Multiwavelength study of the G345.5+1.5 region
  Star-forming regions are usually studied in the context of Galactic surveys,
but dedicated observations are sometimes needed when the study reaches beyond
the survey area. Here, we studied the G345.5+1.5 region, which is located
slightly above the Galactic plane, to understand its star formation properties.
We combined the LABOCA and $^{12}$CO(4$-$3) transition line observations
complemented with the Hi-GAL and $\it{Spitzer}$-GLIMPSE surveys to study the
star formation toward this region. We used the Clumpfind algorithm to extract
the clumps from the 870$\mu$m and $^{12}$CO(4$-$3) data. Radio emission at 36cm
was used to estimate the number of HII regions and to remove the contamination
from the free-free emission at 870$\mu$m. We employed color-color diagrams and
spectral energy distribution slopes to distinguish between prestellar and
protostellar clumps. We studied the boundedness of the clumps through the
virial parameter. Finally, we estimated the star formation efficiency and star
formation rate of the region and used the Schmidt-Kennicutt diagram to compare
its ability to form stars. Of the 13 radio sources that we found using the
MGPS-2 catalog, 7 are found to be associated with HII regions corresponding to
late-B or early-O stars. We found 45 870$\mu$m clumps, and 107 $^{12}$CO
clumps. More than 50\% of the clumps are protostellar and bounded and are able
to host star formation. High SFR and SFR density values are associated with the
region, with an SFE of a few percent. With submillimeter, CO transition, and
short-wavelength infrared observations, our study reveals a population of
massive stars, protostellar and bound starless clumps, toward G345.5+1.5. This
region is therefore actively forming stars, and its location in the starburst
quadrant of the Schmidt-Kennicutt diagram is comparable to other star-forming
regions found within the Galactic plane.
