534 research outputs found
SPS: A software simulator for the Herschel-SPIRE photometer
Instrument simulators are becoming ever more useful for planning and
analysing large astronomy survey data. In this paper we present a simulator for
the Herschel-SPIRE photometer. We describe the models it uses and the form of
the input and output data. The SPIRE photometer simulator is a software package
which uses theoretical models, along with flight model test data, to perform
numerical simulations of the output time-lines from the instrument in operation
on board the Herschel space observatory. A description of the types of uses of
the simulator are given, along with information on its past uses. These include
example simulations performed in preparation for a high redshift galaxy survey,
and a debris disc survey. These are presented as a demonstration of the sort of
outputs the simulator is capable of producing.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
Feasibility and performances of compressed-sensing and sparse map-making with Herschel/PACS data
The Herschel Space Observatory of ESA was launched in May 2009 and is in
operation since. From its distant orbit around L2 it needs to transmit a huge
quantity of information through a very limited bandwidth. This is especially
true for the PACS imaging camera which needs to compress its data far more than
what can be achieved with lossless compression. This is currently solved by
including lossy averaging and rounding steps on board. Recently, a new theory
called compressed-sensing emerged from the statistics community. This theory
makes use of the sparsity of natural (or astrophysical) images to optimize the
acquisition scheme of the data needed to estimate those images. Thus, it can
lead to high compression factors.
A previous article by Bobin et al. (2008) showed how the new theory could be
applied to simulated Herschel/PACS data to solve the compression requirement of
the instrument. In this article, we show that compressed-sensing theory can
indeed be successfully applied to actual Herschel/PACS data and give
significant improvements over the standard pipeline. In order to fully use the
redundancy present in the data, we perform full sky map estimation and
decompression at the same time, which cannot be done in most other compression
methods. We also demonstrate that the various artifacts affecting the data
(pink noise, glitches, whose behavior is a priori not well compatible with
compressed-sensing) can be handled as well in this new framework. Finally, we
make a comparison between the methods from the compressed-sensing scheme and
data acquired with the standard compression scheme. We discuss improvements
that can be made on ground for the creation of sky maps from the data.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, peer-reviewed articl
Formation of the compact jets in the black hole GX 339-4
Galactic black hole binaries produce powerful outflows with emit over almost
the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Here, we report the first detection with
the Herschel observatory of a variable far-infrared source associated with the
compact jets of the black hole transient GX 339-4 during the decay of its
recent 2010-2011 outburst, after the transition to the hard state. We also
outline the results of very sensitive radio observations conducted with the
Australia Telescope Compact Array, along with a series of near-infrared,
optical (OIR) and X-ray observations, allowing for the first time the
re-ignition of the compact jets to be observed over a wide range of
wavelengths. The compact jets first turn on at radio frequencies with an
optically thin spectrum that later evolves to optically thick synchrotron
emission. An OIR reflare is observed about ten days after the onset of radio
and hard X-ray emission, likely reflecting the necessary time to build up
enough density, as well as to have acceleration (e.g. through shocks) along an
extended region in the jets. The Herschel measurements are consistent with an
extrapolation of the radio inverted power-law spectrum, but they highlight a
more complex radio to OIR spectral energy distribution for the jets.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter, 6 pages, 3 Figures + 1
online Tabl
Determining the optimum scan map strategy for Herschel-SPIRE using the SPIRE photometer simulator
The forthcoming Herschel space mission will provide an unprecedented view of the far-infrared/submillimetre Universe, with the SPIRE instrument covering the 200–670 μm wavelength range. To obtain the best quality of astronomical data from such an expensive mission the observing modes must be optimized as far as possible. This paper presents the possible scanning strategies that can be utilized by the SPIRE photometer, within the limitations imposed by the Herschel spacecraft. Each strategy is investigated for effectiveness by performing simulated observations, using the SPIRE photometer simulator. By quantifying the data quality using a simple metric, we have been able to select the optimum scanning strategy for SPIRE when it begins taking science data within the next couple of years.
Additionally, this work has led to the development of a specific SPIRE mapmaking algorithm, based on the CMB code MADmap, to be provided as part of the SPIRE data pipeline processing suite. This will allow every SPIRE user to take full advantage of the optimized scan map strategy, which requires the use of maximum likelihood mapmakers such as MADmap
On the extraction of extended structure from Herschel-SPIRE scanning observations in the presence of 1/f noise
We present results from a study of the impact of uncorrelated 1/f noise on the extraction of spatial structure, on a range of scales, from sky mapping observations made using the Herschel-SPIRE (the spectral and photometric imaging receiver) photometer in the scan-map mode. These studies were carried out using a detailed instrument simulator, and the output reduced using the map-making algorithm to be implemented in the SPIRE data pipeline. The influence of source size scale, telescope-scanning rate and 1/f noise knee frequency is investigated, and operational bounds to the expected losses are presented, using the case of zero 1/f (white) noise as a benchmark. Both cross-linked and non-cross-linked observing options are studied. The results presented here represent the best current estimate of the sensitivity of the SPIRE photometer to emission on arbitrary scales. The data presented are general and scalable to any SPIRE observation made using the scanning mode
First Constraints on Source Counts at 350 Microns
We have imaged a 6 arcminute region in the Bo\"otes Deep Field
using the 350 m-optimised second generation Submillimeter High Angular
Resolution Camera (SHARC II), achieving a peak 1 sensitivity of 5
mJy. We detect three sources above 3, and determine a spurious source
detection rate of 1.09 in our maps. In the absence of detections, we
rely on deep 24 m and 20 cm imaging to deduce which sources are most
likely to be genuine, giving two real sources. From this we derive an integral
source count of 0.84 sources arcmin at mJy,
which is consistent with 350 m source count models that have an
IR-luminous galaxy population evolving with redshift. We use these constraints
to consider the future for ground-based short-submillimetre surveys.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
The first ISO ERO: a dusty quasar at z = 1.5
We report the discovery of an extremely red object (ERO) in a medium-deep
ISOCAM extragalactic survey. The object is also a radio source. Subsequent VLT
NIR spectroscopy revealed a prominent Halpha line giving a redshift of 1.5. We
present the spectrum and photometric data points and discuss evidence that ISO
J1324-2016 is a quasar harbouring a significant amount of very hot dust.Comment: 5 pages, including 5 figures, A&A accepte
Stellar Evolutionary Effects on the Abundances of PAH and SN-Condensed Dust in Galaxies
Spectral and photometric observations of nearby galaxies show a correlation
between the strength of their mid-IR aromatic features, attributed to PAH
molecules, and their metal abundance, leading to a deficiency of these features
in low-metallicity galaxies. In this paper, we suggest that the observed
correlation represents a trend of PAH abundance with galactic age, reflecting
the delayed injection of carbon dust into the ISM by AGB stars in the final
post-AGB phase of their evolution. AGB stars are the primary sources of PAHs
and carbon dust in galaxies, and recycle their ejecta back to the interstellar
medium only after a few hundred million years of evolution on the main
sequence. In contrast, more massive stars that explode as Type II supernovae
inject their metals and dust almost instantaneously after their formation. We
first determined the PAH abundance in galaxies by constructing detailed models
of UV-to-radio SED of galaxies that estimate the contribution of dust in
PAH-free HII regions, and PAHs and dust from photodissociation regions, to the
IR emission. All model components: the galaxies' stellar content, properties of
their HII regions, and their ionizing and non-ionizing radiation fields and
dust abundances, are constrained by their observed multiwavelength spectrum.
After determining the PAH and dust abundances in 35 nearby galaxies using our
SED model, we use a chemical evolution model to show that the delayed injection
of carbon dust by AGB stars provides a natural explanation to the dependence of
the PAH content in galaxies with metallicity. We also show that larger dust
particles giving rise to the far-IR emission follow a distinct evolutionary
trend closely related to the injection of dust by massive stars into the ISM.Comment: ApJ, 69 pages, 46 figures, Accepte
- …