Discovery of a long-lived, high-amplitude dusty infrared transient
Maccarone, T. J.; Torres, M. A. P.; Nelemans, G.; Steeghs, D.; Wright, N. J.; Kurtev, R.; Smith, L.; Contreras Peña, C.; Jonker, P. G.; Strader, J.; Chomiuk, L.; Salinas, R.; Britt, C. T.; Hynes, R. I.; Heinke, C.; Green, J. D.; Lucas, P.; Johnson, C.
United States, Netherlands, Chile, United Kingdom, Canada
Abstract
We report the detection of an infrared-selected transient which has lasted at least five years, first identified by a large mid-infrared and optical outburst from a faint X-ray source detected with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In this paper we rule out several scenarios for the cause of this outburst, including a classical nova, a luminous red nova, AGN flaring, a stellar merger, and intermediate luminosity optical transients, and interpret this transient as the result of a young stellar object (YSO) of at least solar mass accreting material from the remains of the dusty envelope from which it formed, in isolation from either a dense complex of cold gas or massive star formation. This object does not fit neatly into other existing categories of large outbursts of YSOs (FU Orionis types) which may be a result of the object's mass, age, and environment. It is also possible that this object is a new type of transient unrelated to YSOs.