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Z CMa is a complex pre-main sequence binary with a current separation of 100 mas, known to consist of an FU Orionis star (SE component) and an embedded Herbig Be star (NW component). Immediately when the late-2008 outburst of Z CMa was announced to the community, we initiated a high angular resolution imaging campaign with VLT/NaCo, Keck/NIRC2, VLT/SINFONI, and Keck/OSIRIS which aimed at characterizing the outburst of both components of the system in the near-infrared. We confirm that the NW star dominates the system flux in the 1.1-3.8 microns range and is responsible for the photometric outburst. We extract the first medium-resolution (R=2000-4000) near-infrared (1.1-2.4 microns) spectra of the individual components during and after the outburst. The SE component has a spectrum typical of FU Orionis objects. The NW component spectrum is characteristic of embedded outbursting protostars and EX Or objects. It displays numerous emission lines during the outburst whose intensity correlates with the system activity. In particular, we find a correlation between the Brackett gamma equivalent width and the system brightness. The bluing of the continuum of the NW component along with the absolute flux and color-variation of the system during the outburst suggests that the outburst was caused by a complex interplay between a variation of the extinction in the line of sight of the NW component on one hand, and the emission of shocked regions close to the NW component on the other. We confirm the recently reported wiggling of the SE component jet from [Fe II] line emission. We find a point-like structure associated with a peak emission at 2.098 microns coincidental with the clump or arm seen in broadband polarization differential imaging as well as additional diffuse emission along a PA=214 degrees. The origin of these two structures is unclear and deserves further investigation., Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

The paper presents new high angular resolution ALMA 1.3 mm dust continuum observations of the protoplanetary system AS 209 in the Ophiuchus star forming region. The dust continuum emission is characterized by a main central core and two prominent rings at $r = 75\,$au and $r = 130\,$au intervaled by two gaps at at $r = 62\,$au and $r = 103\,$au. The two gaps have different widths and depths, with the inner one being narrower and shallower. We determined the surface density of the millimeter dust grains using the 3D radiative transfer disk code \textsc{dali}. According to our fiducial model the inner gap is partially filled with millimeter grains while the outer gap is largely devoid of dust. The inferred surface density is compared to 3D hydrodynamical simulations (FARGO-3D) of planet-disk interaction. The outer dust gap is consistent with the presence of a giant planet ($M_{\rm planet} \sim 0.8\,M_{\rm Staturn}$); the planet is responsible for the gap opening and for the pile-up of dust at the outer edge of the planet orbit. The simulations also show that the same planet can give origin to the inner gap at $r = 62\,$au. The relative position of the two dust gaps is close to the 2:1 resonance and we have investigated the possibility of a second planet inside the inner gap. The resulting surface density (including location, width and depth of the two dust gaps) are in agreement with the observations. The properties of the inner gap pose a strong constraint to the mass of the inner planet ($M_{\rm planet} < 0.1\,M_{\rm J}$). In both scenarios (single or pair of planets), the hydrodynamical simulations suggest a very low disk viscosity ($��< 10^{-4}$). Given the young age of the system (0.5 - 1 Myr), this result implies that the formation of giant planets occurs on a timescale of $\lesssim$ 1\,Myr., Accepted by A&A

OO Serpentis is a deeply embedded pre-main sequence star that went into outburst in 1995 and gradually faded afterwards. Its eruption resembled the well-known FU Orionis-type or EX Lupi-type outbursts. Since very few such events have ever been documented at infrared wavelengths, our aim is to study the temporal evolution of OO Ser in the infrared. OO Ser was monitored with the Infrared Space Observatory starting 4 months after peak brightness and covering 20 months. In 2004-2006 we again observed OO Ser from the ground and complemented this dataset with archival Spitzer obsevations also from 2004. We analysed these data with special attention to source confusion and constructed light curves at 10 different wavelengths as well as spectral energy distributions. The outburst caused brightening in the whole infrared regime. According to the infrared light curves, OO Ser started a wavelength-independent fading after peak brightness. Later the flux decay became slower but stayed wavelength-independent. The fading is still ongoing, and current fading rates indicate that OO Ser will not return to quiescent state before 2011. The outburst timescale of OO Ser seems to be shorter than that of FUors, but longer than that of EXors. The outburst timescale and the moderate luminosity suggest that OO Ser is different from both FUors and EXors, and shows similarities to the recently erupted young star V1647 Ori. Based on its spectral energy distribution and bolometric temperature, OO Ser seems to be an early class I object, with an age of < 10^5 yr. The object is probably surrounded by an accretion disc and a dense envelope. Due to the shorter outburst timescales, the viscosity in the circumstellar disc of OO Ser is probably an order of magnitude higher than usual for FUors., 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Recent observations of the low-mass pre-main sequence, eccentric spectroscopic binaries DQ Tau and V773 Tau A reveal that their millimeter spectrum is occasionally dominated by flares from non-thermal emission processes. The transient activity is believed to be synchrotron in nature, resulting from powerful magnetic reconnection events when the separate magnetic structures of the binary components are capable of interacting and forced to reorganize, typically near periastron. We conducted the first systematic study of the millimeter variability toward a sample of 12 PMS spectroscopic binaries with the aim to characterize the proliferation of flares amongst sources likely to experience similar interbinary reconnection events. The source sample consists of short-period, close-separation binaries that possess either a high orbital eccentricity or a circular orbit. Using the MAMBO2 array on the IRAM 30m telescope, we carried out continuous monitoring at 1.25 mm over a 4-night period during which all of the high-eccentricity binaries approached periastron. We also obtained simultaneous optical VRI measurements, since a strong link is often observed between stellar reconnection events and optical brightenings. UZ Tau E is the only source to be detected at millimeter wavelengths: it exhibited significant variation; it is also the only source to undergo strong simultaneous optical variability. The binary possesses the largest orbital eccentricity in the current sample, a predicted factor in star-star magnetic interaction events. With orbital parameters and variable accretion activity similar to DQ Tau, the millimeter behavior of UZ Tau E draws many parallels to the DQ Tau model for colliding magnetospheres. However, on the basis of our observations alone, we cannot determine whether the variability is repetitive, or if it could also be due to variable free-free emission in an ionized wind., Comment: 19 pages in referee format, 3 figures, 1 table, 3 on-line tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Observations of the T Tauri spectroscopic binary DQ Tau in April 2008 captured an unusual flare at 3 mm, which peaked at an observed max flux of 0.5 Jy (about 27x the quiescent value). Here we present follow-up mm observations that demonstrate a periodicity to the phenomenon. While monitoring 3 new periastron encounters, we detect flares within 17.5 hrs (or 4.6%) of the orbital phase of the first reported flare, and we constrain the main emitting region to a stellar height of 3.7-6.8 Rstar. The recorded activity is consistent with the proposed picture for synchrotron emission initiated by a magnetic reconnection event when the two stellar magnetospheres of the highly eccentric (e=0.556) binary are believed to collide near periastron as the stars approach a minimum separation of 8 Rstar (~13 Rsolar). The similar light curve decay profiles allow us to estimate an average flare duration of 30 hrs. Assuming one mm flare per orbit, DQ Tau could spend approximately 8% of its 15.8-d orbital period in an elevated flux state. Our analysis of the mm emission provides an upper limit of 5% on the linear polarization. We discuss the extent to which a severely entangled magnetic field structure and Faraday rotation effects are likely to reduce the observed polarization fraction. We also predict that, for the current picture, the stellar magnetospheres must be misaligned at a significant angle or, alternatively, that the topologies of the outer magnetospheres are poorly described by a well-ordered dipole inside a radius of 7 Rstar. Finally, to investigate whether reorganization of the magnetic field during the interaction affects mass accretion, we also present simultaneous optical (VRI) monitoring, as an established tracer of accretion activity in this system. We find that an accretion event can occur coincident in both time and duration with the synchrotron fallout of a magnetic reconnection event., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 12 pages, 9 figures, and 6 data tables

Context: It is hypothesized that low-mass young stellar objects undergo eruptive phases during their early evolution. The outburst of V1647 Ori between 2003 and 2006 offered a rare opportunity to investigate such an accretion event. Aims: By means of our interferometry observing campaign during this outburst, supplemented by other observations, we investigate the temporal evolution of the inner circumstellar structure of V1647 Ori We also study the role of the changing extinction in the brightening of the object and separate it from the accretional brightening. Methods: We observed V1647 Ori with MIDI/VLTI at two epochs in this outburst. First, during the slowly fading plateau phase (2005 March) and second, just before the rapid fading of the object (2005 September), which ended the outburst. We used the radiative transfer code MC3D to fit the interferometry data and the spectral energy distributions from five different epochs at different stages of the outburst. The comparison of these models allowed us to trace structural changes in the system on AU-scales. We also considered qualitative alternatives for the interpretation of our data. Results: We found that the disk and the envelope are similar to those of non-eruptive young stars and that the accretion rate varied during the outburst. We also found evidence for the increase of the inner radii of the circumstellar disk and envelope at the beginning of the outburst. Furthermore, the change of the interferometric visibilities indicates structural changes in the circumstellar material. We test a few scenarios to interpret these data. We also speculate that the changes are caused by the fading of the central source, which is not immediately followed by the fading of the outer regions. However, if the delay in the fading of the disk is responsible for the changes seen in the MIDI data, the effect should be confirmed by dynamical modeling., 13 pages, 5 figures, accepted by A&A

Context. The Herschel Gould Belt survey of nearby star forming regions is providing great insights into the early stages of the formation and the evolution of stars and their circumstellar disks. The Chamaeleon I dark cloud is an elongated region of dense dust and gas where star formation is ongoing in two centres, a northern region centred on Ced 112 and a southern cluster subdivided into the two regions Ced 110 and 111. Aims. In this initial study we present Herschel data of previously identified young stellar objects (YSOs) in the cluster, focusing on the spatial distribution of the YSOs and the determination of the relative colours of the protostars and the disk-bearing stars in Chamaeleon I. Methods. Chamaeleon I has been observed as part of the Herschel Gould Belt Survey, using the PACS and SPIRE parallel mode imaging at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm. Source extraction was performed using the getsources software. Results. We have detected 397 sources over the five available PACS and SPIRE bands, and through comparison with previously identified objects in the cluster we have identified 49 YSOs, 4 bright nebular emission features, five CO clumps, and twenty-eight candidate prestellar or starless cores in the Herschel sample. The remaining sample consists of candidate prestellar cores, condensations within the cloud, or background galaxies. The Herschel detected YSOs are highly clustered and mainly associated with the three known Cederblad groups. The observations clearly show that the young stars are forming coincident with the denser regions of cold dust and gas, visible at longer Herschel wavelengths. Those YSOs detected with Herschel were found to have an IRAC m3.6 μm < 10. No difference was found in the Herschel colours between the class I and class II young stars, however the class I sources were brighter than the class II at most Herschel wavelengths. One class III star and three transition disks are detected.

FU Orionis-type objects (FUors) are low-mass young eruptive stars that represent an evolutionary phase characterized by episodic periods of increased accretion rate from the disk to the star. Theory predicts that a circumstellar envelope, the source of continuous mass infall onto the disk, is necessary for triggering such accretion bursts. We study the spatial and velocity structure of envelopes around FUors by means of molecular line observations at mm wavelengths. We target three prototypical FUors and an object possibly in a pre-outburst state. We present archival PdBI interferometric observations of the J=1-0 line of 13CO at 110.2 GHz. For three of our targets, these represent the first mm interferometric observations. The data allow the study of the molecular environment of the objects on a spatial resolution of a thousand AU and a velocity resolution of 0.2 km/s. Strong, narrow 13CO(1-0) line emission is detected from all sources. The emission is spatially resolved in all cases, with deconvolved sizes of a few thousand AUs. For V1057 Cyg and V1331 Cyg, the emitting area is rather compact, suggesting that the origin of emission is an envelope surrounding the central star. For V1735 Cyg, the 13CO emission is offset from the stellar position, indicating that the source of emission may be a small foreground cloud, also responsible for the high reddening of the central star. The 13CO emission towards V1515 Cyg is the most extended in the sample, and coincides with the ring-like optical reflection nebula associated with V1515 Cyg. We suggest that mm interferometric observations are indispensable for a complete understanding of the circumstellar environment of FUors. Any theory of the FUor phenomenon that interprets the geometry of the circumstellar structure and its evolution using single beam measurements must be checked and compared to interferometric observations in the future., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics