The accretion burst of the massive young stellar object G323.46−0.08

Abstract

Context. Accretion bursts from low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) have been known for many decades. In recent years, the first accretion bursts of massive YSOs (MYSOs) have been observed. These phases of intense protostellar growth are of particular importance for studying massive star formation. Bursts of MYSOs are accompanied by flares of Class II methanol masers (hereafter masers), which are caused by an increase in exciting mid-infrared (MIR) emission. They can lead to long-lasting thermal afterglows of the dust continuum radiation visible at infrared (IR) and (sub)millimeter (hereafter (sub)mm) wavelengths. Furthermore, they might cause a scattered light echo. The G323.46−0.08 (hereafter G323) event, which shows all these features, extends the small sample of known MYSO bursts. Aims. Maser observations of the MYSO G323 show evidence of a flare, which was presumed to be caused by an accretion burst. This should be verified with IR data. We used time-dependent radiative transfer (TDRT) to characterize the heating and cooling timescales for eruptive MYSOs and to infer the main burst parameters. Methods. Burst light curves, as well as the pre-burst spectral energy distribution (SED) were established from archival IR data. The properties of the MYSO, including its circumstellar disk and envelope, were derived by using static radiative transfer modeling of pre-burst data. For the first time, TDRT was used to predict the temporal evolution of the SED. Observations with SOFIA/HAWC+ were performed to constrain the burst energy from the strength of the thermal afterglow. Image subtraction and ratioing were applied to reveal the light echo. Results. The G323 accretion burst is confirmed. It reached its peak in late 2013/early 2014 with a Ks-band increase of ∼2.5 mag. Both Ks-band and integrated maser flux densities follow an exponential decay. TDRT indicates that the duration of the thermal afterglow in the far-infrared (FIR) can exceed the burst duration by years. The latter was proved by SOFIA observations, which indicate a flux increase of (14.2 ± 4.6)% at 70 μm and (8.5 ± 6.1)% at 160 μm in 2022 (2 yr after the burst ended). A one-sided light echo emerged that was propagating into the interstellar medium. Conclusions. The burst origin of the G323 maser flare has been verified. TDRT simulations revealed the strong influence of the burst energetics and the local dust distribution on the strength and duration of the afterglow. The G323 burst is probably the most energetic MYSO burst that has been observed so far. Within 8.4 yr, an energy of (0.9−0.8+2.5) × 1047 erg was released. The short timescale points to the accretion of a compact body, while the burst energy corresponds to an accumulated mass of at least (7−6+20) MJup and possibly even more if the protostar is bloated. In this case, the accretion event might have triggered protostellar pulsations, which give rise to the observed maser periodicity. The associated IR light echo is the second observed from a MYSO burst.