The young stellar cluster [DBS2003] 157 associated with the H II region GAL 331.31-00.34

TL;DR

This study investigates the stellar content of the embedded young stellar cluster [DBS2003] 157 within the H II region GAL 331.31-00.34, identifying ionizing stars, young stellar objects, and characterizing a protostellar source through near-infrared and mid-infrared data.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed analysis of the stellar population and ionizing sources in [DBS2003] 157, including spectral classification and characterization of a protostellar object.

Findings

Identified two O-type stars as ionizing sources at ~3.3 kpc.

Detected 47 YSO candidates using NIR and MIR color analysis.

Characterized a protostellar source with a luminosity of 7.7x10^3 L_sun and a mass of 10 M_sun.

Abstract

We report a study of the stellar content of the Near-infrared cluster [DBS2003]\,157 embedded in the extended H\,{\sc ii} region GAL\,331.31-00.34, which is associated with the IRAS source 16085-5138. $JHK$ photometry was carried out in order to identify potential ionizing candidates, and the follow-up NIR spectroscopy allowed the spectral classification of some sources, including two O-type stars. A combination of NIR photometry and spectroscopy data was used to obtain the distance of these two stars, with the method of spectroscopic parallax: IRS\,298 (O6\,{\sc V}, $3.35 \pm 0.61$\,kpc) and IRS\,339 (O9\,{\sc V}, $3.24 \pm 0.56$\,kpc). Adopting the average distance of $3.29 \pm 0.58$\,kpc and comparing the Lyman continuum luminosity of these stars with that required to account for the radio continuum flux of the H\,{\sc ii} region, we conclude that these two stars are the ionizing sources of GAL\,331.31-00.34. Young stellar objects (YSOs) were searched by using our NIR photometry and MIR data from the GLIMPSE survey. The analysis of NIR and MIR colour-colour diagrams resulted in 47 YSO candidates. The GLIMPSE counterpart of IRAS\,16085-5138, which presents IRAS colour indices compatible with an ultra-compact H\,{\sc ii} region, has been identified. The analysis of its spectral energy distribution between 2 and $100\,\mu$m revealed that this source shows a spectral index $\alpha = 3.6$ between 2 and $25\,\mu$m, which is typical of a YSO immersed in a protostellar envelope. Lower limits to the bolometric luminosity and the mass of the embedded protostar have been estimated as $L=7.7\times10^3L_{\sun}$ and $M = 10\,M_{\sun}$, respectively, which corresponds to a B0--B1\,{\sc V} ZAMS star.