Centimeter-wave continuum radiation from the rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud

The rho Oph molecular cloud is undergoing intermediate-mass star formation. UV radiation from its hottest young stars heats and dissociates exposed layers, but does not ionize hydrogen. Only faint radiation from the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of ~10-100K dust is expected at wavelengths longwards of 3mm. Yet Cosmic Background Imager (CBI) observations reveal that the rho Oph W photo-dissociation region (PDR) is surprisingly bright at centimetre wavelengths. We searched for interpretations consistent with the WMAP radio spectrum, new ISO-LWS parallel mode images and archival Spitzer data. Dust-related emission mechanisms at 1 cm, as proposed by Draine & Lazarian, are a possibility. But a magnetic enhancement of the grain opacity at 1cm is inconsistent with the morphology of the dust column maps Nd and the lack of detected polarization. Spinning dust, or electric-dipole radiation from spinning very small grains (VSGs), comfortably explains the radio spectrum, although not the conspicuous absence from the CBI data of the infrared circumstellar nebulae around the B-type stars S1 and SR~3. Allowing for VSG depletion can marginally reconcile spinning dust with the data. As an alternative interpretation we consider the continuum from residual charges in rho Oph W, where most of carbon should be photoionised by the close binary HD147889 (B2IV, B3IV). Electron densities of ~100 cm^{-3}, or H-nucleus densities n_H > 1E6 cm^{-3}, are required to interpret rho Oph W as the CII Stromgren sphere of HD147889. However the observed steep and positive low-frequency spectral index would then require optically thick emission from an hitherto unobserved ensemble of dense clumps or sheets with a filling factor ~1E-4 and n_H ~ 1E7 cm^{-3}.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Relative pointing offset analysis of calibration targets with repeated observations with Herschel-SPIRE Fourier-Transform Spectrometer

We present a method to derive the relative pointing offsets for SPIRE Fourier-Transform Spectrometer (FTS) solar system object (SSO) calibration targets, which were observed regularly throughout the Herschel mission. We construct ratios of the spectra for all observations of a given source with respect to a reference. The reference observation is selected iteratively to be the one with the highest observed continuum. Assuming that any pointing offset leads to an overall shift of the continuum level, then these ratios represent the relative flux loss due to mispointing. The mispointing effects are more pronounced for a smaller beam, so we consider only the FTS short wavelength array (SSW, 958-1546 GHz) to derive a pointing correction. We obtain the relative pointing offset by comparing the ratio to a grid of expected losses for a model source at different distances from the centre of the beam, under the assumption that the SSW FTS beam can be well approximated by a Gaussian. In order to avoid dependency on the point source flux conversion, which uses a particular observation of Uranus, we use extended source flux calibrated spectra to construct the ratios for the SSOs. In order to account for continuum variability, due to the changing distance from the Herschel telescope, the SSO ratios are normalised by the expected model ratios for the corresponding observing epoch. We confirm the accuracy of the derived pointing offset by comparing the results with a number of control observations, where the actual pointing of Herschel is known with good precision. Using the method we derived pointing offsets for repeated observations of Uranus (including observations centred on off-axis detectors), Neptune, Ceres and NGC7027. The results are used to validate and improve the point-source flux calibration of the FTS.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom

Herschel SPIRE FTS Relative Spectral Response Calibration

Herschel/SPIRE Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) observations contain emission from both the Herschel Telescope and the SPIRE Instrument itself, both of which are typically orders of magnitude greater than the emission from the astronomical source, and must be removed in order to recover the source spectrum. The effects of the Herschel Telescope and the SPIRE Instrument are removed during data reduction using relative spectral response calibration curves and emission models. We present the evolution of the methods used to derive the relative spectral response calibration curves for the SPIRE FTS. The relationship between the calibration curves and the ultimate sensitivity of calibrated SPIRE FTS data is discussed and the results from the derivation methods are compared. These comparisons show that the latest derivation methods result in calibration curves that impart a factor of between 2 and 100 less noise to the overall error budget, which results in calibrated spectra for individual observations whose noise is reduced by a factor of 2-3, with a gain in the overall spectral sensitivity of 23% and 21% for the two detector bands, respectively.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom

Herschel SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer: Calibration of its Bright-source Mode

The Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) of the Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE) on board the ESA Herschel Space Observatory has two detector setting modes: (a) a nominal mode, which is optimized for observing moderately bright to faint astronomical targets, and (b) a bright-source mode recommended for sources significantly brighter than 500 Jy, within the SPIRE FTS bandwidth of 446.7-1544 GHz (or 194-671 microns in wavelength), which employs a reduced detector responsivity and out-of-phase analog signal amplifier/demodulator. We address in detail the calibration issues unique to the bright-source mode, describe the integration of the bright-mode data processing into the existing pipeline for the nominal mode, and show that the flux calibration accuracy of the bright-source mode is generally within 2% of that of the nominal mode, and that the bright-source mode is 3 to 4 times less sensitive than the nominal mode.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom

A Herschel study of Planetary Nebulae

We present Herschel PACS and SPIRE images of the dust shells around the planetary nebulae NGC 650, NGC 6853, and NGC 6720, as well as images showing the dust temperature in their shells. The latter shows a rich structure, which indicates that internal extinction in the UV is important despite the highly evolved status of the nebulae.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, 2012, proceedings IAU Symposium 283 Planetary Nebulae: An Eye to the Futur

Sexuality and Poverty Synthesis Report

This report synthesises learning from these audits and is part of a larger project that focuses on understanding the links between sexuality, gender plurality and poverty with the aim of improving socioeconomic policy and programming to support people marginalised because of their sexuality. The project was instigated as a result of earlier research by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Sexuality and Development Programme and partners. This research indicated that sexuality is directly related to physical, social and economic wellbeing, political participation and socioeconomic inclusion and the realisation of human rights, particularly for the poor and most marginalised (Jolly 2006; Armas 2007; Jolly 2010). The sexuality and poverty audits which were conducted for this project purposely set out to interrogate sites of development policy that were not explicitly linked to sexuality.DFI

Herschel SPIRE FTS Spectral Mapping Calibration

The Herschel SPIRE Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) performs spectral imaging in the 447-1546 GHz band. It can observe in three spatial sampling modes: sparse mode, with a single pointing on sky, or intermediate or full modes with 1 and 1/2 beam spacing, respectively. In this paper, we investigate the uncertainty and repeatability for fully sampled FTS mapping observations. The repeatability is characterised using nine observations of the Orion Bar. Metrics are derived based on the ratio of the measured intensity in each observation compared to that in the combined spectral cube from all observations. The mean relative deviation is determined to be within 2%, and the pixel-by-pixel scatter is ~7%. The scatter increases towards the edges of the maps. The uncertainty in the frequency scale is also studied, and the spread in the line centre velocity across the maps is found to be ~15 km/s. Other causes of uncertainty are also discussed including the effect of pointing and the additive uncertainty in the continuum.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronom

The AGN population in the AKARI NEP Deep Field

The AKARI North Ecliptic Pole Deep Field is a natural location to accomplish deep extragalactic surveys. It is supported by comprehensive ancillary data extending from radio to X-ray wavelengths, which have been used to classify radio sources as radio-loud and radio-quiet objects and to create a catalogue of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). This has been achieved by using a radio-optical classification and colour-colour diagrams rather than the more usual way based on spectroscopy Furthermore, we explore whether this technique can be extended by using a far-Infrared (FIR) colour-colour diagram which has been used to identify 268 high redshift candidates

SPIRE Point Source Catalog Explanatory Supplement

The Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) was launched as one of the scientific instruments on board of the space observatory Herschel. The SPIRE photometer opened up an entirely new window in the Submillimeter domain for large scale mapping, that up to then was very difficult to observe. There are already several catalogs that were produced by individual Herschel science projects. Yet, we estimate that the objects of only a fraction of these maps will ever be systematically extracted and published by the science teams that originally proposed the observations. The SPIRE instrument performed its standard photometric observations in an optically very stable configuration, only moving the telescope across the sky, with variations in its configuration parameters limited to scan speed and sampling rate. This and the scarcity of features in the data that require special processing steps made this dataset very attractive for producing an expert reduced catalog of point sources that is being described in this document. The Catalog was extracted from a total of 6878 unmodified SPIRE scan map observations. The photometry was obtained by a systematic and homogeneous source extraction procedure, followed by a rigorous quality check that emphasized reliability over completeness. Having to exclude regions affected by strong Galactic emission, that pushed the limits of the four source extraction methods that were used, this catalog is aimed primarily at the extragalactic community. The result can serve as a pathfinder for ALMA and other Submillimeter and Far-Infrared facilities. 1,693,718 sources are included in the final catalog, splitting into 950688, 524734, 218296 objects for the 250\mu m, 350\mu m, and 500\mu m bands, respectively. The catalog comes with well characterized environments, reliability, completeness, and accuracies, that single programs typically cannot provide