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The VMC survey – XXXVI. Young stellar variability in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Zivkov, Viktor; Oliveira, Joana M.; Petr-Gotzens, Monika G.; Rubele, Stefano; Cioni, Maria-Rosa L.; Van Loon, Jacco Th; de Grijs, Richard; Emerson, Jim; Ivanov, Valentin D.; Marconi, Marcella; Moretti, Maria Ida; Ripepi, Vincenzo; Niederhofer, Florian; Sun, Ning-Chen

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Authors

Viktor Zivkov

Monika G. Petr-Gotzens

Stefano Rubele

Maria-Rosa L. Cioni

Richard de Grijs

Jim Emerson

Valentin D. Ivanov

Marcella Marconi

Maria Ida Moretti

Vincenzo Ripepi

Florian Niederhofer

Ning-Chen Sun



Abstract

Studies of young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Galaxy have found that a significant fraction exhibits photometric variability. However, no systematic investigation has been conducted on the variability of extragalactic YSOs. Here we present the first variability study of massive YSOs in an $\sim 1.5\, \mathrmdeg^2$ region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The aim is to investigate whether the different environmental conditions in the metal-poor LMC ($\sim 0.4\!-\!0.5\, \mathrmZ_ødot $) have an impact on the variability characteristics. Multi-epoch near-infrared (NIR) photometry was obtained from the VISTA Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (VMC) and our own monitoring campaign using the VISTA telescope. By applying a reduced ?2-analysis, stellar variability was identified. We found 3062 candidate variable stars from a population of 362 425 stars detected. Based on several Spitzer studies, we compiled a sample of high-reliability massive YSOs: a total of 173 massive YSOs have NIR counterparts (down to $K_s\sim 18.5\,$mag) in the VMC catalogue, of which 39 display significant (>3s) variability. They have been classified as eruptive, fader, dipper, short-term variable, and long-period variable YSOs based mostly on the appearance of their Ks-band light curves. The majority of YSOs are aperiodic; only five YSOs exhibit periodic light curves. The observed amplitudes are comparable or smaller than those for Galactic YSOs (only two Magellanic YSOs exhibit $? K_s\gt 1\,$mag), not what would have been expected from the typically larger mass accretion rates observed in the Magellanic Clouds.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 21, 2020
Online Publication Date Mar 4, 2020
Publication Date 2020-05
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Electronic ISSN 1365-2966
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 494
Issue 1
Pages 458 -486
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa626
Keywords techniques: photometric; stars: pre-main-sequence; stars: variables: general; galaxies: individual: LMC; infrared: stars
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa626

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