The long-term outburst(s) of GPSV16: from an intermediate to a FUor classification

Abstract

FU Ori outbursts are thought to play a key role in stellar mass assembly and in the chemistry of protoplanetary disks during the early formation of stars. However, uncertainties remain regarding the universality of these events and the physical mechanism driving the high-amplitude variability. In this work, we present an analysis of optical, near- and mid-IR photometry (ZTF, UKIDSS GPS, NEOWISE) and near-IR spectra (IRTF, Gemini) of the eruptive variable Class I YSO GPSV16. The YSO, associated with the HII region G71.52$-$00.38 ($d=3.61$~kpc), showed two outbursts, one with $\Delta K_{\rm s}=2.2$~mag (2005-2012) and a second starting in 2016 with $\Delta K_{\rm s}=5.6$~mag and accretion luminosity of $\sim$130 L$_{\odot}$. The outbursts displayed distinct spectroscopic characteristics: the first showed emission lines associated with a hot inner disk surface, whereas the second showed absorption lines arising from the cooler upper layers of a viscously heated disk. These features likely arose due to the different accretion rates reached during each outburst. The second outburst showed a two-stage mid-IR rise, requiring $\approx8.4$ years to reach peak brightness. The mid-IR rise also started 8 years before the onset of the optical outburst. The wavelength-dependent light curve points to an instability that is triggered at larger distances within the accretion disk and propagates inward. Assuming a propagation time of 8 years for the accretion wave, we estimate that the second outburst started at a distance of $r\sim0.4$~AU. These results show how long-term, multi-wavelength photometric monitoring can help identify the disk instabilities that trigger eruptions in YSOs.