Variability of the H_alpha and Na I D Line Profiles in the Spectrum of FU Ori

Abstract

The variations of line profiles in the spectrum of FU Ori during several consecutive nights, from January 3 through January 8, 1999, have been traced for the first time in the entire history of studying this star. The variations of the H_alpha and Na I D line profiles are regular in pattern; at each time, the profiles of these lines were similar to a particular profile observed previously, suggesting that the phenomenon is periodic. We argue that the profile variations result from the axial rotation of the inner accretion-disk and disk-wind regions for which the temperature distribution and the wind-streamline orientation are not axisymmetric. The cause of the asymmetry could be the interaction of circumstellar matter with the stellar magnetic field if the magnetic axis is greatly inclined to the rotation axis. The possible binary nature of FU Ori seems a less likely cause of the asymmetry.