Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy

We present a catalog of 652 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Carina star-forming region. The catalog was constructed by combining near-infrared K _S -band variability from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea eXtended survey and medium-resolution H -band spectroscopy from APOGEE-2, Sloan Digital...

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Main Authors: Jura Borissova, Radostin Kurtev, Josemanuel Escobar, Javier Alonso-García, Nicolas Medina, Javier Osses, Zhen Guo, Philip W. Lucas, Michael Kuhn, Dante Minniti, Kevin R. Covey, Roberto K. Saito, Francisco Förster
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Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astronomical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adeb7d
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author Jura Borissova
Radostin Kurtev
Josemanuel Escobar
Javier Alonso-García
Nicolas Medina
Javier Osses
Zhen Guo
Philip W. Lucas
Michael Kuhn
Dante Minniti
Kevin R. Covey
Roberto K. Saito
Francisco Förster
author_facet Jura Borissova
Radostin Kurtev
Josemanuel Escobar
Javier Alonso-García
Nicolas Medina
Javier Osses
Zhen Guo
Philip W. Lucas
Michael Kuhn
Dante Minniti
Kevin R. Covey
Roberto K. Saito
Francisco Förster
author_sort Jura Borissova
collection DOAJ
description We present a catalog of 652 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Carina star-forming region. The catalog was constructed by combining near-infrared K _S -band variability from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea eXtended survey and medium-resolution H -band spectroscopy from APOGEE-2, Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV). Variability analysis of 6.35 million sources identified 606 variable stars. The classification of the spectral lines by semisupervised K-means clustering of 704 stars, refined through comparison with known catalogs in literature and visual inspection of the spectra, was performed. Combined with K _S variability, the final catalog contains three groups: Emission-line YSOs, Absorption-line YSOs, and Literature/Variable-identified YSOs. Cross validation with the Gaia DR3 proper motion and distance estimates supports Carina membership for 415 sources. The statistical characterization of YSO variability demonstrated that most Carina members (78%) exhibit variability patterns. Of these, 134 stars show emissions in their spectra, which is consistent with some accretion processes. Analysis of fundamental stellar parameters from StarHorse and Gaia DR3 reveals typical distributions of YSOs, dominated by low-mass (1–4 M _⊙ ), solar-metallicity stars with temperatures between 4000 and 6000 K. Only a small fraction (4%) of the sources are more massive than 4 M _⊙ , suggesting limited ongoing massive star formation in Carina. This well-characterized catalog also offers a robust training data set for machine learning applications aimed at predicting YSO behavior.
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spelling doaj-art-de238f64f44740fdb6bb4b53ef6840962025-08-20T02:46:40ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01170313510.3847/1538-3881/adeb7dYoung Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and SpectroscopyJura Borissova0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5936-7718Radostin Kurtev1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-9974Josemanuel Escobar2Javier Alonso-García3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3496-3772Nicolas Medina4Javier Osses5https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6769-7075Zhen Guo6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0292-4832Philip W. Lucas7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8872-4462Michael Kuhn8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0631-7514Dante Minniti9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7064-099XKevin R. Covey10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6914-7797Roberto K. Saito11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6878-8648Francisco Förster12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3459-2270Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso , Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, Chile ; jura.borissova@uv.cl; Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, ChileInstituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso , Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, Chile ; jura.borissova@uv.cl; Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, ChileInstituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso , Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, Chile ; jura.borissova@uv.clCentro de Astronomía (CITEVA), Universidad de Antofagasta , Av. Angamos 601, Antofagasta, ChileMillennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, ChileInstituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso , Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, Chile ; jura.borissova@uv.cl; Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, ChileInstituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso , Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, Chile ; jura.borissova@uv.cl; Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, ChileCentre for Astrophysics, University of Hertfordshire , College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UKCentre for Astrophysics, University of Hertfordshire , College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, UKDepartamento de Física y Astronomía, Universidad Andés Bello , Av. Fernandez Concha 700, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile; Specola Vaticana , Vatican Observatory, Castelgandolfo, V00120 Stato Citta Vaticano, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Western Washington University , Bellingham, WA, USADepartamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina , Trindade 88040-900, Florianópolis-SC, BrazilMillennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS) , Nuncio Monseñor Sótero Sanz 100, Providencia, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile , Casilla 36D, Santiago, Chile; Data and Artificial Intelligence Initiative (IDIA), Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Universidad de Chile , Chile; Center for Mathematical Modeling, Universidad de Chile , Beauchef 851, Santiago 8370456, ChileWe present a catalog of 652 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Carina star-forming region. The catalog was constructed by combining near-infrared K _S -band variability from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea eXtended survey and medium-resolution H -band spectroscopy from APOGEE-2, Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV). Variability analysis of 6.35 million sources identified 606 variable stars. The classification of the spectral lines by semisupervised K-means clustering of 704 stars, refined through comparison with known catalogs in literature and visual inspection of the spectra, was performed. Combined with K _S variability, the final catalog contains three groups: Emission-line YSOs, Absorption-line YSOs, and Literature/Variable-identified YSOs. Cross validation with the Gaia DR3 proper motion and distance estimates supports Carina membership for 415 sources. The statistical characterization of YSO variability demonstrated that most Carina members (78%) exhibit variability patterns. Of these, 134 stars show emissions in their spectra, which is consistent with some accretion processes. Analysis of fundamental stellar parameters from StarHorse and Gaia DR3 reveals typical distributions of YSOs, dominated by low-mass (1–4 M _⊙ ), solar-metallicity stars with temperatures between 4000 and 6000 K. Only a small fraction (4%) of the sources are more massive than 4 M _⊙ , suggesting limited ongoing massive star formation in Carina. This well-characterized catalog also offers a robust training data set for machine learning applications aimed at predicting YSO behavior.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adeb7dYoung stellar objectsStar forming regionsPeriodic variable starsIrregular variable starsHerbig Ae/Be stars
spellingShingle Jura Borissova
Radostin Kurtev
Josemanuel Escobar
Javier Alonso-García
Nicolas Medina
Javier Osses
Zhen Guo
Philip W. Lucas
Michael Kuhn
Dante Minniti
Kevin R. Covey
Roberto K. Saito
Francisco Förster
Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy
The Astronomical Journal
Young stellar objects
Star forming regions
Periodic variable stars
Irregular variable stars
Herbig Ae/Be stars
title Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy
title_full Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy
title_fullStr Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy
title_full_unstemmed Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy
title_short Young Stellar Objects in the Carina Nebula: Near-infrared Variability and Spectroscopy
title_sort young stellar objects in the carina nebula near infrared variability and spectroscopy
topic Young stellar objects
Star forming regions
Periodic variable stars
Irregular variable stars
Herbig Ae/Be stars
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adeb7d
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