The JCMT Transient Survey: Data Reduction and Calibration Methods

Understand

Though there has been a significant amount of work investigating the early stages of low-mass star formation in recent years, the evolution of the mass assembly rate onto the central protostar remains largely unconstrained.

• Examining in depth the variation in this rate is critical to understanding the physics of star formation.
• Instabilities in the outer and inner circumstellar disk can lead to episodic outbursts.
• Observing these brightness variations at infrared or submillimetre wavelengths sets constraints on the current accretion models.