1998A&A...333.1016S

We present near-IR imaging and spectroscopy, together with sub-mm/mm photometry and ¹²CO molecular line maps of the cometary nebula PP 13S. Previous models have been unable to resolve whether PP 13S is a young, pre-main sequence star or an old, evolved object. Our new observations prove conclusively that PP 13S is a young stellar object with a luminosity of ∼30L_☉ and an accretion disk with an inclination of ∼40°. It has a ¹²CO J=2-1 outflow, strong and broadened CO overtone band absorption, and vibrationally excited H₂ emission. We conclude that PP 13S has all the characteristics of an FU Orionis-type star, and although no outburst has been observed, we suggest that PP 13S should be added to the list of FUor pre-main sequence stars. Our study also includes PP13N, which we resolve into a young double star system.