  IC 1848 is one of the young open clusters in the giant star forming Cas OB6
association. Several interesting aspects relating to star formation processes
in giant star forming regions attracted us to study the initial mass function
(IMF), star formation mode, and properties of pre-main sequence stars (PMS). A
UBVI and H alpha photometric study of the young open cluster IC 1848 was
conducted as part of the "Sejong Open cluster Survey" (SOS). We have selected
105 early-type members from photometric diagrams. Their mean reddening is
<E(B-V)> = 0.660 +/- 0.054 mag. Using the published photometric data with near-
and mid-infrared archival data we confirmed the normal reddening law (R_V =
3.1) toward the cluster (IC 1848). A careful zero-age main sequence fitting
gives a distance modulus of V_0 - M_V = 11.7 +/- 0.2 mag, equivalent to 2.2 +/-
0.2 kpc. H alpha photometry and the list of young stellar objects identified by
Koenig et al. permitted us to select a large number of PMS stars comprising 196
H alpha emission stars, 35 H alpha emission candidates, 5 Class I, 368 Class
II, and 24 transition disk candidates. From the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
using stellar evolution models, we estimate an age of 5 Myr from several
evolved stars and 3 Myr from the PMS stars. The IMF was derived from stars with
mass larger than 3 M_sun, and the slope is slightly steeper (Gamma = -1.6 +/-
0.2) than the Salpeter/Kroupa IMF. Finally, we estimated the mass accretion
rate of PMS stars with a UV excess. The mean mass accretion rate is about 1.4 x
10^-8 M_sun yr^-1 in the mass range of 0.5 M_sun to 2 M_sun, whereas
intermediate-mass stars (>= 2.5 M_sun) exhibit a much higher accretion rate of
dM/dt > 10^-6 M_sun yr^-1.
