Program: GN-2013B-Q-73

We have discovered extraordinary infrared variability in the protostar LRLL 54361, a member of the IC 348 star forming region. The near- and mid-infrared continuum flux of this source increases periodically by an order of magnitude every 25 days. We propose to obtain multi-epoch K band spectroscopy with Gemini/NIFS to test connections between the photometric variability and the accretion and outflow activity of this object. Multi-epoch measurements of the Brackett gamma and CO overtone emission lines, probes of the inner disk and protostellar accretion flow, will allow us to test the hypothesis that the repeating outbursts are indicative of a dynamically-modulated accretion flow onto a central binary system. Simultaneously, spatially-resolved molecular hydrogen emission will enable constraints on the jet and outflow geometry of the system. In combination with our Spitzer and HST measurements, the proposed observations will provide new insights into the nature of the dynamic environment of young star/disk systems at the earliest stages of their evolution.