نحن نناقش نتائج من الملاحظات التراثية المشتركة ل IRAC و MIPS c2d Spitzer في منطقة تشكيل النجوم Serpens. وخصوصا نقدم مجموعة من المعايير لاستخراج الأجسام النجمية الشابة الحقيقية، YSOs، من التلوث الخلفي الواسع من الأجسام الخارج المجرية. ثم نناقش خصائص المجموعة الناتجة من الأجسام النجمية الشابة الذي يؤمن بالثقة العالية. ونجد 235 عنصرا في مجال 0.85 deg ^ 2 الذي كان مغطى بكلا IRAC و MIPS. ويتم تحديد مجموعة إضافية من 51 عنصرا بثقة أقل خارج هذا المنطقة من بيانات MIPS مزدوجة مع التصوير الفوتوغرافي 2MASS. نحن نصفح مجموعتين من النتائج، الرسوم البيانية للألوان لمقارنة خصائص مصدرنا مع تلك النماذج النظرية لنظام النجم / القرص / الغلاف وتحليلنا الخاص لجزء من أجسامنا التي تبدو كنجمة + قرص. هذه الأجسام تظهر مجموعة واسعة جدا من خصائص القرص، من الكثير منها التي يمكن تناسبها مع القرص التي تتلقى الانتقالات بفعالية إلى بعض مع القرص الساكنة وحتى ربما القرص القمامة. ونجد أن دالة الإشعاع للأجسام النجمية الشابة في Serpens تمتد إلى أقل من بضعة مرات من 0.001 Lsun أو أقل لمقدار متوقع للمسافة 260 بايكلوميتر. وقد يتم تعيين الحد الأدنى من قبل عدم قدرتنا على التمييز بين الأجسام النجمية الشابة والمصادر الخارج المجرية أكثر من بسبب نقص الأجسام النجمية الشابة في الإشعاعات المنخفضة جدا. ويظهر تحليل التجمع المكاني أن الأجسام النجمية الشابة المبدئيا الأقل تجمعت بشكل أكبر من المراحل اللاحقة وأن التلوث الخلفي الخارج المجري يمكن تناسبه بنفس دالة الارتباط النقطي الثنائية التي تم الإبحار في الدراسات الخارج المجرية الأخرى. كما نقدم جدولا للمطابقات بين عدة دراسات الأشعة تحت الحمراء والأشعة فوق البنفسجية السابقة لمجموعة الأجسام النجمية الشابة في Serpens وبيانات Spitzer الخاصة بنا.
We discuss the results from the combined IRAC and MIPS c2d Spitzer Legacy observations of the Serpens star-forming region. In particular we present a set of criteria for isolating bona fide young stellar objects, YSOs, from the extensive background contamination by extra-galactic objects. We then discuss the properties of the resulting high confidence set of YSOs. We find 235 such objects in the 0.85 deg^2 field that was covered with both IRAC and MIPS. An additional set of 51 lower confidence YSOs outside this area is identified from the MIPS data combined with 2MASS photometry. We describe two sets of results, color-color diagrams to compare our observed source properties with those of theoretical models for star/disk/envelope systems and our own modeling of the subset of our objects that appear to be star+disks. These objects exhibit a very wide range of disk properties, from many that can be fit with actively accreting disks to some with both passive disks and even possibly debris disks. We find that the luminosity function of YSOs in Serpens extends down to at least a few x .001 Lsun or lower for an assumed distance of 260 pc. The lower limit may be set by our inability to distinguish YSOs from extra-galactic sources more than by the lack of YSOs at very low luminosities. A spatial clustering analysis shows that the nominally less-evolved YSOs are more highly clustered than the later stages and that the background extra-galactic population can be fit by the same two-point correlation function as seen in other extra-galactic studies. We also present a table of matches between several previous infrared and X-ray studies of the Serpens YSO population and our Spitzer data set.
The Spitzer Space Telescope mapped the Perseus molecular cloud complex with IRAC and MIPS as part of the c2d Spitzer Legacy project. This paper combines the observations from both instruments giving an overview of low-mass star formation across Perseus from 3.6 to 70 micron. We provide an updated list of young stellar objects with new classifications and source fluxes from previous works, identifying 369 YSOs in Perseus with the Spitzer dataset. By synthesizing the IRAC and MIPS maps of Perseus and building on the work of previous papers in this series (Jorgensen et al. 2006, Rebull et al. 2007), we present a current census of star formation across the cloud and within smaller regions. 67% of the YSOs are associated with the young clusters NGC 1333 and IC 348. The majority of the star formation activity in Perseus occurs in the regions around the clusters, to the eastern and western ends of the cloud complex. The middle of the cloud is nearly empty of YSOs despite containing regions of high visual extinction. The western half of Perseus contains three-quarters of the total number of embedded YSOs (Class 0+I and Flat SED sources) in the cloud and nearly as many embedded YSOs as Class II and III sources. Class II and III greatly outnumber Class 0+I objects in eastern Perseus and IC 348. These results are consistent with previous age estimates for the clusters. Across the cloud, 56% of YSOs and 91% of the Class 0+I and Flat sources are in areas where Av > 5 mag, indicating a possible extinction threshold for star formation.
We present maps of 1.5 square degrees of the Serpens dark cloud at 24, 70, and 160micron observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS Camera. More than 2400 compact sources have been extracted at 24um, nearly 100 at 70um, and 4 at 160um. We estimate completeness limits for our 24um survey from Monte Carlo tests with artificial sources inserted into the Spitzer maps. We compare source counts, colors, and magnitudes in the Serpens cloud to two reference data sets, a 0.50 deg^2 set on a low-extinction region near the dark cloud, and a 5.3 deg^2 subset of the SWIRE ELAIS N1 data that was processed through our pipeline. These results show that there is an easily identifiable population of young stellar object candidates in the Serpens Cloud that is not present in either of the reference data sets. We also show a comparison of visual extinction and cool dust emission illustrating a close correlation between the two, and find that the most embedded YSO candidates are located in the areas of highest visual extinction.
We present maps of 7.78 square degrees of the Lupus molecular cloud complex at 24, 70, and $160:mu$m. They were made with the Spitzer Space Telescopes Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) instrument as part of the Spitzer Legacy Program, ``From Molecular Cores to Planet-Forming Disks (c2d). The maps cover three separate regions in Lupus, denoted I, III, and IV. We discuss the c2d pipeline and how our data processing differs from it. We compare source counts in the three regions with two other data sets and predicted star counts from the Wainscoat model. This comparison shows the contribution from background galaxies in Lupus I. We also create two color magnitude diagrams using the 2MASS and MIPS data. From these results, we can identify background galaxies and distinguish them from probable young stellar objects. The sources in our catalogs are classified based on their spectral energy distribution (SED) from 2MASS and Spitzer wavelengths to create a sample of young stellar object candidates. From 2MASS data, we create extinction maps for each region and note a strong corresponence between the extinction and the $160:mu$m emission. The masses we derived in each Lupus cloud from our extinction maps are compared to masses estimated from $^{13}$CO and C$^{18}$O and found to be similar to our extinction masses in some regions, but significantly different in others. Finally, based on our color-magnitude diagrams, we selected 12 of our reddest candidate young stellar objects for individual discussion. Five of the 12 appear to be newly-discovered YSOs.
We present maps of 14.4 deg^2 of the Ophiuchus dark clouds observed by the Spitzer Space Telescope Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). These high quality maps depict both numerous point sources as well as extended dust emission within the star-forming and non-star-forming portions of these clouds. Using PSF-fitting photometry, we detect 5779 sources at 24 um and 81 sources at 70 um at the 10 sigma level of significance. Three hundred twenty-three candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) were identified according to their positions on the MIPS/2MASS K versus K$-$[24] color-magnitude diagrams as compared to 24 um detections in the SWIRE extragalactic survey. We find that more than half of the YSO candidates, and almost all the ones with protostellar Class I spectral energy distributions, are confined to the known cluster and aggregates.
We present observations of 10.6 square degrees of the Perseus molecular cloud at 24, 70, and 160 microns with the Spitzer Space Telescope Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). The image mosaics show prominent, complex extended emission dominated by illuminating B stars on the East side of the cloud, and by cold filaments of 160 micron emission on the West side. Of 3950 point sources identified at 24 microns, 1141 have 2MASS counterparts. A quarter of these populate regions of the Ks vs. Ks-[24] diagram that are distinct from stellar photospheres and background galaxies, and thus are likely to be cloud members with infrared excess. Nearly half (46%) of these 24 micron excess sources are distributed outside the IC 348 and NGC 1333 clusters. NGC 1333 shows the highest fraction of stars with flat or rising spectral energy distributions (28%), while Class II SEDs are most common in IC 348. These results are consistent with previous relative age determinations for the two clusters. The intercluster region contains several tightly clumped (r~0.1 pc) young stellar aggregates whose members exhibit a wide variety of infrared spectral energy distributions characteristic of different circumstellar environments. One possible explanation is a significant age spread among the aggregate members, such that some have had time to evolve more than others. Alternatively, if the aggregate members all formed at roughly the same time, then remarkably rapid circumstellar evolution would be required to account for the association of Class I and Class III sources at ages <~1 Myr. We highlight important results for several other objects as well (full abstract in the paper).