Discovery and observations of ASASSN-13db, an EX lupi-type accretion event on a low-mass T tauri star

Abstract

We discuss ASASSN-13db, an EX Lupi-type ("EXor") accretion event on the young stellar object (YSO) SDSS J051011.01-032826.2 (hereafter SDSSJ0510) discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). Using archival photometric data of SDSSJ0510 we construct a pre-outburst spectral energy distribution and find that it is consistent with a low-mass class II YSO near the Orion star forming region (d ~ 420 pc). We present follow-up photometric and spectroscopic observations of the source after the ΔV ~ -5.4 mag outburst that began in 2013 September and ended in early 2014. These data indicate an increase in temperature and luminosity consistent with an accretion rate of 10-7 M☉ yr-1 , three or more orders of magnitude greater than in quiescence. Spectroscopic observations show a forest of narrow emission lines dominated by neutral metallic lines from Fe I and some low-ionization lines. The properties of ASASSN-13db are similar to those of the EXor prototype EX Lupi during its strongest observed outburst in late 2008.