Multiwavelength Study of Dark Globule DC 314.8-5.1: Point Source Identification and Diffuse Emission Characterization

TL;DR

This study uses multi-wavelength data to analyze the dark globule DC 314.8-5.1, finding no associated young stars and indicating a very early pre-stellar core stage with hot dust presence.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive multi-wavelength analysis of DC 314.8-5.1, characterizing its dust and star formation status, and establishing its pre-stellar evolutionary phase.

Findings

No associated pre-main sequence stars detected

Presence of hot dust at temperatures >100 K

Globule in a very early pre-stellar stage

Abstract

We present an analysis of multi-wavelength observations of the dark globule DC\,314.8--5.1, using data from the Gaia optical, 2MASS near-infrared, and WISE mid-infrared surveys, dedicated imaging with the Spitzer Space Telescope, and X-ray data obtained with the Swift-XRT Telescope (XRT). The main goal was to identify possible pre-main sequence stars (PMSs) and young stellar objects (YSOs) associated with the globule. For this, we studied the infrared colors of all point sources within the boundaries of the cloud. After removing sources with non-stellar spectra, we investigated the Gaia parallaxes for the YSO candidates, and found that none are physically related to DC\,314.8--5.1. In addition, we searched for X-ray emission from pre-main sequence stars with Swift-XRT, and found no 0.5--10\,keV emission down to a luminosity level $\lesssim 10^{31}$erg\,s$^{-1}$, typical of a PMS with mass\,$\ge 2 M_\odot$. Our detailed inspection therefore supports a very young, ``pre-stellar core'' evolutionary stage for the cloud. Based on archival Planck and IRAS data, we moreover identify the presence of hot dust, with temperatures $\gtrsim 100$\,K, in addition to the dominant dust component at 14\,K, originating with the associated reflection nebula.