The near-infrared extinction law and limits on the pre-main-sequence population of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud

Mathematics – Probability

Scientific paper

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Interstellar Extinction, Pre-Main Sequence Stars, Infrared Radiation, Star Formation, Infrared Photometry, Probability Distribution Functions

Scientific paper

We describe new techniques to measure the NIR extinction law and to place limits on the premain-sequence stellar population of a dark cloud. We analyze JHK imaging data for the central 1 sq deg of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud core and show that nearly all stars projected onto regions of low CS intensity, ICS 10 K km/s, are background stars. Most sources at larger CS intensities lie within cloud material. We use the background stars to derive the slope of the NIR extinction law, E(J-H)/E(H-K) = 1.57 +/- 0.03. This result is consistent with previous extinction laws but has a factor of two to three smaller uncertainty. The new Rho Oph extinction law yields strong constraints on the number of previously undiscovered premain-sequence stars in the cloud, 46 +/- 11, and the number of previously undiscovered young stars with near-IR excesses, 15 +/- 4. Neither limit exceeds the number of known premain-sequence stars in the cloud about 100. Thus, current samples of premain-sequence stars are reasonably complete for K = 14 or less.

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