NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

FUor eruptions are major accretion events in the lives of young stars,
probably in young binaries. These very rare events offer important
insights into the mechanisms by which stars form and circumstellar
disks evolve. We have studied two such recent cases in detail.

My IfA colleague Colin Aspin and I have carried out a long term project studying eruptive events of the FU Orionis class mainly by spectroscopic means. In a series of papers we have followed the recent eruption of the FUor-like object V1647 Orionis at a range of wavelengths and techniques, for the first time following such an event from just a few months after the eruption began. We have also made a detailed study of the eruptive variable V733 Cephei, demonstrating that it is identical to the prototype FU Orionis. We have found that the environment of V733 Cep is rich in water ice, which is one of the earliest detections of water in a young star. This water will later develop into planetesimals and cometary bodies.