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Constraints on the binary fraction of massive young stellar objects (mYSOs) are important for binary and massive star formation theory. Here, we present speckle imaging of 34 mYSOs located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (1/2 Z _⊙ ) and Small Magellanic Cloud (∼1/5 Z _⊙ ), probing projected separations in the 2000 to 20,000 au (at angular scales of 0.″02–0.″2) range, for stars above 8 M _⊙ . We find two wide binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud (from a sample of 23 targets), but none in a sample of 11 in the Small Magellanic Cloud, leading us to adopt a wide binary fraction of 9% ± 5% and

We present a comprehensive analysis of young stellar object (YSO) variability within the M17 Southwest Extension (M17 SWex), using 3.5 yr of monitoring data from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Transient Survey at submillimeter and 9 yr from the NEOWISE mission at mid-infrared (mid-IR). Our study encompasses observations of 147 bright submillimeter peaks identified within our deep JCMT coadded map as well as 156 YSOs in NEOWISE W1 and 179 in W2 that were previously identified in Spitzer surveys. We find three robust submillimeter variables: two are candidate YSOs and one is a likely extragalactic source. At mid-IR wavelengths, our analysis reveals secular and stochastic variability in 47 YSOs, with the highest fraction of secular variability occurring at the earliest evolutionary stage. This is similar to what has previously been observed for low-mass YSO variability within the Gould Belt. However, we observe less overall variability in M17 SWex at both the submillimeter and mid-IR. We suspect that this lower fraction is due to the greater distance to M17 SWex. Our findings showcase the utility of multiwavelength observations to better capture the complex variability phenomena inherent to star formation processes and demonstrate the importance of years-long monitoring of a diverse selection of star-forming environments.

The JWST Disk Infrared Spectral Chemistry Survey (JDISCS) aims to understand the evolution of the chemistry of inner protoplanetary disks using the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). With a growing sample of >30 disks, the survey implements a custom method to calibrate the MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) to contrasts of better than 1:300 across its 4.9–28 μ m spectral range. This is achieved using observations of Themis family asteroids as precise empirical reference sources. The high spectral contrast enables precise retrievals of physical parameters, searches for rare molecular species and isotopologues, and constraints on the inventories of carbon- and nitrogen-bearing species. JDISCS also offers significant improvements to the MRS wavelength and resolving power calibration. We describe the JDISCS calibrated data and demonstrate their quality using observations of the disk around the solar-mass young star FZ Tau. The FZ Tau MIRI spectrum is dominated by strong emission from warm water vapor. We show that the water and CO line emission originates from the disk surface and traces a range of gas temperatures of ∼500–1500 K. We retrieve parameters for the observed CO and H _2 O lines and show that they are consistent with a radial distribution represented by two temperature components. A high water abundance of n (H _2 O) ∼ 10 ^−4 fills the disk surface at least out to the 350 K isotherm at 1.5 au. We search the FZ Tau environs for extended emission, detecting a large (radius of ∼300 au) ring of emission from H _2 gas surrounding FZ Tau, and discuss its origin.

Variability in the brightness of young stellar objects (YSOs) is a common phenomenon that can be caused by changes in various factors, including accretion, extinction, disk morphology, interactions between the disk and the stellar photosphere, and the rotation of hot or cold magnetic spots on the stellar photosphere. Analyzing the variability on different timescales provides insight into the mechanisms driving the changes in the brightness of YSOs. We investigate the variability of YSOs on both long and short timescales using two mid-IR data sets: the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) 7.5 yr W2 (4.6 μ m) data and the YSOVAR 40 day Spitzer/IRAC2 (4.5 μ m) data, respectively. We classify the variability types in each timescale following Park et al. We find a higher detection rate of variable sources in the short term (77.6%) compared to the long term (43.0%) due to the higher sensitivity of the Spitzer observations. In addition, the higher cadence of the YSOVAR data results in the weeks-long short-term variability being mostly secular, while the years-long long-term variability explored with the coarsely sampled NEOWISE data is mostly stochastic. By crossmatching the two catalogs, we statistically analyze the variability types exhibited by YSOs across both timescales. The long-term variability amplitude is mostly three times (up to 10 times) greater than the short-term variability. Furthermore, we evaluate variability on very short (1–2 days) timescales and recover a trend of the increasing amplitude of variability as the timescales increase. By comprehensively analyzing the variability of YSOs over various timescales, we contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving their variability.

We analyze the accretion properties of 21 low-mass T Tauri stars using a data set of contemporaneous near-UV (NUV) through optical observations obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the ground-based Small and Medium Aperture Research Telescope System, a unique data set because of the nearly simultaneous broad wavelength coverage. Our data set includes accreting T Tauri stars in Taurus, Chamaeleon I, η Chamaeleon, and the TW Hydra Association. For each source we calculate the accretion rate ( M ) by fitting the NUV and optical excesses above the photosphere, produced in the accretion shock, introducing multiple accretion components characterized by a range in energy flux (or density) for the first time. This treatment is motivated by models of the magnetospheric geometry and accretion footprints, which predict that high-density, low filling factor accretion spots coexist with low-density, high filling factor spots. By fitting the UV and optical spectra with multiple accretion components, we can explain excesses which have been observed in the near-IR. Comparing our estimates of M to previous estimates, we find some discrepancies; however, they may be accounted for when considering assumptions for the amount of extinction and variability in optical spectra. Therefore, we confirm many previous estimates of the accretion rate. Finally, we measure emission line luminosities from the same spectra used for the M estimates, to produce correlations between accretion indicators (Hβ, Caii K, Cii], and Mgii) and accretion properties obtained simultaneously [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report FUV, optical, and NIR observations of three T Tauri stars in the Orion OB1b subassociation with Hα equivalent widths consistent with low or absent accretion and various degrees of excess flux in the mid-infrared. We aim to search for evidence of gas in the inner disk in HST Advanced Camera for Surveys/Solar Blind Channel spectra, and to probe the accretion flows onto the star using Hα and He i λ10830 in spectra obtained at the Magellan and SOAR telescopes. At the critical age of 5 Myr, the targets are at different stages of disk evolution. One of our targets is clearly accreting, as shown by redshifted absorption at freefall velocities in the He i line and wide wings in Hα; however, a marginal detection of FUV H2 suggests that little gas is present in the inner disk, although the spectral energy distribution indicates that small dust still remains close to the star. Another target is surrounded by a transitional disk, with an inner cavity in which little sub-micron dust remains. Still, the inner disk shows substantial amounts of gas, accreting onto the star at a probably low but uncertain rate. The third target lacks both a He i line or FUV emission, consistent with no accretion or inner gas disk; its very weak IR excess is consistent with a debris disk. Different processes occurring in targets with ages close to the disk dispersal time suggest that the end of the accretion phase is reached in diverse ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present full spectral scans from 200 to 670 μm of 26 Class 0+I protostellar sources obtained with Herschel-SPIRE as part of the “COPS-SPIRE” Open Time program, complementary to the DIGIT and WISH Key Programs. Based on our nearly continuous, line-free spectra from 200 to 670 μm, the calculated bolometric luminosities (Lbol) increase by 50% on average, and the bolometric temperatures (Tbol) decrease by 10% on average, in comparison with the measurements without Herschel. Fifteen protostars have the same class using Tbol and Lbol/Lsmm. We identify rotational transitions of CO lines from to , along with emission lines of 13CO, HCO+, H2O, and [C i]. The ratios of 12CO to 13CO indicate that 12CO emission remains optically thick for Jup < 13. We fit up to four components of temperature from the rotational diagram with flexible break points to separate the components. The distribution of rotational temperatures shows a primary population around 100 K with a secondary population at ∼350 K. We quantify the correlations of each line pair found in our data set and find that the strength of the correlation of CO lines decreases as the difference between J levels between two CO lines increases. The multiple origins of CO emission previously revealed by velocity-resolved profiles are consistent with this smooth distribution if each physical component contributes to a wide range of CO lines with significant overlap in the CO ladder. We investigate the spatial extent of CO emission and find that the morphology is more centrally peaked and less bipolar at high-J lines. We find the CO emission observed with SPIRE related to outflows, which consists of two components, the entrained gas and shocked gas, as revealed by our rotational diagram analysis, as well as the studies with velocity-resolved CO emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements of extinction curves toward young stars are essential for calculating the intrinsic stellar spectrophotometric radiation. This flux determines the chemical properties and evolution of the circumstellar region, including the environment in which planets form. We develop a new technique using H2 emission lines pumped by stellar Lyα photons to characterize the extinction curve by comparing the measured far-ultraviolet H2 line fluxes with model H2 line fluxes. The difference between model and observed fluxes can be attributed to the dust attenuation along the line of sight through both the interstellar and circumstellar material. The extinction curves are fit by a Cardelli et al. (1989) model and the AV(H2) for the 10 targets studied with good extinction fits range from 0.5 to 1.5 mag, with RV values ranging from 2.0 to 4.7. AV and RV are found to be highly degenerate, suggesting that one or the other needs to be calculated independently. Column densities and temperatures for the fluorescent H2 populations are also determined, with averages of log10(N(H2)) = 19.0 and T = 1500 K. This paper explores the strengths and limitations of the newly developed extinction curve technique in order to assess the reliability of the results and improve the method in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from a spectroscopic Spitzer and Herschel mid-to-far-infrared study of the circumbinary disk orbiting the evolved (age ∼12–23 Myr) close binary T Tauri system V4046 Sgr. Spitzer InfraRed Spectrograph spectra show emission lines of [Ne ii], H2 S(1), CO2, and HCN, while Herschel Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer and Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver spectra reveal emission from [O i], OH, and tentative detections of H2O and high-J transitions of CO. We measure [Ne iii]/[Ne ii] 0.13, which is comparable to other X-ray/EUV luminous T Tauri stars that lack jets. We use the H2 S(1) line luminosity to estimate the gas mass in the relatively warm surface layers of the inner disk. The presence of [O i] emission suggests that CO, H2O, and/or OH is being photodissociated, and the lack of [C i] emission suggests any excess C may be locked up in HCN, CN, and other organic molecules. Modeling of silicate dust grain emission features in the mid-infrared indicates that the inner disk is composed mainly of large (r ∼ 5 μm) amorphous pyroxene and olivine grains (∼86% by mass) with a relatively large proportion of crystalline silicates. These results are consistent with other lines of evidence indicating that planet building is ongoing in regions of the disk within ∼30 AU of the central, close binary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]