Herschelfar-IR observations of the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex

Abstract

Context. The Herschel Gould Belt survey of nearby star forming regions is providing great insights into the early stages of the formation and the evolution of stars and their circumstellar disks. The Chamaeleon I dark cloud is an elongated region of dense dust and gas where star formation is ongoing in two centres, a northern region centred on Ced 112 and a southern cluster subdivided into the two regions Ced 110 and 111. Aims. In this initial study we present Herschel data of previously identified young stellar objects (YSOs) in the cluster, focusing on the spatial distribution of the YSOs and the determination of the relative colours of the protostars and the disk-bearing stars in Chamaeleon I. Methods. Chamaeleon I has been observed as part of the Herschel Gould Belt Survey, using the PACS and SPIRE parallel mode imaging at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm. Source extraction was performed using the getsources software. Results. We have detected 397 sources over the five available PACS and SPIRE bands, and through comparison with previously identified objects in the cluster we have identified 49 YSOs, 4 bright nebular emission features, five CO clumps, and twenty-eight candidate prestellar or starless cores in the Herschel sample. The remaining sample consists of candidate prestellar cores, condensations within the cloud, or background galaxies. The Herschel detected YSOs are highly clustered and mainly associated with the three known Cederblad groups. The observations clearly show that the young stars are forming coincident with the denser regions of cold dust and gas, visible at longer Herschel wavelengths. Those YSOs detected with Herschel were found to have an IRAC m3.6 μm < 10. No difference was found in the Herschel colours between the class I and class II young stars, however the class I sources were brighter than the class II at most Herschel wavelengths. One class III star and three transition disks are detected.