* Astronomy

Title: The Mysterious Dimmings of the T Tauri Star V1334 Tau
Author: Joseph E. Rodriguez, George Zhou, Phillip A. Cargile, Daniel J. Stevens, Hugh P. Osborn, Benjamin J. Shappee, Phillip A. Reed, Michael B. Lund, Howard M. Relles, David W. Latham, Jason Eastman, Keivan G. Stassun, Allyson Bieryla, Gilbert A. Esquerdo, Perry Berlind, Michael L. Calkins, Andrew Vanderburg, Eric Gaidos, Megan Ansdell, Robert J. Siverd, Thomas G. Beatty, Christopher S. Kochanek, Joshua Pepper, B. Scott Gaudi, Richard G. West, Don Pollacco, David James, Rudolf B. Kuhn, Krzysztof Z. Stanek, Thomas W. S. Holoien, Jose L. Prieto, Samson A. Johnson, Anthony Sergi, Nate McCrady, John A. Johnson, Jason T. Wright, Robert A. Wittenmyer, Jonathan Horner

We present the discovery of two extended ~0.12 mag dimming events of the weak-lined T-Tauri star V1334. The start of the first event was missed but came to an end in late 2003, and the second began in February 2009, and continues as of November 2016. Since the egress of the current event has not yet been observed, if this event is periodic, suggests a period of >13 years. Spectroscopic observations may suggest the presence of a small inner disk, although the spectral energy distribution shows no infrared excess. We explore the possibility that the extending dimming event is caused by an orbiting body (e.g. a disk warp or dust trap), enhanced disk winds, hydrodynamical fluctuations of the inner disk, or a significant increase in the magnetic field flux at the surface of the star. We also find a ~0.32 day periodic photometric signal that persists throughout the 2009 dimming which appears to not be due to ellipsoidal variations from a close stellar binary. High precision photometric observations of V1334 Tau during the K2 campaign 13 combined with simultaneous photometric and spectroscopic observations from the ground will provide crucial information about the photometric variability and its origin.

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