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Quiescent versus flaring origin of VLASS-detected YSO radio emission

Ascertain, for the Taurus–Auriga young stellar objects detected at 3 GHz in the Very Large Array Sky Survey Quick Look images, whether the measured radio emission is quiescent or arises from short-term flaring or long-term variability, and quantify the quiescent radio levels of these sources.

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Background

A substantial fraction (approximately 25%) of the detected sources exhibit significant radio variability between VLASS epochs, suggesting contributions from flaring activity. With only two time bins per epoch, the current observations cannot distinguish quiescent emission from short-term flares or longer-term variability, limiting physical interpretation.

Determining the emission state is crucial for interpreting population-level trends, including the spectral-type dependence and connections to magnetic activity or binary interactions.

References

Moreover, with just two time bins per epoch, we remain limited in determining which detections are from quiescent emission or from short-term flaring/long-term variability. Although these sources are clearly variable, we cannot robustly infer the quiescent levels of their radio emission with two time bins.

— The Radiowave Hunt for Young Stellar Object Emission and Demographics (RADIOHEAD): A Radio Luminosity${-}$Spectral Type Dependence in Taurus${-}$Auriga YSOs (2501.06188 - Rahman et al., 10 Jan 2025) in Subsubsection 'Interpreting the spectral type dependence' (Section 3.3.2)