Abstract. We present the results of the first extensive mid-infrared (IR) imaging survey of the ρ Ophiuchi embedded cluster, performed with the ISOCAM camera on board the ISO satellite. The main ρ Ophiuchi molecular cloud L1688, as well as the two secondary clouds L1689N and L1689S, have been completely surveyed for point sources at 6.7 µm and 14.3 µm. A total of 425 sources are detected in ∼0.7 deg 2 , including 16 Class I, 123 Class II, and 77 Class III young stellar objects (YSOs). Essentially all of the mid-IR sources coincide with near-IR sources, but a large proportion of them are recognized for the first time as YSOs. Our dual-wavelength survey allows us to identify essentially all the YSOs with IR excess in the embedded cluster down to Fν ∼ 10-15 mJy. It more than doubles the known population of Class II YSOs and represents the most complete census to date of newly formed stars in the ρ Ophiuchi central region. There are, however, reasons to believe that several tens of Class III YSOs remain to be identified below L ∼ 0.2 L . The mid-IR luminosities of most (∼65%) Class II objects are consistent with emission from purely passive circumstellar disks. The stellar luminosity function of the complete sample of Class II YSOs is derived with good accuracy down to L ∼ 0.03 L . It is basically flat (in logarithmic units) below L ∼ 2 L , exhibits a possible local maximum at L ∼ 1.5 L , and sharply falls off at higher luminosities. A modeling of the luminosity function, using available pre-main sequence tracks and plausible star formation histories, allows us to derive the mass distribution of the Class II YSOs which arguably reflects the initial mass function (IMF) of the embedded cluster. After correction for the presence of unresolved binary systems, we estimate that the IMF in ρ Ophiuchi is well described by a two-component power law with a low-mass index of −0.35 ± 0.25, a high-mass index of −1.7 (to be compared with the Salpeter value of −1.35), and a break occurring at M flat = 0.55 ± 0.25 M . This IMF is flat with no evidence for a low-mass cutoff down to at least ∼0.06 M .

Abstract. The ISO galactic survey provides images of the inner disk in two broad filters (around 7 and 15 µm) over some 15 square degrees, away from the brightest star forming regions. A multiresolution analysis of the images leads to a catalogue of infrared dark clouds, most of which are condensed cores of large molecular clouds, several kpc away from the Sun, seen in absorption in front of the diffuse galactic emission. The longitude distributions of the background emission and of the dark clouds correlate with known tracers of young population components. We analyse the morphology of the dark clouds and the intensity fluctuations within the cloud boundaries at the two wavelengths. The 7 to 15 µm contrast ratio is 0.75 ± 0.15 for the clouds located away from the Galactic Centre (|l| > 1• ) and 1.05 ± 0.15 for the clouds closest to the Galactic Centre (|l| < 1Using a simple absorption model, we derive a 7 to 15 µm opacity ratio equal to 0.7 ± 0.1 for the clouds located away from the Galactic Centre and estimate the opacity, τ , of a few objects at 15 µm in the range 1 to 4. Several explanations for the variation of the contrast ratio, including absorption along the line of sight and local variations of the extinction curve are discussed.

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Abstract. We present results from an ISOCAM survey in the two broad band filters LW2 (5−8.5 µm) and LW3 (12−18 µm) of a 0.13 square degree coverage of the Serpens Main Cloud Core. A total of 392 sources were detected in the 6.7 µm band and 139 in the 14.3 µm band to a limiting sensitivity of ∼2 mJy. We identified 53 Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) with mid-IR excess from the single colour index [14.3/6.7], and 8 additional YSOs from the H − K/K − m 6.7 diagram. Only 32 of these 61 sources were previously known to be YSO candidates. Only about 50% of the mid-IR excess sources show excesses in the near-IR J − H/H − K diagram. In the 48 square arcmin field covering the central Cloud Core the Class I/Class II number ratio is 19/18, i.e. about 10 times larger than in other young embedded clusters such as ρ Ophiuchi or Chamaeleon. The mid-IR fluxes of the Class I and flat-spectrum sources are found to be on the average larger than those of Class II sources. Stellar luminosities are estimated for the Class II sample, and its luminosity function is compatible with a coeval population of about 2 Myr which follows a three segment power-law IMF. For this age about 20% of the Class IIs are found to be young brown dwarf candidates. The YSOs are in general strongly clustered, the Class I sources more than the Class II sources, and there is an indication of sub-clustering. The sub-clustering of the protostar candidates has a spatial scale of 0.12 pc. These sub-clusters are found along the NW−SE oriented ridge and in very good agreement with the location of dense cores traced by millimeter data. The smallest clustering scale for the Class II sources is about 0.25 pc, similar to what was found for ρ Ophiuchi. Our data show evidence that star formation in Serpens has proceeded in several phases, and that a "microburst" of star formation has taken place very recently, probably within the last 10 5 yrs.Key words. stars: formation -stars: pre-main-sequence -stars: luminosity function, mass functionstars: low-mass, brown dwarfs -ISM: individual objects: Serpens Cloud Core Send offprint requests to: A. A. Kaas, e-mail: akaas@not.iac.es Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with participation of ISAS and NASA. Tables 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via