The young star population of L1188

Abstract

We present new results on the young star population of the Lynds~1188 molecular cloud, associated with the Cepheus Bubble, a giant interstellar shell around the association Cep~OB\,2. In order to reveal the star-forming scenario of the molecular cloud located on the supershell, and understand the history of star formation in the region, we identified and characterized young star candidates based on an H$α$ emission survey and various published photometric datasets. Using Gaia DR2 astrometry we studied the spatial distribution of the young star candidates and isolated three groups based on their distances. We constructed spectral energy distributions of our target stars, based on Pan-STARRS, 2MASS, {\it Spitzer} and {\it WISE} photometric data, estimating their spectral types, extinctions, and luminosities. We estimated masses by means of pre-main-sequence evolutionary models, and derived accretion rates from the equivalent width of the H$α$ line. We studied the structure of the cloud by constructing a new extinction map, based on Pan-STARRS data. Our results show that the distribution of low-mass young stars in L1188 is well correlated with that of the dust and mole\-cular gas. We identified two small, compact clusters and a loose aggregate of young stars. We found that star formation in L1188 started about 5 million years ago. The apparent age gradient of young stars across the cloud and the ammonia cores located to the east of the optically visible young stellar groups support the scenario of star formation propagating away from the centre of the Cepheus Bubble.