The North Ecliptic Pole Wide survey of AKARI: a near- and mid-infrared source catalog

We present a photometric catalog of infrared (IR) sources based on the North Ecliptic PoleWide field (NEP-Wide) survey of AKARI, which is an infrared space telescope launched by Japan. The NEP-Wide survey covered 5.4 deg2 area, a nearly circular shape centered on the North Ecliptic Pole, using nine photometric filter-bands from 2 - 25 {\mu}m of the Infrared Camera (IRC). Extensive efforts were made to reduce possible false objects due to cosmic ray hits, multiplexer bleeding phenomena around bright sources, and other artifacts. The number of detected sources varied depending on the filter band: with about 109,000 sources being cataloged in the near-IR bands at 2 - 5 {\mu}m, about 20,000 sources in the shorter parts of the mid-IR bands between 7 - 11 {\mu}m, and about 16,000 sources in the longer parts of the mid-IR bands, with \sim 4,000 sources at 24 {\mu}m. The estimated 5? detection limits are approximately 21 magnitude (mag) in the 2 - 5 {\mu}m bands, 19.5 - 19 mag in the 7 - 11 {\mu}m, and 18.8 - 18.5 mag in the 15 - 24 {\mu}m bands in the AB magnitude scale. The completenesses for those bands were evaluated as a function of magnitude: the 50% completeness limits are about 19.8 mag at 3 {\mu}m, 18.6 mag at 9 {\mu}m, and 18 mag at 18 {\mu}m band, respectively. To construct a reliable source catalog, all of the detected sources were examined by matching them with those in other wavelength data, including optical and ground-based near-IR bands. The final band-merged catalog contains about 114,800 sources detected in the IRC filter bands. The properties of the sources are presented in terms of the distributions in various color-color diagrams.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 23 pages, 27 figure

Diode laser based light sources for biomedical applications

Diode lasers are by far the most efficient lasers currently available. With the ever-continuing improvement in diode laser technology, this type of laser has become increasingly attractive for a wide range of biomedical applications. Compared to the characteristics of competing laser systems, diode lasers simultaneously offer tunability, high-power emission and compact size at fairly low cost. Therefore, diode lasers are increasingly preferred in important applications, such as photocoagulation, optical coherence tomography, diffuse optical imaging, fluorescence lifetime imaging, and terahertz imaging. This review provides an overview of the latest development of diode laser technology and systems and their use within selected biomedical applications

VIPERS: An Unprecedented View of Galaxies and Large-Scale Structure Halfway Back in the Life of the Universe

The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) is an ongoing ESO Large Programme to map in detail the large-scale distribution of galaxies at 0.5 < z <1.2. With a combination of volume and sampling density that is unique for these redshifts, it focuses on measuring galaxy clustering and related cosmological quantities as part of the grand challenge of understanding the origin of cosmic acceleration. VIPERS has also been designed to guarantee a broader legacy, allowing detailed investigations of the properties and evolutionary trends of z~1 galaxies. The survey strategy exploits the specific advantages of the VIMOS spectrograph at the VLT, aiming at a final sample of nearly 100,000 galaxy redshifts to iAB = 22.5 mag, which represents the largest redshift survey ever performed with ESO telescopes. In this introductory article we describe the survey construction, together with early results based on a first sample of ~55,000 galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures; introductory pape

Approach and Avoidance Tendencies in Spider Fearful Children: The Approach-Avoidance Task

Fear in children is associated with the tendency to avoid situations related to the fear. In this study, the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) was evaluated as a test of automatic behavioral avoidance tendencies in children. A sample of 195 children aged between 9 and 12 years completed an AAT, a Behavioral Assessment Task (BAT), and two spider fear questionnaires. The results indicate that all children showed an automatic avoidance tendency in response to spider pictures, but not pictures of butterflies or neutral pictures. Girls who reported more fear of spiders on the self-reports and behaved more anxiously during the BAT also showed a greater avoidance tendency in the AAT. These relationships were absent in boys

The AMANDA Neutrino Telescope: Principle of Operation and First Results

AMANDA is a high-energy neutrino telescope presently under construction at the geographical South Pole. In the Antarctic summer 1995/96, an array of 80 optical modules (OMs) arranged on 4 strings (AMANDA-B4) was deployed at depths between 1.5 and 2 km. In this paper we describe the design and performance of the AMANDA-B4 prototype, based on data collected between February and November 1996. Monte Carlo simulations of the detector response to down-going atmospheric muon tracks show that the global behavior of the detector is understood. We describe the data analysis method and present first results on atmospheric muon reconstruction and separation of neutrino candidates. The AMANDA array was upgraded with 216 OMs on 6 new strings in 1996/97 (AMANDA-B10), and 122 additional OMs on 3 strings in 1997/98.Comment: 36 pages, 23 figures, submitted to Astroparticle Physic

The AMANDA Neutrino Telescope and the Indirect Search for Dark Matter

With an effective telescope area of order 10^4 m^2, a threshold of ~50 GeV and a pointing accuracy of 2.5 degrees, the AMANDA detector represents the first of a new generation of high energy neutrino telescopes, reaching a scale envisaged over 25 years ago. We describe its performance, focussing on the capability to detect halo dark matter particles via their annihilation into neutrinos.Comment: Latex2.09, 16 pages, uses epsf.sty to place 15 postscript figures. Talk presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark Matter in the Universe (DM98), Santa Monica, California, Feb. 199

The AMANDA Neutrino Telescope

With an effective telescope area of order $10^4$ m$^2$ for TeV neutrinos, a threshold near $\sim$50 GeV and a pointing accuracy of 2.5 degrees per muon track, the AMANDA detector represents the first of a new generation of high energy neutrino telescopes, reaching a scale envisaged over 25 years ago. We describe early results on the calibration of natural deep ice as a particle detector as well as on AMANDA's performance as a neutrino telescope.Comment: 12 pages, Latex2.09, uses espcrc2.sty and epsf.sty, 13 postscript files included. Talk presented at the 18th International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics (Neutrino 98), Takayama, Japan, June 199

Search for Point Sources of High Energy Neutrinos with AMANDA

This paper describes the search for astronomical sources of high-energy neutrinos using the AMANDA-B10 detector, an array of 302 photomultiplier tubes, used for the detection of Cherenkov light from upward traveling neutrino-induced muons, buried deep in ice at the South Pole. The absolute pointing accuracy and angular resolution were studied by using coincident events between the AMANDA detector and two independent telescopes on the surface, the GASP air Cherenkov telescope and the SPASE extensive air shower array. Using data collected from April to October of 1997 (130.1 days of livetime), a general survey of the northern hemisphere revealed no statistically significant excess of events from any direction. The sensitivity for a flux of muon neutrinos is based on the effective detection area for through-going muons. Averaged over the Northern sky, the effective detection area exceeds 10,000 m^2 for E_{mu} ~ 10 TeV. Neutrinos generated in the atmosphere by cosmic ray interactions were used to verify the predicted performance of the detector. For a source with a differential energy spectrum proportional to E_{nu}^{-2} and declination larger than +40 degrees, we obtain E^2(dN_{nu}/dE) <= 10^{-6}GeVcm^{-2}s^{-1} for an energy threshold of 10 GeV.Comment: 46 pages, 22 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Ap.

Limits on diffuse fluxes of high energy extraterrestrial neutrinos with the AMANDA-B10 detector

Data from the AMANDA-B10 detector taken during the austral winter of 1997 have been searched for a diffuse flux of high energy extraterrestrial muon-neutrinos, as predicted from, e.g., the sum of all active galaxies in the universe. This search yielded no excess events above those expected from the background atmospheric neutrinos, leading to upper limits on the extraterrestrial neutrino flux. For an assumed E^-2 spectrum, a 90% classical confidence level upper limit has been placed at a level E^2 Phi(E) = 8.4 x 10^-7 GeV cm^-2 s^-1 sr^-1 (for a predominant neutrino energy range 6-1000 TeV) which is the most restrictive bound placed by any neutrino detector. When specific predicted spectral forms are considered, it is found that some are excluded.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory: Instrumentation and Online Systems

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer-scale high-energy neutrino detector built into the ice at the South Pole. Construction of IceCube, the largest neutrino detector built to date, was completed in 2011 and enabled the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. We describe here the design, production, and calibration of the IceCube digital optical module (DOM), the cable systems, computing hardware, and our methodology for drilling and deployment. We also describe the online triggering and data filtering systems that select candidate neutrino and cosmic ray events for analysis. Due to a rigorous pre-deployment protocol, 98.4% of the DOMs in the deep ice are operating and collecting data. IceCube routinely achieves a detector uptime of 99% by emphasizing software stability and monitoring. Detector operations have been stable since construction was completed, and the detector is expected to operate at least until the end of the next decade.Comment: 83 pages, 50 figures; updated with minor changes from journal review and proofin