Improved Si:As BIBIB (Back-Illuminated Blocked-Impurity-Band) hybrid arrays

Results of a program to increase the short wavelength (less than 10 microns) detective quantum efficiency, eta/beta, of Si:As Impurity Band Conduction arrays are presented. The arrays are epitaxially grown Back-Illuminated Blocked (BIB) Impurity-Band (BIBIB) 10x50 detectors bonded to switched-FET multiplexers. It is shown that the 4.7 microns detective quantum efficiency increases proportionately with the thickness of the infrared active layer. A BIB array with a thick active layer, designed for low dark current, exhibits eta/beta = 7 to 9 percent at 4.7 microns for applied bias voltages between 3 and 5 V. The product of quantum efficiency and photoelectric gain, etaG, increases from 0.3 to 2.5 as the voltage increases from 3 to 5 V. Over this voltage range, the dark current increases from 8 to 120 e(-)s(-1) at a device temperature of 4.2 K and is under 70 e(-)s(-1) for all voltages at 2 K. Because of device gain, the effective dark current (equivalent photon rate) is less than 3 e(-)s(-1) under all operating conditions. The effective read noise (equivalent photon noise) is found to be less than 12 electrons under all operating conditions and for integration times between 0.05 and 100 seconds

Upper limit for the D2H+ ortho-to-para ratio in the prestellar core 16293E (CHESS)

The H3+ ion plays a key role in the chemistry of dense interstellar gas clouds where stars and planets are forming. The low temperatures and high extinctions of such clouds make direct observations of H3+ impossible, but lead to large abundances of H2D+ and D2H+, which are very useful probes of the early stages of star and planet formation. The ground-state rotational ortho-D2H+ 111-000 transition at 1476.6 GHz in the prestellar core 16293E has been searched for with the Herschel/HIFI instrument, within the CHESS (Chemical HErschel Surveys of Star forming regions) Key Program. The line has not been detected at the 21 mK km/s level (3 sigma integrated line intensity). We used the ortho-H2D+ 110-111 transition and para-D2H+ 110-101 transition detected in this source to determine an upper limit on the ortho-to-para D2H+ ratio as well as the para-D2H+/ortho-H2D+ ratio from a non-LTE analysis. The comparison between our chemical modeling and the observations suggests that the CO depletion must be high (larger than 100), with a density between 5e5 and 1e6 cm-3. Also the upper limit on the ortho-D2H+ line is consistent with a low gas temperature (~ 11 K) with a ortho-to-para ratio of 6 to 9, i.e. 2 to 3 times higher than the value estimated from the chemical modeling, making it impossible to detect this high frequency transition with the present state of the art receivers.Comment: Accepted in A&

Constraints on the Space Density of Methane Dwarfs and the Substellar Mass Function from a Deep Near-Infrared Survey

We report preliminary results of a deep near-infrared search for methane-absorbing brown dwarfs; almost five years after the discovery of Gl 229b, there are only a few confirmed examples of this type of object. New J band, wide-field images, combined with pre-existing R band observations, allow efficient identification of candidates by their extreme (R-J) colours. Follow-up measurements with custom filters can then confirm objects with methane absorption. To date, we have surveyed a total of 11.4 square degrees to J~20.5 and R~25. Follow-up CH_4 filter observations of promising candidates in 1/4 of these fields have turned up no methane absorbing brown dwarfs. With 90% confidence, this implies that the space density of objects similar to Gl 229b is less than 0.012 per cubic parsec. These calculations account for the vertical structure of the Galaxy, which can be important for sensitive measurements. Combining published theoretical atmospheric models with our observations sets an upper limit of alpha <= 0.8 for the exponent of the initial mass function power law in this domain.Comment: 11 pages + 2 figures To be published in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Moderate Resolution Spectroscopy For The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

A conceptual design for an infrared spectrometer capable of both low resolution (λ/Δ-λ = 50; 2.5-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) has been developed. This facility instrument will permit the spectroscopic study in the infrared of objects ranging from within the solar system to distant galaxies. The spectroscopic capability provided by this instrument for SIRTF will give astronomers orders of magnitude greater sensitivity for the study of faint objects than had been previously available. The low resolution mode will enable detailed studies of the continuum radiation. The moderate resolution mode of the instrument will permit studies of a wide range of problems, from the infrared spectral signatures of small outer solar system bodies such as Pluto and the satellites of the giant planets, to investigations of more luminous active galaxies and QS0s at substantially greater distances. A simple design concept has been developed for the spectrometer which supports the science investigation with practical cryogenic engineering. Operational flexibility is preserved with a minimum number of mechanisms. The five modules share a common aperture, and all gratings share a single scan mechanism. High reliability is achieved through use of flight-proven hardware concepts and redundancy. The design controls the heat load into the SIRTF cryogen, with all heat sources other than the detectors operating at 7K and isolated from the 4K cold station. Two-dimensional area detector arrays are used in the 2.5-120μm bands to simultaneously monitor adjacent regions in extended objects and to measure the background near point sources

A spatially resolved photodissociation region in the planetary nebula NGC 7027

High spatial resolution, narrow band, infrared line images and CO (1—0) mm interferometer data are presented for NGC 7027. These data trace emission from the central H II region (Brɑ), the intermediate photodissociation region [H_2 1—0S(1) and 3.3 µm dust feature], and the molecular circumstellar envelope [CO (1—0)]. The H II region lies in a cavity in the CO envelope, and consists of a smooth elliptical shell. A striking change of morphology is seen in the H_2 emission and the dust feature. The H_2 1—0 S(l) emission is composed of two components: (1) an incomplete elliptical ring of knots which bounds the ionized gas; (2) a remarkable thin shell which loops around the H II region with fourfold symmetry. The dust emission is similar to that from the ionized gas, but is displaced further from the center, and extends at low surface brightness into four “ears” which fill in the bays delineated by the outermost loops of H_2 emission. No 3.3 µm emission is detectable beyond the outer H_2 shell. The outer loops of H_2 emission and the 3.3 µm emission occupy the region between the edge of the H II region and the inner edge of the molecular gas. It is natural to ascribe the morphology of NGC 7027 to a photodissociation region which separates the ionized and molecular gas. If this is correct then the exterior H_2 loops are due to molecular gas heated by the far-UV emission escaping from the H II region, and delineate a photodissociation front. The H_2 and CO kinematics rule out shock excitation of the H_2 emission and favor UV excitation

Investigating grain growth in disks around southern T Tauri stars at millimetre wavelengths

CONTEXT - Low-mass stars form with disks in which the coagulation of grains may eventually lead to the formation of planets. It is not known when and where grain growth occurs, as models that explain the observations are often degenerate. A way to break this degeneracy is to resolve the sources under study. AIMS - To find evidence for the existence of grains of millimetre sizes in disks around in T Tauri stars, implying grain growth. METHODS - The Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) was used to observe 15 southern T Tauri stars, five in the constellation Lupus and ten in Chamaeleon, at 3.3 millimetre. The five Lupus sources were also observed with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) at 1.4 millimetre. Our new data are complemented with data from the literature to determine the slopes of the spectral energy distributions in the millimetre regime. RESULTS - Ten sources were detected at better than 3sigma with the ATCA, with sigma ~1-2 mJy, and all sources that were observed with the SMA were detected at better than 15sigma, with sigma ~4 mJy. Six of the sources in our sample are resolved to physical radii of ~100 AU. Assuming that the emission from such large disks is predominantly optically thin, the millimetre slope can be related directly to the opacity index. For the other sources, the opacity indices are lower limits. Four out of six resolved sources have opacity indices <~1, indicating grain growth to millimetre sizes and larger. The masses of the disks range from < 0.01 to 0.08 MSun, which is comparable to the minimum mass solar nebula. A tentative correlation is found between the millimetre slope and the strength and shape of the 10-micron silicate feature, indicating that grain growth occurs on similar (short) timescales in both the inner and outer disk.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Resolving the Radio Source Background: Deeper Understanding Through Confusion

We used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to image one primary beam area at 3 GHz with 8 arcsec FWHM resolution and 1.0 microJy/beam rms noise near the pointing center. The P(D) distribution from the central 10 arcmin of this confusion-limited image constrains the count of discrete sources in the 1 < S(microJy/beam) < 10 range. At this level the brightness-weighted differential count S^2 n(S) is converging rapidly, as predicted by evolutionary models in which the faintest radio sources are star-forming galaxies; and ~96$% of the background originating in galaxies has been resolved into discrete sources. About 63% of the radio background is produced by AGNs, and the remaining 37% comes from star-forming galaxies that obey the far-infrared (FIR) / radio correlation and account for most of the FIR background at lambda = 160 microns. Our new data confirm that radio sources powered by AGNs and star formation evolve at about the same rate, a result consistent with AGN feedback and the rough correlation of black hole and bulge stellar masses. The confusion at centimeter wavelengths is low enough that neither the planned SKA nor its pathfinder ASKAP EMU survey should be confusion limited, and the ultimate source detection limit imposed by "natural" confusion is < 0.01 microJy at 1.4 GHz. If discrete sources dominate the bright extragalactic background reported by ARCADE2 at 3.3 GHz, they cannot be located in or near galaxies and most are < 0.03 microJy at 1.4 GHz.Comment: 28 pages including 16 figures. ApJ accepted for publicatio

Moderate Resolution Spectroscopy For The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

A conceptual design for an infrared spectrometer capable of both low resolution (λ/Δ-λ = 50; 2.5-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) and moderate resolution (1000; 4-200 microns) has been developed. This facility instrument will permit the spectroscopic study in the infrared of objects ranging from within the solar system to distant galaxies. The spectroscopic capability provided by this instrument for SIRTF will give astronomers orders of magnitude greater sensitivity for the study of faint objects than had been previously available. The low resolution mode will enable detailed studies of the continuum radiation. The moderate resolution mode of the instrument will permit studies of a wide range of problems, from the infrared spectral signatures of small outer solar system bodies such as Pluto and the satellites of the giant planets, to investigations of more luminous active galaxies and QS0s at substantially greater distances. A simple design concept has been developed for the spectrometer which supports the science investigation with practical cryogenic engineering. Operational flexibility is preserved with a minimum number of mechanisms. The five modules share a common aperture, and all gratings share a single scan mechanism. High reliability is achieved through use of flight-proven hardware concepts and redundancy. The design controls the heat load into the SIRTF cryogen, with all heat sources other than the detectors operating at 7K and isolated from the 4K cold station. Two-dimensional area detector arrays are used in the 2.5-120μm bands to simultaneously monitor adjacent regions in extended objects and to measure the background near point sources