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Description
We present a multiwavelength study of the W40 star-forming region using infrared (IR) observations in the UKIRT JHK bands, Spitzer Infrared Array Camera bands, and Herschel PACS bands, 2.12{mu}m H_2_ narrowband imaging, and radio continuum observations from GMRT (610 and 1280MHz), in a field of view (FoV) of ~34'x40'. Archival Spitzer observations in conjunction with near-IR observations are used to identify 1162 Class II/III and 40 Class I sources in the FoV. The nearest-neighbor stellar surface density analysis shows that the majority of these young stellar objects (YSOs) constitute the embedded cluster centered on the high-mass source IRS 1A South. Some YSOs, predominantly the younger population, are distributed along and trace the filamentary structures at lower stellar surface density. The cluster radius is measured to be 0.44pc -- matching well with the extent of radio emission -- with a peak density of 650/pc2. The JHK data are used to map the extinction in the region, which is subsequently used to compute the cloud mass -- 126M_{sun}_ and 71M_{sun}_ for the central cluster and the northern IRS 5 region, respectively. H_2_ narrowband imaging shows significant emission, which prominently resembles fluorescent emission arising at the borders of dense regions. Radio continuum analysis shows that this region has a blister morphology, with the radio peak coinciding with a protostellar source. Free-free emission spectral energy distribution analysis is used to obtain physical parameters of the overall photoionized region and the IRS 5 sub-region.
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