STAR-FORMATION IN THE L1641 NORTH CLUSTER

We are presenting K'-band images of two regions in the L1641 cloud, one of them containing the region of the L1641 North molecular outflow. We detect a clear overabundance of relatively bright stars near the outflow region, with a peak between 1.5 < M(K') < 2.0. Polarimetry in I and K' is used to identify sources of localized reflection nebulosity and to map the magnetic field projected on the sky. The magnetic field is not aligned with the axis of the dominant molecular outflow, but apparently has led to the formation of features in the gas and dust flattened orthogonally to the direction of the magnetic field. K-band spectroscopy was obtained for a K'-magnitude-limited sample of stars down to K' = 13.1 near the L1641 North outflow source. Stars with classifiable spectra were placed in an H-R diagram, indicating a median age of approximately 3 X 10(5) yr for the stars forming in this young cluster. Comparison of the brightness histogram with theoretical models indicates a median age of approximately 5 X 10(5) yr. This supports a scenario of ongoing successive formation of individual stars in this molecular cloud over a time span of 1 X 10(6) yr.