A Br gamma probe of disk accretion in T Tauri stars and embedded young stellar objects

We report on observations of Pa beta and Br gamma for a sample of classical T Tauri stars in Taurus and find a tight correlation between the emission- line luminosities and the accretion luminosity as measured from the hot con tinuum excess. We use the Br gamma luminosity correlation to calculate accr etion luminosities in highly reddened young stars with existing line measur ements. The distribution of accretion luminosities is similar in Taurus and Ophiuchus Class II sources. For the deeply embedded Class I objects, the a ccretion luminosities are in general less than the bolometric luminosities, which implies that the disk accretion rates are significantly lower than t he envelope infall rates. We find that the central sources of many Class I objects are quite similar to their Class II counterparts.