Clarify the effect of scattering on the pre-outburst near-infrared emission

Clarify how scattering affects the pre-outburst near-infrared emission from PR Ori B and determine the extent to which the observed near-infrared spectrum represents the local stellar or circumstellar emission rather than scattered light from PR Ori A.

Background

Before the eruption, the optical spectrum attributed to PR Ori B closely resembles the spectrum of PR Ori A and is interpreted as reflected light from the primary, supplemented by emission from accretion processes. This makes the intrinsic optical properties of PR Ori B difficult to recover.

The authors note that the near-infrared emission differs substantially between the two components, but the influence of scattering on that emission has not been established. Resolving this issue is necessary for interpreting the progenitor spectrum and deriving reliable stellar properties.