DEEP OPTICAL AND NEAR-INFRARED IMAGING PHOTOMETRY OF THE SERPENS CLOUD CORE

We present results from a deep optical (VRI) and near infrared (JHK) s urvey of the central part of the Serpens molecular cloud. A total of 1 38 sources were detected in the 19 arcmin(2) surveyed area down to a l imiting magnitude of 16.3 in K. We find that the form of the observed K Luminosity Function (KLF) of stars belonging to the Serpens Molecula r cloud is consistent with that predicted from a Miller & Scale (1979) Interstellar Mass Function (IMF). We have investigated the KLF evolut ion with the age of a cluster by modeling KLFs of hypothetical cluster s. Our results suggest that two phases of star formation could have ta ken place in the Serpens core.