Causal Link Between AU-Scale Variability and Large-Scale Inflow

Ascertain whether variability patterns observed at astronomical-unit scales in young stellar objects are causally linked to fluctuations in large-scale inflow of material along filaments feeding protostellar clusters, by correlating time-resolved disk diagnostics with IFS-mapped inflow kinematics.

Background

The authors propose using low-resolution IFS to map filamentary inflows and moderate-to-high resolution MOS to monitor inner-disk variability. Establishing causality across these scales would connect cloud-scale dynamics to disk evolution and angular-momentum transport.

References

Here are the major open questions that the next big telescope developed by ESO will address through conducting a decadal spectroscopic survey of YSOs: Are variability patterns on au scales causally linked to fluctuations in large-scale inflow?

— Toward the time-domain spectroscopic study of the dynamic life of stars: from accretion to magnetic activity  (2512.12453 - Majidi et al., 13 Dec 2025) in Key Questions