Source extraction and photometry for the far-infrared and sub-millimeter continuum in the presence of complex backgrounds

Context. Large-scale astronomical surveys from ground-based as well as space-borne facilities have always posed significant challenges concerning the problem of automatic extraction and flux estimate of sources. The recent explosion of surveys in the mid-and far infrared, as well as in the sub-millimeter, brings an increase to the complexity of the source extraction and photometry task because of the extraordinary level of foreground/background due to the thermal emission of cosmic cold dust. The maximum complexity is likely reached in star-forming regions and on the Galactic plane, where the emission from cold dust is dominant.