Establish the variability properties of VHS J1831−5513

Establish the photometric and spectrophotometric variability characteristics (e.g., amplitudes, timescales, and any inter-band phase shifts) of the L/T transition object VHS J183135.58−551355.9 (VHS J1831−5513), which could not be assessed using WISE time-series data due to latent artifact contamination.

Background

The object shows extremely red near-infrared colors and a discrepancy between VHS photometric and spectroscopically synthesized J−Ks colors, potentially indicative of variability. Young L/T transition objects commonly show strong variability driven by clouds, and differences between J- and Ks-band behavior are expected.

However, the only multi-epoch survey detection is from WISE, whose data for this source are affected by latent artifact contamination. As a result, the authors could not evaluate variability from WISE and suggest future monitoring to characterize variability.