A multi-wavelength census of star formation activity in the young embedded cluster around Serpens/G3-G6

Abstract

Aims.The aim of this paper is to characterise the star formation activity in the poorly studied embedded cluster Serpens/G3-G6, located ~45 arcmin (3 pc) to the south of the Serpens Cloud Core, and to determine the luminosity and mass functions of its population of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs).Methods: .Multi-wavelength broadband photometry was obtained to sample the near and mid-IR spectral energy distributions to separate YSOs from field stars and classify the YSO evolutionary stage. ISOCAM mapping in the two filters LW2 (5-8.5 μm) and LW3 (12-18 μm) of a 19 arcmin × 16 arcmin field was combined with JHKS data from 2MASS, KS data from Arnica/NOT, and L arcmin data from SIRCA/NOT. Continuum emission at 1.3 mm (IRAM) and 3.6 cm (VLA) was mapped to study the cloud structure and the coldest/youngest sources. Deep narrow band imaging at the 2.12 μm S(1) line of H2 from NOTCam/NOT was obtained to search for signs of bipolar outflows.Results: .We have strong evidence for a stellar population of 31 Class II sources, 5 flat-spectrum sources, 5 Class I sources, and two Class 0 sources. Our method does not sample the Class III sources. The cloud is composed of two main dense clumps aligned along a ridge over ~0.5 pc plus a starless core coinciding with absorption features seen in the ISOCAM maps. We find two S-shaped bipolar collimated flows embedded in the NE clump, and propose the two driving sources to be a Class 0 candidate (MMS3) and a double Class I (MMS2). For the Class II population we find a best age of ~2 Myr and compatibility with recent Initial Mass Functions (IMFs) by comparing the observed Class II luminosity function (LF), which is complete to 0.08 Lȯ, to various model LFs with different star formation scenarios and input IMFs.