Abstract
The study of the mechanisms of star formation and evolution is based on comprehensive research into interstellar regions, including the analysis and identification of young stellar objects (YSOs). The identification of young stellar objects by their radiation at various wavelengths in the infrared range is a relatively recent development - the first studies in this field appeared only at the end of the 20th century. The development of this field has been made possible by improvements in observation techniques and data processing methods, the acquisition of more reliable characteristics of stellar sources, and the creation of catalogs containing extensive arrays of information about cosmic objects. In this study, the star-forming region W40 of the Aquilla molecular cloud was investigated in the infrared wavelength range to detect previously unidentified young stellar objects at various stages of evolution. Identification was carried out using two approaches: photometric criteria and spectral indices. This made it possible to more reliably identify the evolutionary stages of 37 newly discovered and previously unexplored YSO candidates (5 objects of class I, 2 objects of class II, 4 objects – class “transitional disks” and 26 objects — class III), which indicates an active and ongoing process of star formation in W40.