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This paper is one in a series reporting results from small telescope observations of variable young stars. Here, we study the repeating outbursts of three likely Be stars based on long-term optical, near-infrared, and mid-infrared photometry for all three objects, along with follow-up spectra for two of the three. The sources are characterised as rare, truly regularly outbursting Be stars. We interpret the photometric data within a framework for modelling light curve morphology, and find that the models correctly predict the burst shapes, including their larger amplitudes and later peaks towards longer wavelengths. We are thus able to infer the start and end times of mass loading into the circumstellar disks of these stars. The disk sizes are typically 3-6 times the areas of the central star. The disk temperatures are ~40%, and the disk luminosities are ~10% of those of the central Be star, respectively. The available spectroscopy is consistent with inside-out evolution of the disk. Higher excitation lines have larger velocity widths in their double-horned shaped emission profiles. Our observations and analysis support the decretion disk model for outbursting Be stars., Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS. 20 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables

We present measurements of spot properties on 31 young stellar objects, based on multi-band data from the HOYS (Hunting Outbursting Young Stars) project. On average the analysis for each object is based on 270 data points during 80 days in at least 3 bands. All the young low-mass stars in our sample show periodic photometric variations. We determine spot temperatures and coverage by comparing the measured photometric amplitudes in optical bands with simulated amplitudes based on atmosphere models, including a complete error propagation. 21 objects in our sample feature cool spots, with spot temperatures 500 - 2500 K below the stellar effective temperature ($T_{\rm eff}$), and a coverage of 0.05 - 0.4. Six more have hot spots, with temperatures up to 3000 K above $T_{\rm eff}$ and coverage below 0.15. The remaining four stars have ambiguous solutions or are AA Tau-type contaminants. All of the stars with large spots (i.e. high coverage $>0.1$) are relatively cool with $T_{\rm eff} < 4500$ K, which could be a result of having deeper convection zones. Apart from that, spot properties show no significant trends with rotation period, infrared excess, or stellar properties. Most notably, we find hot spots in stars that do not show $K-W2$ infrared excess, indicating the possibility of accretion across an inner disk cavity or the presence of plage., Accepted for publication by MNRAS. 13 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables

Investigations of the formation of young stellar objects (YSOs) and planets require the detailed analysis of individual sources as well as statistical analysis of a larger number of objects. The Hubble UV Legacy Library of Young Stars as Essential Standards (ULLYSES) project provides such a unique opportunity by establishing a UV spectroscopic library of young high- and low-mass stars in the local universe. Here we analyse optical photometry of the three ULLYSES targets (TXOri, V505Ori, V510Ori) and other YSOs in the $\sigma$Ori cluster taken at the time of the HST observations to provide a reference for those spectra. We identify three populations of YSOs along the line of sight to $\sigma$Ori, separated in parallax and proper motion space. The ULLYSES targets show typical YSO behaviour with pronounced variability and mass accretion rates of the order of 10$^{-8}$M$_\odot$/yr. Optical colours do not agree with standard interstellar reddening and suggest a significant contribution of scattered light. They are also amongst the most variable and strongest accretors in the cluster. V505\,Ori shows variability with a seven day period, indicating an inner disk warp at the co-rotation radius. Uncovering the exact nature of the ULLYSES targets will require improved detailed modelling of the HST spectra in the context of the available photometry, including scattered light contributions as well as non-standard reddening., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 17 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables

Studying rotational variability of young stars is enabling us to investigate a multitude of properties of young star-disk systems. We utilise high cadence, multi-wavelength optical time series data from the Hunting Outbursting Young Stars citizen science project to identify periodic variables in the Pelican Nebula (IC5070). A double blind study using nine different period-finding algorithms was conducted and a sample of 59 periodic variables was identified. We find that a combination of four period finding algorithms can achieve a completeness of 85% and a contamination of 30% in identifying periods in inhomogeneous data sets. The best performing methods are periodograms that rely on fitting a sine curve. Utilising GaiaEDR3 data, we have identified an unbiased sample of 40 periodic YSOs, without using any colour or magnitude selections. With a 98.9% probability we can exclude a homogeneous YSO period distribution. Instead we find a bi-modal distribution with peaks at three and eight days. The sample has a disk fraction of 50%, and its statistical properties are in agreement with other similarly aged YSOs populations. In particular, we confirm that the presence of the disk is linked to predominantly slow rotation and find a probability of 4.8$\times$10$^{-3}$ that the observed relation between period and presence of a disk has occurred by chance. In our sample of periodic variables, we also find pulsating giants, an eclipsing binary, and potential YSOs in the foreground of IC5070., Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Full list of authors: Hodgkin, S. T.; Harrison, D. L.; Breedt, E.; Wevers, T.; Rixon, G.; Delgado, A.; Yoldas, A.; Kostrzewa-Rutkowska, Z.; Wyrzykowski, Ł.; van Leeuwen, M.; Blagorodnova, N.; Campbell, H.; Eappachen, D.; Fraser, M.; Ihanec, N.; Koposov, S. E.; Kruszyńska, K.; Marton, G.; Rybicki, K. A.; Brown, A. G. A.; Burgess, P. W.; Busso, G.; Cowell, S.; De Angeli, F.; Diener, C.; Evans, D. W.; Gilmore, G.; Holland, G.; Jonker, P. G.; van Leeuwen, F.; Mignard, F.; Osborne, P. J.; Portell, J.; Prusti, T.; Richards, P. J.; Riello, M.; Seabroke, G. M.; Walton, N. A.; Ábrahám, P.; Altavilla, G.; Baker, S. G.; Bastian, U.; O'Brien, P.; de Bruijne, J.; Butterley, T.; Carrasco, J. M.; Castañeda, J.; Clark, J. S.; Clementini, G.; Copperwheat, C. M.; Cropper, M.; Damljanovic, G.; Davidson, M.; Davis, C. J.; Dennefeld, M.; Dhillon, V. S.; Dolding, C.; Dominik, M.; Esquej, P.; Eyer, L.; Fabricius, C.; Fridman, M.; Froebrich, D.; Garralda, N.; Gomboc, A.; González-Vidal, J. J.; Guerra, R.; Hambly, N. C.; Hardy, L. K.; Holl, B.; Hourihane, A.; Japelj, J.; Kann, D. A.; Kiss, C.; Knigge, C.; Kolb, U.; Komossa, S.; Kóspál, Á.; Kovács, G.; Kun, M.; Leto, G.; Lewis, F.; Littlefair, S. P.; Mahabal, A. A.; Mundell, C. G.; Nagy, Z.; Padeletti, D.; Palaversa, L.; Pigulski, A.; Pretorius, M. L.; van Reeven, W.; Ribeiro, V. A. R. M.; Roelens, M.; Rowell, N.; Schartel, N.; Scholz, A.; Schwope, A.; Sipőcz, B. M.; Smartt, S. J.; Smith, M. D.; Serraller, I.; Steeghs, D.; Sullivan, M.; Szabados, L.; Szegedi-Elek, E.; Tisserand, P.; Tomasella, L.; van Velzen, S.; Whitelock, P. A.; Wilson, R. W.; Young, D. R.-- This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited., Context. Since July 2014, the Gaia mission has been engaged in a high-spatial-resolution, time-resolved, precise, accurate astrometric, and photometric survey of the entire sky. Aims. We present the Gaia Science Alerts project, which has been in operation since 1 June 2016. We describe the system which has been developed to enable the discovery and publication of transient photometric events as seen by Gaia. Methods. We outline the data handling, timings, and performances, and we describe the transient detection algorithms and filtering procedures needed to manage the high false alarm rate. We identify two classes of events: (1) sources which are new to Gaia and (2) Gaia sources which have undergone a significant brightening or fading. Validation of the Gaia transit astrometry and photometry was performed, followed by testing of the source environment to minimise contamination from Solar System objects, bright stars, and fainter near-neighbours. Results. We show that the Gaia Science Alerts project suffers from very low contamination, that is there are very few false-positives. We find that the external completeness for supernovae, CE = 0.46, is dominated by the Gaia scanning law and the requirement of detections from both fields-of-view. Where we have two or more scans the internal completeness is CI = 0.79 at 3 arcsec or larger from the centres of galaxies, but it drops closer in, especially within 1 arcsec. Conclusions. The per-Transit photometry for Gaia transients is precise to 1% at G = 13, and 3% at G = 19. The per-Transit astrometry is accurate to 55 mas when compared to Gaia DR2. The Gaia Science Alerts project is one of the most homogeneous and productive transient surveys in operation, and it is the only survey which covers the whole sky at high spatial resolution (subarcsecond), including the Galactic plane and bulge. © S. T. Hodgkin et al. 2021., This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium). Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. Further details of funding authorities and individuals contributing to the success of the mission is shown at https://gea.esac.esa.int/archive/documentation/GEDR3/Miscellaneous/sec_acknowl/. We thank the United Kingdom Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the United Kingdom Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) through the following grants to the University of Bristol, the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Leicester, the Mullard Space Sciences Laboratory of University College London, and the United Kingdom Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL): PP/D006511/1, PP/D006546/1, PP/D006570/1, ST/I000852/1, ST/J005045/1, ST/K00056X/1, ST/K000209/1, ST/K000756/1, ST/L006561/1, ST/N000595/1, ST/S000623/1, ST/N000641/1, ST/N000978/1, ST/N001117/1, ST/S000089/1, ST/S000976/1, ST/S001123/1, ST/S001948/1, ST/S002103/1, and ST/V000969/1. This paper made use of the Whole Sky Database (WSDB) created by Sergey Koposov and maintained at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge with financial support from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the European Research Council (ERC). We thank the William Herschel and Isaac Newton Telescopes on the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Spain, as well as the Optical Infrared Coordination Network for Astronomy (OPTICON) for their support of this project through telescope time, especially during the commissioning and verification phases. We thank the Copernico 1.82 m telescope (Mt. Ekar, Asiago Italy) operated by INAF Padova for supporting the project through telescope time (under the Large Programme Tomasella-SNe) during the verification phases. We acknowledge observations taken as part of the PESSTO project collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programme 199.D-0143. Authors at the ICCUB were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University (MICIU/FEDER, UE) through grant RTI2018-095076-B-C21, and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences University of Barcelona (ICCUB, Unidad de Excelencia ’María de Maeztu’) through grant CEX2019-000918-M. This work is supported by Polish NCN grants: Daina No. 2017/27/L/ST9/03221, Harmonia No. 2018/30/M/ST9/00311, Preludium No. 2017/25/N/ST9/01253 and MNiSW grant DIR/WK/2018/12 as well as the European Commission’s Horizon2020 OPTICON grant No. 730890. The Authors would like to thank the Warsaw University OGLE project for their continuous support in this work. AB acknowledges financial support from the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA). AG acknowledges the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (grants P1-0031, I0-0033, J1-8136, J1-2460). AH was funded in part by the Leverhulme Trust through grant RPG-2012-541 and by the European Research Council grant 320360. AP acknowledges support from the NCN grant no. 2016/21/B/ST9/01126. CM acknowledges support from Jim and Hiroko Sherwin. DAK acknowledges support from the Spanish research projects AYA 2014-58381-P, AYA2017-89384-P, from Juan de la Cierva Incorporación fellowship IJCI-2015-26153, and from Spanish National Research Project RTI2018-098104-J-I00 (GRBPhot). EB and STH are funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council grant ST/S000623/1. TW was funded in part by European Research Council grant 320360 and by European Commission grant 730980. GC acknowledges the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) for its continuing support through contract 2018-24-HH.0 to the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF). GD acknowledges the observing grant support from the Institute of Astronomy and Rozhen NAO BAS through the bilateral joint research project “Gaia Celestial Reference Frame (CRF) and fast variable astronomical objects” (during 2020-2022, leader is G. Damljanovic), and support by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (contract no. 451-03-68/2020-14/200002). G. Marton acknowledges support from the EC Horizon 2020 project OPTICON (730890) and the ESA PRODEX contract no. 4000129910. MF is supported by a Royal Society - Science Foundation Ireland University Research Fellowship NB acknowledges support from the research programme VENI, with project number 016.192.277, which is (partly) financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). NI is partially supported by Polish NCN DAINA grant no. 2017/27/L/ST9/03221. PAW acknowledges research funding from the South African National Research Foundation. RWW was funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council grant ST/P000541/1. V.A.R.M.R. acknowledges financial support from Radboud Excellence Initiative, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) in the form of an exploratory project of reference IF/00498/2015/CP1302/CT0001, FCT and the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) through national funds and when applicable co-funded EU funds under the project UIDB/EEA/50008/2020, and supported by Enabling Green E-science for the Square Kilometre Array Research Infrastructure (ENGAGE-SKA), POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022217, and PHOBOS, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029932, funded by Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (COMPETE 2020) and FCT, Portugal. ZKR acknowledges funding from the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA). ZN acknowledges support from the ESA PRODEX contract nr. 4000129910., With funding from the Spanish government through the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence accreditation SEV-2017-0709.

We report the discovery of a deep, singular eclipse of the bona fide brown dwarf Roque 12, a substellar member of the Pleiades. The eclipse was 0.65mag deep, lasted 1.3h, and was observed with two telescopes simultaneously in October 2002. No further eclipse was recorded, despite continuous monitoring with Kepler/K2 over 70d in 2015. There is tentative (2sigma) evidence for radial velocity variations of 5km/s, over timescales of three months. The best explanation for the eclipse is the presence of a companion on an eccentric orbit. The observations constrain the eccentricity to e>0.5, the period to P>70d, and the mass of the companion to ~0.001-0.04Msol. In principle it is also possible that the eclipse is caused by circum-sub-stellar material. Future data releases by Gaia and later LSST as well as improved radial velocity constraints may be able to unambiguously confirm the presence of the companion. This would turn the system into one of the very few known eclipsing binary brown dwarfs with known age., 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Open Journal of Astrophysics

Magnetic spots on low-mass stars can be traced and characterised using multi-band photometric light curves. Here we analyse an extensive data set for one active star, V1598Cyg, a known variable K dwarf which is either pre-main sequence and/or in a close binary system. Our light curve contains 2854 photometric data points, mostly in $V$, $R_c$, $I_c$, but also in $U$, $B$ and $H\alpha$, with a total baseline of about 4yr, obtained with small telescopes as part of the HOYS project. We find that V1598Cyg is a very fast rotator with a period of 0.8246 days and varying amplitudes in all filters, best explained as a signature of strong magnetic activity and spots. We fit the photometric amplitudes in $V$, $R_c$, $I_c$ and use them to estimate spot properties, using a grid-based method that is also propagating uncertainties. We verify the method on a partial data set with high cadence and all five broad-band filters. The method yields spot temperatures and fractional spot coverage with typical uncertainties of 100K and 3-4%, respectively. V1598Cyg consistently exhibits spots that are a few hundred degrees warmer than the photosphere, most likely indicating that the light curve is dominated by chromospheric plage. The spot activity varies over our observing baseline, with a typical time scale of 0.5-1yr, which we interpret as the typical spot lifetime. Combining our light curve with archival data, we find a six year cycle in the average brightness, that is probably a sign of a magnetic activity cycle., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The statistical shape analysis method developed for probing the link between physical parameters and morphologies of Galactic HII regions is applied here to a set of synthetic observations (SOs) of a numerically modelled HII region. The systematic extraction of HII region shape, presented in the first paper of this series, allows for a quantifiable confirmation of the accuracy of the numerical simulation, with respect to the real observational counterparts of the resulting SOs. A further aim of this investigation is to determine whether such SOs can be used for direct interpretation of the observational data, in a future supervised classification scheme based upon HII region shape. The numerical HII region data was the result of photoionisation and radiation pressure feedback of a 34 Msun star, in a 1000 Msun cloud. The SOs analysed herein comprised four evolutionary snapshots (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 Myr), and multiple viewing projection angles. The shape analysis results provided conclusive evidence of the efficacy of the numerical simulations. When comparing the shapes of the synthetic regions to their observational counterparts, the SOs were grouped in amongst the Galactic HII regions by the hierarchical clustering procedure. There was also an association between the evolutionary distribution of regions and the respective groups. This suggested that the shape analysis method could be further developed for morphological classification of HII regions by using a synthetic data training set, with differing initial conditions of well-defined parameters., Comment: 23 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present medium-resolution K-band long-slit spectroscopy of 29 true, likely, possible and candidate Galactic Plane planetary nebulae (PNe) from the UWISH2 survey - many of which have only been recently discovered. These objects are bright in molecular hydrogen (H2) emission, and many have bipolar morphologies. Through the detection of the Br{\gamma} emission line, which traces ionized hydrogen, we find that the majority of the candidate PNe are indeed likely to be PNe, while 2 of the targets are more likely young stellar objects (YSOs) or pre-planetary nebulae (pPNe). We detect Br{\gamma} in 13 objects which have no detection in IPHAS or SHS H{\alpha} surveys. This implies they are potential members of the little-known optically-obscured PN population, hidden from wide-field optical surveys. We use the spatial extent of the H2 1-0 S(1) and Br{\gamma} lines to estimate the evolutionary stage of our targets, and find that W-BPNe (bipolar PNe with pinched waist morphologies) are likely to be younger objects, while R-BPNe (bipolar PNe with large ring structures) are more evolved. We use line ratios to trace the excitation mechanism of the H2, and find the 1-0 S(1) / 2-1 S(1) and 1-0 S(1) / Br{\gamma} ratios are higher for R-BPNe, implying the H2 is thermally excited. However, in W-BPNe, these ratios are lower, and so UV-fluorescence may be contributing to the excitation of H2., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, accepted for MNRAS

Near-infrared imaging in the 1 - 0 S(1) emission line of molecular hydrogen is able to detect planetary nebulae (PNe) that are hidden from optical emission line surveys. We present images of 307 objects from the UWISH2 survey of the northern Galactic Plane, and with the aid of mid-infrared colour diagnostics draw up a list of 291 PN candidates. The majority, 183, are new detections and 85 per cent of these are not present in H$\alpha$ surveys of the region. We find that more than half (54 per cent) of objects have a bipolar morphology and that some objects previously considered as elliptical or point-source in H$\alpha$ imaging, appear bipolar in UWISH2 images. By considering a small subset of objects for which physical radii are available from the H$\alpha$ surface brightness-radius relation, we find evidence that the H2 surface brightness remains roughly constant over a factor 20 range of radii from 0.03 to 0.6 pc, encompassing most of the visible lifetime of a PN. This leads to the H$\alpha$ surface brightness becoming comparable to that of H2 at large radius (> 0:5 pc). By combining the number of UWISH2 PNe without H$\alpha$ detection with an estimate of the PN detection efficiency in H2 emission, we estimate that PN numbers from H$\alpha$ surveys may underestimate the true PN number by a factor between 1.5 and 2.5 within the UWISH2 survey area., Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Appendices B and C are available as supplementary material from http://star.herts.ac.uk/~tmg/uwish2

Context. Galaxy clusters grow via mergers with other clusters and groups. Extended regions of diffuse radio emission with a steep radio spectral index are thought to be indicators of such merger events. Extended radio sources with a significantly curved spectrum and a complex morphology have been found in several galaxy clusters. It has been proposed that these so-called radio phoenices are witnesses of cluster mergers and of the presence of active galactic nuclei prior to the merger. Shock fronts or turbulence induced by the mergers are believed to reenergize plasma emitted in the past active phase of a galaxy. Aims. The steep spectrum radio source VLSS J2217.5+5943 shows a complex filamentary morphology and a curved spectrum. Therefore, the source has previously been classified as a radio phoenix. However, no galaxy cluster associated with this radio source had confidently been detected until now because the source is located in the direction of the innermost zone of the Galactic plane at b = +2.4°, the innermost Zone of Avoidance (ZoA). The main aim of this work is to identify galaxies that are part of a cluster at the location of VLSS J2217.5+5943, determine their redshifts, and analyze their connection with the radio source. The confirmation of a cluster would corroborate the classification of the radio source as a radio phoenix and demonstrate that extended, diffuse radio sources are useful indicators of the presence of a galaxy cluster, in particular in the innermost ZoA. Methods. We analyzed archival observations in the near infrared and mid infrared (Spitzer) to select the galaxies in the immediate neighborhood of the radio source. A sample of 23 galaxies were selected as candidate cluster members. Furthermore, we carried out deep integral field spectroscopy covering 6450 to 10 500 Å with the red unit of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope second generation low resolution spectrograph (LRS2-R). We also reanalyzed archival GMRT observations at 325 and 610 MHz. Results. We selected 23 galaxies within a radius of 2.5 arcmin, centered on RA = 22h17m​.5, Dec = +59° 43′ (J2000). Spectra were obtained for three of the brightest galaxies. For two galaxies we derived redshifts of z = 0.165 and z = 0.161, based on NaD absorption and TiO band heads. Their spectra correspond to E-type galaxies. Both galaxies are spatially associated with VLSS J2217.5+5943. The spectrum of the third galaxy, which is slightly farther from the radio source, indicates a LINER spectral type at z = 0.042. It is apparently a foreground galaxy with respect to the cluster we identified. Conclusions. VLSS J2217.5+5943 is associated with a massive galaxy cluster at redshift z = 0.163 ± .003, supporting its classification as a radio phoenix. The intrinsic properties of the radio source, computed for the cluster redshift, are in good agreement with those of other known radio phoenices. The identification of the galaxy cluster demonstrates that far-red spectroscopy with LRS2-R succeeds in determining the redshift of galaxies in the innermost ZoA. Moreover, it confirms that radio sources can be useful indicators of the presence of galaxy clusters in the ZoA.

Abridged: ATLASGAL is an unbiased 870 micron submillimetre survey of the inner Galactic plane. It provides a large and systematic inventory of all massive, dense clumps in the Galaxy (>1000 Msun) and includes representative samples of all embedded stages of high-mass star formation. Here we present the first detailed census of the properties (velocities, distances, luminosities and masses) and spatial distribution of a complete sample of ~8000 dense clumps located in the Galactic disk. We derive highly reliable velocities and distances to ~97% of the sample and use mid- and far-infrared survey data to develop an evolutionary classification scheme that we apply to the whole sample. Comparing the evolutionary subsamples reveals trends for increasing dust temperatures, luminosities and line-widths as a function of evolution indicating that the feedback from the embedded proto-clusters is having a significant impact on the structure and dynamics of their natal clumps. We find 88\,per\,cent are already associated with star formation at some level. We also find the clump mass to be independent of evolution suggesting that the clumps form with the majority of their mass in-situ. We estimate the statistical lifetime of the quiescent stage to be ~5 x 10^4 yr for clump masses ~1000 Msun decreasing to ~1 x 10^4 yr for clump masses >10000 Msun. We find a strong correlation between the fraction of clumps associated with massive stars and peak column density. The fraction is initially small at low column densities but reaching 100\,per\,cent for column densities above 10^{23} cm^{-2}; there are no clumps with column density clumps above this value that are not already associated with massive star formation. All of the evidence is consistent with a dynamic view of star formation wherein the clumps form rapidly and are initially very unstable so that star formation quickly ensues., Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Consists of 45 pages, including 10 pages of appendices. Full versions of Tables 2, 5, 8 and A2 will be made available via CDS once the paper has been published as will full versions of Figures 6, 8 and A1. The quality of the images has been reduced but a high-resolution version is available on request. V2: some minor corrections made

The sample of known star clusters, the fundamental building blocks of galaxies, in the Milky Way is still extremely incomplete for objects beyond a distance of 1-2kpc. Many of the more distant and young clusters are compact and hidden behind large amounts of extinction. We thus utilised the deep high resolution near infrared surveys UGPS and VVV to uncover so far unknown compact clusters and to analyse their properties. Images of all objects in the area covered by these two surveys, and which are listed as Galaxy in SIMBAD have been inspected and 125 so far unknown stellar clusters and candidate clusters have been identified. Based on the frequent associations with star formation indicators (nebulosities, IRAS sources, Hii regions, masers) we find that the typical cluster in our sample is young, at distances between 1-10kpc and has a typical apparent radius of 25arcsec. We suggest more systematic searches e.g. at all positions of 2MASS extended sources to increase the completeness of the known cluster sample beyond distances of 2kpc., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS, full version with full appendix available at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/papers.html

Numerous eruptive variable young stellar objects (YSOs), mostly Class I systems, were recently detected by the near-infrared Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey. We present an exploratory near-infrared spectroscopic variability study of 14 eruptive YSOs. The variations were sampled over 1-day and 1 to 2-year intervals and analysed in combination with VVV light curves. CO overtone absorption features are observed on 3 objects with FUor-like spectra: all show deeper absorption when they are brighter. This implies stronger emission from the circumstellar disc with a steeper vertical temperature gradient when the accretion rate is higher. This confirms the nature of fast VVV FUor-like events, in line with the accepted picture for classical FUors. The absence of Br$\gamma$ emission in a FUor-like object declining to pre-outburst brightness suggests that reconstruction of the stellar magnetic field is a slow process. Within the 1-day timescale, 60% of H$_2$-emitting YSOs show significant but modest variation, and 2/6 sources have large variations in Br$\gamma$. Over year-long timescales, H$_2$ flux variations remain modest despite up to 1.8 mag variation in $K_s$. This indicates that emission from the molecular outflow usually arises further from the protostar and is unaffected by relatively large changes in accretion rate on year-long timescales. Two objects show signs of on/off magnetospheric accretion traced by Br$\gamma$ emission. In addition, a 60% inter-night brightening of the H$_2$ outflow is detected in one YSO., Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures

The "VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea eXtended (VVVX)" ESO Public Survey is a near-infrared photometric sky survey that covers nearly 1700 sq. deg towards the Galactic disk and bulge. It is well-suited to search for new open clusters, hidden behind dust and gas. The pipeline processed and calibrated Ks-band tile images of 40% of the disk area covered by VVVX was visually inspected for stellar over-densities. Then, we identified cluster candidates by examination of the composite JHKs color images. The color-magnitude diagrams of the cluster candidates are constructed. Whenever possible the Gaia DR2 parameters are used to calculate the mean proper motions, radial velocities, reddening and distances. We report the discovery of 120 new infrared clusters and stellar groups. Approximately, half of them (47%) are faint, compact, highly reddened, and they seem to be associated with other indicators of recent star formation, such as nearby Young Stellar Objects, Masers, H II regions or bubbles. The preliminary distance determinations allow us to trace the clusters up to 4.5 kpc, but most of the cluster candidates are centered at 2.2 kpc. The mean proper motions of the clusters, show that in general, they follow the disk motion of the Galaxy., 19 pages, 10 figures, published in the MNRAS

UWISH2 is the first unbiassed imaging survey of v =1 − 0 S(1) molecular hydrogen emission (λ = 2.122~μm) in the northern Galactic Plane. Here we discuss 284 extended emission line objects which we consider to be candidate planetary or pre-planetary nebulae. Some are clearly associated with known PN, but the majority (60%) have no previous detection. We have classified the objects according to morphology and find 53% are bipolar with half of these being new detections. The remaining objects are mostly elliptical/round (35%), fainter than the median sample flux (4.4 × 10−17 W m−2) and previously undetected (74%).

Jets and outflows are the first signposts of stellar birth. Emission in the H2 1-0S(1) line at 2.122 micron is a powerful tracer of shock excitation in these objects. Here we present the analysis of 2.0 x 0.8 square degrees data from the UK Widefield Infrared Survey for H2 (UWISH2) in the 1-0S(1) line to identify and characterize the outflows of the M17 complex. We uncover 48 probable outflows, of which, 93 per cent are new discoveries. We identified driving source candidates for 60 per cent of the outflows. Among the driving source candidate YSOs: 90 per cent are protostars and the reminder 10 per cent are Class II YSOs. Comparing with results from other surveys, we suggest that H2 emission fades very quickly as the objects evolve from protostars to pre-main-sequence stars. We fit SED models to 14 candidate outflow driving sources and conclude that the outflows of our sample are mostly driven by moderate-mass YSOs that are still actively accreting from their protoplanetary disc. We examined the spatial distribution of the outflows with the gas and dust distribution of the complex, and observed that the filamentary dark-cloud "M17SWex" located at the south-western side of the complex, is associated with a greater number of outflows. We find our results corroborate previous suggestions, that in the M17 complex, M17SWex is the most active site of star formation. Several of our newly identified outflow candidates are excellent targets for follow up studies to better understand very early phase of protostellar evolution., 19pages, 2tables, 10figures (Appendix B is not included, it contains 45 figures and notes on individual outflows), accepted for publication by MNRAS

Variability in Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) is one of their primary characteristics. Long-term, multi-filter, high-cadence monitoring of large YSO samples is the key to understand the partly unusual light-curves that many of these objects show. Here we introduce and present the first results of the HOYS-CAPS citizen science project which aims to perform such monitoring for nearby (d, 13 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS, full version with full appendix available at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/papers.html

We present here our shape analysis method for a sample of 76 Galactic HII regions from MAGPIS 1.4 GHz data. The main goal is to determine whether physical properties and initial conditions of massive star cluster formation is linked to the shape of the regions. We outline a systematic procedure for extracting region shapes and perform hierarchical clustering on the shape data. We identified six groups that categorise HII regions by common morphologies. We confirmed the validity of these groupings by bootstrap re-sampling and the ordinance technique multidimensional scaling. We then investigated associations between physical parameters and the assigned groups. Location is mostly independent of group, with a small preference for regions of similar longitudes to share common morphologies. The shapes are homogeneously distributed across Galactocentric distance and latitude. One group contains regions that are all younger than 0.5 Myr and ionised by low- to intermediate-mass sources. Those in another group are all driven by intermediate- to high-mass sources. One group was distinctly separated from the other five and contained regions at the surface brightness detection limit for the survey. We find that our hierarchical procedure is most sensitive to the spatial sampling resolution used, which is determined for each region from its distance. We discuss how these errors can be further quantified and reduced in future work by utilising synthetic observations from numerical simulations of HII regions. We also outline how this shape analysis has further applications to other diffuse astronomical objects., 15 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS, full version with full appendix available at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/papers.html

We report the discovery of a magnetic white dwarf which shows periodic variability with P=110 min, color-dependent amplitudes and a transient phase shift in the blue compared to the red lightcurve - a previously unknown type of variability for this type of object. We attribute the variations either to a close ultracool (thus far undetected) companion or, more likely, to magnetic spots with unusual temperature structure., 2 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in RNAAS

We present two low-mass YSOs in IC5070 (V1490Cyg, V1706Cyg) with deep recurring eclipses., Comment: Accepted for publication by RNAAS, 2pages, 1 figure, full version with full appendix available at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/papers.html

We report on the source Gaia 17bpi and identify it as a new, ongoing FU Ori type outburst, associated with a young stellar object. The optical lightcurve from Gaia exhibited a 3.5 mag rise with the source appearing to plateau in mid/late 2018. Mid-infrared observations from NEOWISE also show a $>$3 mag rise that occurred in two stages, with the second one coincident with the optical brightening, and the first one preceding the optical brightening by $\sim$1.5 years. We model the outburst as having started between October and December of 2014. This wavelength-dependent aspect of young star accretion-driven outbursts has never been documented before. Both the mid-infrared and the optical colors of the object become bluer as the outburst proceeds. Optical spectroscopic characteristics in the outburst phase include: a GK-type absorption spectrum, strong wind/outflow in e.g. Mgb, NaD, H$\alpha$, KI, OI, and CaII profiles, and detection of LiI 6707 \AA. The infrared spectrum in the outburst phase is similar to that of an M-type spectrum, notably exhibiting prominent $H_2O$ and $^{12}$CO (2-0) bandhead absorption in the K-band, and likely HeI wind in the Y-band. The new FU Ori source Gaia 17bpi is associated with a little-studied dark cloud in the galactic plane, located at a distance of 1.27 kpc., Comment: Accepted to ApJ

Full paper with higher resolution figures and entire Appendix can be found at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/

We use deep multi-epoch near-IR images of the VISTA Variables in the V��a L��ctea (VVV) Survey to search for RR Lyrae stars towards the Southern Galactic plane. Here we report the discovery of a group of RR Lyrae stars close together in VVV tile d025. Inspection of the VVV images and PSF photometry reveals that most of these stars are likely to belong to a globular cluster, that matches the position of the previously known star cluster FSR\,1716. The stellar density map of the field yields a $>100$ sigma detection for this candidate globular cluster, that is centered at equatorial coordinates $RA_{J2000}=$16:10:30.0, $DEC_{J2000}=-$53:44:56; and galactic coordinates $l=$329.77812, $b=-$1.59227. The color-magnitude diagram of this object reveals a well populated red giant branch, with a prominent red clump at $K_s=13.35 \pm 0.05$, and $J-K_s=1.30 \pm 0.05$. We present the cluster RR Lyrae positions, magnitudes, colors, periods and amplitudes. The presence of RR Lyrae indicates an old globular cluster, with age $>10$ Gyr. We classify this object as an Oosterhoff type I globular cluster, based on the mean period of its RR Lyrae type ab, $=0.540$ days, and argue that this is a relatively metal-poor cluster with $[Fe/H] = -1.5 \pm 0.4$ dex. The mean extinction and reddening for this cluster are $A_{K_s}=0.38 \pm 0.02$, and $E(J-K_s)=0.72 \pm 0.02$ mag, respectively, as measured from the RR Lyrae colors and the near-IR color-magnitude diagram. We also measure the cluster distance using the RR Lyrae type ab stars. The cluster mean distance modulus is $(m-M)_0 = 14.38 \pm 0.03$ mag, implying a distance $D = 7.5 \pm 0.2$ kpc, and a Galactocentric distance $R_G=4.3$ kpc., 7 pages, 4 figures. ApJL, in press

ASASSN-13db is a M5-type star with a protoplanetary disk, the lowest mass star known to experience accretion outbursts. Since its discovery in 2013, it has experienced two outbursts, the second of which started in November 2014 and lasted until February 2017. We use high- and low-resolution spectroscopy and time-resolved photometry from the ASAS-SN survey, the LCOGT and the Beacon Observatory to study the lightcurve and the dynamical and physical properties of the accretion flow. The 2014-2017 outburst lasted for nearly 800 days. A 4.15d period in the lightcurve likely corresponds to rotational modulation of a star with hot spot(s). The spectra show multiple emission lines with variable inverse P-Cygni profiles and a highly variable blueshifted absorption below the continuum. Line ratios from metallic emission lines (Fe I/Fe II, Ti I/Ti II) suggest temperatures of $\sim$5800-6000 K in the accretion flow. Photometrically and spectroscopically, the 2014-2017 event displays an intermediate behavior between EXors and FUors. The accretion rate (\.{M}=1-3$\times$10$^{-7}$M$_\odot$/yr), about 2 orders of magnitude higher than the accretion rate in quiescence, is not significantly different from the accretion rate observed in 2013. The absorption features in the spectra suggest that the system is viewed at a high angle and drives a powerful, non-axisymmetric wind, maybe related to magnetic reconnection. The properties of ASASSN-13db suggest that temperatures lower than those for solar-type stars are needed for modeling accretion in very low-mass systems. Finally, the rotational modulation during the outburst reveals that accretion-related structures settled after the begining of the outburst and can be relatively stable and long-lived. Our work also demonstrates the power of time-resolved photometry and spectroscopy to explore the properties of variable and outbursting stars. (Abridged)., Comment: A&A in press. 19 pages plus appendix. Revised version: corrected for typos

This paper defines the UK Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) Hemisphere Survey (UHS) and release of the remaining ~12,700 sq.deg of J-band survey data products. The UHS will provide continuous J and K-band coverage in the northern hemisphere from a declination of 0 deg to 60 deg by combining the existing Large Area Survey, Galactic Plane Survey and Galactic Clusters Survey conducted under the UKIRT Infra-red Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) programme with this new additional area not covered by UKIDSS. The released data includes J-band imaging and source catalogues over the new area, which, together with UKIDSS, completes the J-band UHS coverage over the full ~17,900 sq.deg area. 98 per cent of the data in this release have passed quality control criteria, the remaining 2 per cent being scheduled for re-observation. The median 5-sigma point source sensitivity of the released data is 19.6 mag (Vega). The median full width at half-maximum of the point spread function across the dataset is 0.75 arcsec. In this paper, we outline the survey management, data acquisition, processing and calibration, quality control and archiving as well as summarising the characteristics of the released data products. The data are initially available to a limited consortium with a world-wide release scheduled for August 2018., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, MNRAS in press. v2 includes some changes suggested by referee

We present a catalogue of 618 high amplitude infrared variable stars (1 < DeltaK < 5 mag) detected by the two widely separated epochs of 2.2 um data in the UKIDSS Galactic plane survey, from searches covering 1470 deg^2. Most were discovered by a search of all fields at 30 < l < 230 deg. Sources include new dusty Mira variables, three new CV candidates, a blazar and a peculiar source that may be an interacting binary system. However, c. 60 per cent are YSOs, based on spatial association with star forming regions at distances ranging from 300 pc to over 10 kpc. This confirms our initial result in Contreras Pena et al.(Paper I) that YSOs dominate the high amplitude infrared variable sky in the Galactic disc. It is also supported by recently published VVV results at 295 < l < 350 deg. The spectral energy distributions of the YSOs indicate class I or flat spectrum systems in most cases, as in the VVV sample. A large number of variable YSOs are associated with the Cygnus X complex and other groups are associated with the North America/Pelican nebula, the Gemini OB1 molecular cloud, the Rosette complex, the Cone nebula, the W51 star forming region and the S86 and S236 HII regions. Most of the YSO variability is likely due to variable/episodic accretion on timescales of years, albeit usually less extreme than classical FUors and EXors. Luminosities at the 2010 WISE epoch range from c. 0.1 Lsun to 10^3 Lsun but only rarely exceed 10^2.5 Lsun., Accepted by MNRAS. 34 pages, 16 figures. The data table for the 618 variable stars (Table 1) is available at http://star.herts.ac.uk/~pwl/Lucas/papers/ in FITS and ascii format

We present initial results of the first panoramic search for high-amplitude near-infrared variability in the Galactic Plane. We analyse the widely separated two-epoch K-band photometry in the 5th and 7th data releases of the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey. We find 45 stars with \Delta K > 1 mag, including 2 previously known OH/IR stars and a Nova. Even though the mid-plane is not yet included in the dataset, we find the majority (66%) of our sample to be within known star forming regions (SFRs), with two large concentrations in the Serpens OB2 association (11 stars) and the Cygnus-X complex (12 stars). Sources in SFRs show spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that support classification as Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). This indicates that YSOs dominate the Galactic population of high amplitude infrared variable stars at low luminosities and therefore likely dominate the total high amplitude population. Spectroscopic follow up of the DR5 sample shows at least four stars with clear characteristics of eruptive pre-main-sequence variables, two of which are deeply embedded. Our results support the recent concept of eruptive variability comprising a continuum of outburst events with different timescales and luminosities, but triggered by a similar physical mechanism involving unsteady accretion. Also, we find what appears to be one of the most variable classical Be stars., Comment: 26 pages, 16 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Massive clusters in our Galaxy are an ideal testbed to investigate the properties and evolution of high mass stars. They provide statistically significant samples of massive stars of uniform ages. To accurately determine the intrinsic physical properties of these stars we need to establish the distances, ages and reddening of the clusters. One avenue to achieve this is the identification and characterisation of the main sequence members of red supergiant rich clusters. Here we utilise publicly available data from the UKIDSS galactic plane survey. We show that point spread function photometry in conjunction with standard photometric decontamination techniques allows us to identify the most likely main sequence members in the 10-20Myr old clusters RSGC1, 2, and 3. We confirm the previous detection of the main sequence in RSGC2 and provide the first main sequence detection in RSGC1 and RSGC3. There are in excess of 100 stars with more than 8Msun identified in each cluster. These main sequence members are concentrated towards the spectroscopically confirmed red supergiant stars. We utilise the J-K colours of the bright main sequence stars to determine the K-band extinction towards the clusters. The differential reddening is three times as large in the youngest cluster RSGC1 compared to the two older clusters RSGC2 and RSGC3. Spectroscopic follow up of the cluster main sequence stars should lead to more precise distance and age estimates for these clusters as well as the determination of the stellar mass function in these high mass environments., 8pages, 2tables, 2figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS, full version which includes the complete appendix can be found at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/

Accretion in young stellar objects (YSOs) is at least partially episodic, i.e. periods with high accretion rates ('bursts') are interspersed by quiescent phases. These bursts manifest themselves as eruptive variability. Here we present a systematic survey for eruptive YSOs aiming to constrain the frequency of accretion bursts. We compare mid-infrared photometry from Spitzer and WISE separated by ~5 yr for two samples of YSOs, in nearby star forming regions and in the Galactic plane, each comprising about 4000 young sources. All objects for which the brightness at 3.6 and 4.5 mu is increased by at least 1 mag between the two epochs may be eruptive variables and burst candidates. For these objects, we carry out follow-up observations in the near-infrared. We discover two new eruptive variables in the Galactic plane which could be FU Ori-type objects, with K-band amplitudes of more than 1.5 mag. One object known to undergo an accretion burst, V2492 Cyg, is recovered by our search as well. In addition, the young star ISO-Oph-50, previously suspected to be an eruptive object, is found to be better explained by a disk with varying circumstellar obscuration. In total, the number of burst events in a sample of 4000 YSOs is 1-4. Assuming that all YSOs undergo episodic accretion, this constraint can be used to show that phases of strong accretion (>10^-6 Msol/yr) occur in intervals of about 10^4 yr, most likely between 5000 and 50000 yr. This is consistent with the dynamical timescales for outflows, but not with the separations of emission knots in outflows, indicating that episodic accretion could either trigger or stop collimated large-scale outflows., 14 pages, 10 figures, 1 appendix. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present the analysis of 35.5 square degrees of images in the 1-0S(1) line of H2 from the UK Widefield Infrared Survey for H2 (UWISH2) towards Cassiopeia and Auriga. We have identified 98 Molecular Hydrogen emission-line Objects (MHOs) driven by Young Stellar Objects, 60% of which are bipolar outflows and all are new discoveries. We estimate that the UWISH2 extended emission object catalogue contains fewer than % false positives and is complete at the 95% level for jets and outflows brighter than the UWISH2 detection limit. We identified reliable driving source candidates for three quarters of the detected outflows, 40% of which are associated with groups and clusters of stars. The driving source candidates are 20% protostars, the remainder are CTTSs. We also identified 15 new star cluster candidates near MHOs in the survey area. We find that the typical outflow identified in the sample has the following characteristics: the position angles are randomly orientated; bipolar outflows are straight within a few degrees; the two lobes are slightly asymmetrical in length and brightness; the length and brightness of the lobes are not correlated; typical time gaps between major ejections of material are 1-3kyr, hence FU-Ori or EX-Ori eruptions are most likely not the cause of these, but we suggest MNors as a possible source. Furthermore, we find that outflow lobe length distributions are statistically different from the widely used total length distributions. There are a larger than expected number of bright outflows indicating that the flux distribution does not follow a power law., Comment: 17 oages, 2 tables, 8 figures, accepted for publication by MNRAS, full paper incl. large Appendix Table with figures is available at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/

We present the discovery of 816 high amplitude infrared variable stars ($\Delta K_{\rm s} >$ 1 mag) in 119 deg$^2$ of the Galactic midplane covered by the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey. Almost all are new discoveries and about 50$\%$ are YSOs. This provides further evidence that YSOs are the commonest high amplitude infrared variable stars in the Galactic plane. In the 2010-2014 time series of likely YSOs we find that the amplitude of variability increases towards younger evolutionary classes (class I and flat-spectrum sources) except on short timescales ($$100 days) and 162 short-term variables. Eruptive YSOs and faders tend to have the highest amplitudes and eruptive systems have the reddest SEDs. Follow up spectroscopy in a companion paper verifies high accretion rates in the eruptive systems. Variable extinction is disfavoured by the 2 epochs of colour data. These discoveries increase the number of eruptive variable YSOs by a factor of at least 5, most being at earlier stages of evolution than the known FUor and EXor types. We find that eruptive variability is at least an order of magnitude more common in class I YSOs than class II YSOs. Typical outburst durations are 1 to 4 years, between those of EXors and FUors. They occur in 3 to 6\% of class I YSOs over a 4 year time span., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 51 pages, 23 figures

Jets and outflows accompany the mass accretion process in protostars and young stellar objects. Using a large and unbiased sample, they can be used to study statistically the local feedback they provide and the typical mass accretion history. Here we analyse such a sample of Molecular Hydrogen emission line Objects in the Serpens and Aquila part of the Galactic Plane. Distances are measured by foreground star counts with an accuracy of 25%. The resulting spacial distribution and outflow luminosities indicate that our objects sample the formation of intermediate mass objects. The outflows are unable to provide a sizeable fraction of energy and momentum to support, even locally, the turbulence levels in their surrounding molecular clouds. The fraction of parsec scale flows is one quarter and the typical dynamical jet age of the order of 1E4yrs. Groups of emission knots are ejected every 1E3yrs. This might indicate that low level accretion rate fluctuations and not FU-Ori type events are responsible for the episodic ejection of material. Better observational estimates of the FU-Ori duty cycle are needed.

This first part of Special Session 5 explored the current status of infrared-based observations of obscured and distant stellar clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Recent infrared surveys, either serendipitously or using targeted searches, have uncovered a rich population of young and massive clusters. However, cluster characterization is more challenging as it must be obtained often entirely in the infrared due to high line-of-sight extinction. Despite this, much is to be gained through the identification and careful analysis of these clusters, as they allow for the early evolution of massive stars to be better constrained. Further, they act as beacons delineating the Milky Way's structure and as nearby, resolved analogues to the distant unresolved massive clusters studied in distant galaxies.

Jets and outflows from Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) are important signposts of currently ongoing star formation. In order to study these objects we are conducting an unbiased survey along the Galactic Plane in the 1-0S(1) emission line of molecular hydrogen at 2.122mu using the UK Infrared Telescope. In this paper we are focusing on a 33 square degree sized region in Serpens and Aquila (18deg < l < 30deg; -1.5deg < b < +1.5deg). We trace 131 jets and outflows from YSOs, which results in a 15 fold increase in the total number of known Molecular Hydrogen Outflows. Compared to this, the total integrated 1-0S(1) flux of all objects just about doubles, since the known objects occupy the bright end of the flux distribution. Our completeness limit is 3*10^-18Wm^-2 with 70% of the objects having fluxes of less than 10^-17Wm^-2. Generally, the flows are associated with Giant Molecular Cloud complexes and have a scale height of 25-30pc with respect to the Galactic Plane. We are able to assign potential source candidates to about half the objects. Typically, the flows are clustered in groups of 3-5 objects, within a radius of 5pc. These groups are separated on average by about half a degree, and 2/3rd of the entire survey area is devoid of outflows. We find a large range of apparent outflow lengths from 4arcsec to 130arcsec. If we assume a distance of 3kpc, only 10% of all outflows are of parsec scale. There is a 2.6sigma over abundance of flow position angles roughly perpendicular to the Galactic Plane.

The VVV survey has allowed for an unprecedented number of multi-epoch observations of the southern Galactic plane. In a recent paper,13 massive young stellar objects(MYSOs) have already been identified within the highly variable(\Delta Ks > 1 mag) YSO sample of another published work.This study aims to understand the general nature of variability in MYSOs.We present the first systematic study of variability in a large sample of candidate MYSOs.We examined the data for variability of the putative driving sources of all known Spitzer EGOs and bright 24 \mu m sources coinciding with the peak of 870 \mu m detected ATLASGAL clumps, a total of 718 targets. Of these, 190 point sources (139 EGOs and 51 non-EGOs) displayed variability (IQR > 0.05, \Delta Ks > 0.15 mag). Light-curves(LCs) have been sub-classified into eruptive, dipper, fader, short-term-variable and long-period variable-YSO categories.Lomb-Scargle periodogram analysis of periodic LCs was carried out. 1 - 870 \mu m spectral energy distributions of the variable sources were fitted with YSO models to obtain representative properties. 41% of the variable sources are represented by > 4Msun objects, and only 6% by > 8Msun objects.The highest-mass objects are mostly non-EGOs,deeply embedded.By placing them on the HR diagram we show that most lower mass,EGO type objects are concentrated on the putative birth-line position, while the luminous non-EGO type objects group around the ZAMS track.Some of the most luminous far infrared sources in the massive clumps and infrared quiet driving sources of EGOs have been missed out by this study owing to an uniform sample selection method.A high rate of detectable variability in EGO targets (139 out of 153 searched) implies that near-infrared variability in MYSOs is closely linked to the accretion phenomenon and outflow activity., Comment: 60 pages, 47 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We investigate the old star clusters in the sample of cluster candidates from Froebrich, Scholz & Raftery 2007 -- the FSR list. Based on photometry from the 2-Micron All Sky Survey we generated decontaminated colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams to select a sample of 269 old stellar clusters. This sample contains 63 known globular clusters, 174 known open clusters and 32 so far unclassified objects. Isochrone fitting has been used to homogeneously calculate the age, distance and reddening to all clusters. The mean age of the open clusters in our sample is 1Gyr. The positions of these clusters in the Galactic Plane show that 80% of open clusters older than 1Gyr have a Galactocentric distance of more than 7kpc. The scale height for the old open clusters above the Plane is 375pc, more than three times as large as the 115pc which we obtain for the younger open clusters in our sample. We find that the mean optical extinction towards the open clusters in the disk of the Galaxy is 0.70mag/kpc. The FSR sample has a strong selection bias towards objects with an apparent core radius of 30" to 50" and there is an unexplained paucity of old open clusters in the Galactic Longitude range of 120deg < l < 180deg.

Identifying the population of young stellar objects (YSOs) in high extinction regions is a prerequisite for studies of star formation. This task is not trivial, as reddened background objects can be indistinguishable from YSOs in near-infrared colour-colour diagrams. Here we combine deep JHK photometry with J- and K-band lightcurves, obtained with UKIRT/WFCAM, to explore the YSO population in the dark cloud IC1396W. We demonstrate that a colour-variability criterion can provide useful constraints on the star forming activity in embedded regions. For IC1396W we find that a near-infrared colour analysis alone vastly overestimates the number of YSOs. In total, the globule probably harbours not more than ten YSOs, among them a system of two young stars embedded in a small (~10000 AU) reflection nebula. This translates into a star forming efficiency SFE of ~1%, which is low compared with nearby more massive star forming regions, but similar to less massive globules. We confirm that IC1396W is likely associated with the IC1396 HII region. One possible explanation for the low SFE is the relatively large distance to the ionizing O-star in the central part of IC1396. Serendipitously, our variability campaign yields two new eclipsing binaries, and eight periodic variables, most of them with the characteristics of contact binaries.

We have performed an unbiased search for outflows from young stars in Cygnus-X using 42 deg$^2$ of data from the UKIRT Widefield Infrared Survey for H$_2$ (UWISH2 survey), to identify shock-excited near-IR H$_2$ emission in the 1$-$0 S(1) 2.122 $\mu$m line. We uncovered 572 outflows, of which 465 are new discoveries, increasing the number of known objects by more than 430%. This large and unbiased sample allows us to statistically determine the typical properties of outflows from young stars. We found 261 bipolar outflows and 16% of these are parsec-scale. The typical bipolar outflow is 0.45pc in length and has gaps of 0.025 to 0.1pc between large knots. The median luminosity in the 1$-$0 S(1) line is 10$^{-3}$ L$_{\odot}$. The bipolar flows are typically asymmetrical, with the two lobes misaligned by 5$^{\circ}$, one lobe 30% shorter than the other, and one lobe twice as bright as the other. Of the remaining outflows, 152 are single-sided and 159 are groups of extended, shock-excited H$_2$ emission without identifiable driving sources. Half of all driving sources have sufficient WISE data to determine their evolutionary status as either protostars (80%) or classical T-Tauri stars (20%). One fifth of the driving sources are variable by more than 0.5mag in the K-band continuum over several years. Several of the newly-identified outflows provide excellent targets for follow up studies. We particularly encourage the study of the outflows and young stars identified in a bright-rimmed cloud near IRAS 20294$+$4255, which seems to represent a textbook example of triggered star formation., Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJS. Appendix contains examples from the two image sets and machine-readable data table that will be available in the online journal. Full version available at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/papers.html with full appendix

We aim to characterise the properties of the stellar clusters in the Milky Way. Utilising an expectation-maximisation method we determined that the cluster FSR0358, originally discovered by J.D.Kirkpatrick, is the most likely real cluster amongst the cluster candidates from Froebrich et al.. Here we present new deep high resolution near infrared imaging of this object obtained with UKIRT. The analysis of the data reveals that FSR0358 (Kirkpatrick1) is a 5+-2Gyr old open cluster in the outer Milky Way. Its age, metallicity of Z=0.008 and distance from the Galactic Centre of 11.2kpc are typical for the known old open galactic clusters. So far six of the FSR cluster candidates have been identified as having an age above 5Gyr. This shows the significance of this catalogue in enhancing our knowledge of the oldest open clusters in the Galaxy., Comment: 8 pages, 1 table, 5 figures, accepted for publication by MNRAS, a version with higher resolution figures can be found at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/

We investigate the structures of embedded and open clusters using statistical methods, in particular the combined parameter $\Q$, which permits to quantify the cluster structure. Star clusters build up from several subclusters evolving from a structured to a more centrally concentrated stage. The evolution is not only a function of time, but also of the mass of the objects. Massive stars are usually centrally concentrated, while lower-mass stars are more widespread, reflecting the effect of mass segregation. Using this method we find that in IC 348 and the Orion Nebula Cluster the spatial distribution of brown dwarfs does not follow the central clustering of stars, giving important clues to their formation mechanism by supporting the ejected embryo scenario.

Herbig-Haro objects (HHOs) are caused by outflows from young objects. Since the outflow relies on mass accretion from a circumstellar disk, it indicates ongoing growth. Recent results of infrared observations yielded evidence for disks around brown dwarfs. This suggests that at least a certain fraction of brown dwarfs forms like stars. Thus, young sub-stellar objects might cause HHOs as well. We present selected results of a general survey for HHOs based on DSS-II plates and CCD images taken with the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope. Numerous young objects could be identified due to their association with newly detected HHOs. In some cases the luminosity is consistent with very low-mass stars or close to sub-stellar values. This holds for L1415-IRS and a few infrared sources embedded in other dark clouds (e.g., GF9, BHR111). The question on the minimum mass for outflow activity is addressed., Comment: contribution presented at the 5th Stromlo Symposium, 5 pages, 4 Figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science

We present wide-field near-infrared images of the DR21/W75 high-mass star forming region, obtained with the Wide Field Camera, WFCAM, on the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. Broad-band JHK and narrow-band H2 1-0S(1) images are compared to archival mid-IR images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, and 850 micron dust-continuum maps obtained with the Submillimeter Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA). Together these data give a complete picture of dynamic star formation across this extensive region, which includes at least four separate star forming sites in various stages of evolution. The H2 data reveal knots and bow shocks associated with more than 50 individual flows. Most are well collimated, and at least five qualify as parsec-scale flows. Most appear to be driven by embedded, low-mass protostars. The orientations of the outflows, particularly from the few higher-mass sources in the region (DR21, DR21(OH), W75N and ERO~1), show some degree of order, being preferentially orientated roughly orthogonal to the chain of dusty cores that runs north-south through DR21. Clustering may inhibit disk accretion and therefore the production of outflows; we certainly do not see enhanced outflow activity from clusters of protostars. Finally, although the low-mass protostellar outflows are abundant and widely distributed, the current generation does not provide sufficient momentum and kinetic energy to account for the observed turbulent motions in the DR21/W75 giant molecular clouds. Rather, multiple epochs of outflow activity are required over the million-year timescale for turbulent decay., See also paper II: Kumar et al

We used star density maps obtained from 2MASS to obtain a sample of star clusters in the entire Galactic Plane with |b, Comment: 31 pages, 7 Figures, 3 Tables, Accepted for publication by MNRAS, A version with higher resolution figures can be found at http://astro.kent.ac.uk/~df/

We report the discovery and characterisation of a deeply eclipsing AM CVn-system, Gaia14aae (= ASSASN-14cn). Gaia14aae was identified independently by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN; Shappee et al. 2014) and by the Gaia Science Alerts project, during two separate outbursts. A third outburst is seen in archival Pan-STARRS-1 (PS1; Schlafly et al. 2012; Tonry et al. 2012; Magnier et al. 2013) and ASAS-SN data. Spectroscopy reveals a hot, hydrogen-deficient spectrum with clear double-peaked emission lines, consistent with an accreting double degenerate classification. We use follow-up photometry to constrain the orbital parameters of the system. We find an orbital period of 49.71 min, which places Gaia14aae at the long period extremum of the outbursting AM CVn period distribution. Gaia14aae is dominated by the light from its accreting white dwarf. Assuming an orbital inclination of 90 degrees for the binary system, the contact phases of the white dwarf lead to lower limits of 0.78 M solar and 0.015 M solar on the masses of the accretor and donor respectively and a lower limit on the mass ratio of 0.019. Gaia14aae is only the third eclipsing AM CVn star known, and the first in which the WD is totally eclipsed. Using a helium WD model, we estimate the accretor's effective temperature to be 12900+-200 K. The three out-burst events occurred within 4 months of each other, while no other outburst activity is seen in the previous 8 years of Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS; Drake et al. 2009), Pan-STARRS-1 and ASAS-SN data. This suggests that these events might be rebrightenings of the first outburst rather than individual events., Comment: 9

The near infrared extinction powerlaw index ($\beta$) and its uncertainty is derived from three different techniques based on star counts, colour excess and a combination of them. We have applied these methods to 2MASS data to determine maps of $\beta$ and near infrared extinction of the small cloud IC 1396 W. The combination of star counts and colour excess results in the most reliable method to determine $\beta$. It is found that the use of the correct $\beta$-map to transform colour excess values into extinction is fundamental for column density profile analysis of clouds. We describe how artificial photometric data, based on the model of stellar population synthesis of the Galaxy (Robin et al. 2003), can be used to estimate uncertainties and derive systematic effects of the extinction methods presented here. We find that all colour excess based extinction determination methods are subject to small but systematic offsets, which do not affect the star counting technique. These offsets occur since stars seen through a cloud do not represent the same population as stars in an extinction free control field.

We present results of a multi-filter monitoring campaign for very low mass (VLM) stars in the Pleiades. Simultaneous to our I-band time series (Scholz & Eisloeffel 2004), which delivered photometric periods for nine VLM stars, we obtained light curves in the J- and H-band. One VLM star with M~0.15 Ms (BPL129) shows a period in all three wavelength bands. The amplitudes in I, J, and H are 0.035, 0.035, and 0.032 mag. These values are compared to simulations, in which we compute the photometric amplitude as a function of spot temperature and filling factor. The best agreement between observations and models is found for cool spots with a temperature contrast of 18-31% and a very low surface filling factor of 4-5%. We suggest that compared to more massive stars VLM objects may have either very few spots or a rather symmetric spot distribution. This difference might be explained with a change from a shell to a distributed dynamo in the VLM regime., 9 pages, 5 figures, Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press

Embedded clusters usually contain young stellar objects in different evolutionary stages. We investigate number ratios of objects in these classes in the star-forming regions rho Ophiuchi, Serpens, Taurus, Chamaeleon I, NGC 7129, IC 1396A, and IC 348. They are compared to the temporal evolution of young stars in numerical simulations of gravoturbulent fragmentation in order to constrain the models and to possibly determine the evolutionary stage of the clusters. It turns out that Serpens is the youngest, and IC 348 the most evolved cluster, although the time when the observations are best represented varies strongly depending on the model. Furthermore, we find an inverse correlation of the star formation efficiency (SFE) of the models with the Mach number. However, the observational SFE values cannot be reproduced by the current isothermal models. This argues for models that take into account protostellar feedback processes and/or the effects of magnetic fields., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted by A&A