Quantifying Variability of YSOs in the Mid-IR Over Six Years with NEOWISE

Variability in Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) can be caused by time-dependent accretion rates, geometric changes in the circumstellar disks, the stochastic hydromagnetic interactions between stellar surfaces and inner disk edges, reconnections within the stellar magnetosphere, and hot/cold spots on stellar surfaces. We uncover ~1400 variables from a sample of ~5300 YSOs in nearby low-mass star-forming regions using mid-IR light curves obtained from the 5.5-years NEOWISE All Sky Survey. The mid-IR variability traces a wide range of dynamical, physical, and geometrical phenomenon. We classify six types of YSO variability based on their light curves: secular variability (Linear, Curved, Periodic) and stochastic variability (Burst, Drop, Irregular). YSOs in earlier evolutionary stages have higher fractions of variables at all types and higher amplitudes for the variability. Along with brightness variability, we also find a diverse range of secular color variations, which can be attributed to a competitive interplay between the variable accretion luminosity of the central source and the variable extinction by material associated with the accretion process. We compare the variability of known FUors/EXors and VeLLOs/LLSs, which represent two extreme ends (burst versus quiescent) of the episodic accretion process; FUors/EXors have a higher fraction of variables (65%) than VeLLOs/LLSs (41%). Short-term (few day) and long-term (decades) variability, as well as possible AGB contamination in the YSO catalogues, are also discussed.molecules become more complex by surface chemistry induced directly by high energy photons or by the thermal energy diffused over heated grain surface. Therefore, the ice composition is an