertainties in their distance and their spectral type. Nevertheless, the B98-II model, in addition to being consistent with the relative ages of the components of the GG Tau system, is also reasonably consistent with the available dynamical mass constraints.