Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Integrated Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Kuo-Chia; Blaurock, Carl

2017-01-01

Contents: introduction to WFIRST (Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope) and integrated modeling; WFIRST stability requirement summary; instability mitigation strategies; dynamic jitter results; STOP (structural-thermal-optical performance) (thermal distortion) results; STOP and jitter capability limitations; model validation philosophy.

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Interim Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, J.; Schechter, P.; Baltay, C.; Bean, R.; Bennett, D.; Brown, R.; Conselice, C.; Donahue, M.; Gaudi, S.; Lauer, T.;

AKARI Infrared Camera Survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimonishi, Takashi; Kato, Daisuke; Ita, Yoshifusa; Onaka, Takashi

2015-08-01

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one of the closest external galaxies to the Milky Way and has been playing a central role in various fields of modern astronomy and astrophysics. We conducted an unbiased near- to mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopic survey of the LMC with the infrared satellite AKARI. An area of about 10 square degrees of the LMC was observed by five imaging bands (each centered at 3.2, 7, 11, 15, and 24 micron) and the low-resolution slitless prism spectroscopy mode (2--5 micron, R~20) equipped with the Infrared Camera on board AKARI. Based on the data obtained in the survey, we constructed the photometric and spectroscopic catalogues of point sources in the LMC. The photometric catalogue includes about 650,000, 90,000, 49,000, 17,000, 7,000 sources at 3.2, 7, 11, 15, and 24 micron, respectively (Ita et al. 2008, PASJ, 60, 435; Kato et al. 2012, AJ, 144, 179), while the spectroscopic catalogue includes 1,757 sources (Shimonishi et al. 2013, AJ, 145, 32). Both catalogs are publicly released and available through a website (AKARI Observers Page, http://www.ir.isas.ac.jp/AKARI/Observation/). The catalog includes various infrared sources such as young stellar objects, asymptotic giant branch stars, giants/supergiants, and many other cool or dust-enshrouded stars. A large number of near-infrared spectral data, coupled with complementary broadband photometric data, allow us to investigate infrared spectral features of sources by comparison with their spectral energy distributions. Combined use of the present AKARI LMC catalogues with other infrared catalogues such as SAGE and HERITAGE possesses scientific potential that can be applied to various astronomical studies. In this presentation, we report the details of the AKARI photometric and spectroscopic catalogues of the LMC.

The WIRED Survey. 2; Infrared Excesses in the SDSS DR7 White Dwarf Catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Debes, John H.; Hoard, D. W.; Wachter, Stefanie; Leisawitz, David T.; Cohen, Martin

2011-01-01

With the launch of the Wide-field Infrar.ed Survey Explorer (WISE), a new era of detecting planetary debris and brown dwarfs (BDs) around white dwarfs (WDs) has begun with the WISE InfraRed Excesses around Degenerates (WIRED) Survey. The WIRED Survey is sensitive to substellar objects and dusty debris around WDs out to distances exceeding 100 pc, well beyond the completeness level of local WDs. In this paper, we present a cross-correlation of the preliminary Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) WD catalog between the WISE, Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS), and SDSS DR7 photometric catalogs. From -18,000 input targets, there are WISE detections comprising 344 "naked" WDs (detection of the WD photosphere only), 1020 candidate WD+M dwarf binaries, 42 candidate WD+BD systems, 52 candidate WD+dust disk systems, and 69 targets with indeterminate infrared excess. We classified all of the detected targets through spectral energy distribution model fitting of the merged optical, near-IR, and WISE photometry. Some of these detections could be the result of contaminating sources within the large (approx. 6") WISE point-spread function; we make a preliminary estimate for the rates of contamination for our WD+BD and WD+disk candidates and provide notes for each target of interest. Each candidate presented here should be confirmed with higher angular resolution infrared imaging or infrared spectroscopy. We also present an overview of the observational characteristics of the detected WDs in the WISE photometric bands, including the relative frequencies of candidate WD+M, WD+BD, and WD+disk systems.

Space Infrared Extragalactic Surveys : Results from ISO and Future Prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaccari, Mattia

2004-02-01

This Thesis deals with the exploitation of space infrared extragalactic surveys as a powerful tool for astronomical investigation. More precisely, it deals with the development of a new method (LARI Method) for the reduction and analysis of data obtained by an infrared satellite (ISO), the application of this method to data obtained within the most ambitious extragalactic survey carried out with this satellite (ELAIS), the first scientific results obtained through this application, and finally the possible applications of such technical and scientific contributions to an infrared satellite which has recently started operations (Spitzer) as well as to future infrared missions. As a testimony to the particularly heterogeneous nature of the skills that are necessary in order to realize a successful space project, the Thesis stands at the boundary between several significantly different disciplines, such as detector physics, signal analysis and image processing, software engineering, galaxy formation and evolution and observational cosmology. Although focusing on a particular mission (ISO), throughout an attempt was made at putting the work into an "historical" perspective, with a keen eye both for the efforts of the "pioneers" of infrared astronomy and for the exciting prospects that space missions will offer to this dicipline in the years to come.

Point source detection in infrared astronomical surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pelzmann, R. F., Jr.

1977-01-01

Data processing techniques useful for infrared astronomy data analysis systems are reported. This investigation is restricted to consideration of data from space-based telescope systems operating as survey instruments. In this report the theoretical background for specific point-source detection schemes is completed, and the development of specific algorithms and software for the broad range of requirements is begun.

The Case for Space-Borne Far-Infrared Line Surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bock, J. J.; Bradford, C. M.; Dragovan, M.; Earle, L.; Glenn, J.; Naylor, B.; Nguyen, H. T.; Zmuidzinas, J.

2004-01-01

The combination of sensitive direct detectors and a cooled aperture promises orders of magnitude improvement in the sensitivity and survey time for far-infrared and submillimeter spectroscopy compared to existing or planned capabilities. Continuing advances in direct detector technology enable spectroscopy that approaches the background limit available only from space at these wavelengths. Because the spectral confusion limit is significantly lower than the more familiar spatial confusion limit encountered in imaging applications, spectroscopy can be carried out to comparable depth with a significantly smaller aperture. We are developing a novel waveguide-coupled grating spectrometer that disperses radiation into a wide instantaneous bandwidth with moderate resolution (R 1000) in a compact 2-dimensional format. A line survey instrument coupled to a modest cooled single aperture provides an attractive scientific application for spectroscopy with direct detectors. Using a suite of waveguide spectrometers, we can obtain complete coverage over the entire far-infrared and sub-millimeter. This concept requires no moving parts to modulate the optical signal. Such an instrument would be able to conduct a far-infrared line survey 10 6 times faster than planned capabilities, assuming existing detector technology. However, if historical improvements in bolometer sensitivity continue, so that photon-limited sensitivity is obtained, the integration time can be further reduced by 2 to 4 orders of magnitude, depending on wavelength. The line flux sensitivity would be comparable to ALMA, but at shorter wavelengths and with the continuous coverage needed to extract line fluxes for sources at unknown redshifts. For example, this capability would break the current spectroscopic bottleneck in the study of far-infrared galaxies, the recently discovered, rapidly evolving objects abundant at cosmological distances.

Infrared Surveys of Hawaiian Volcanoes: Aerial surveys with infrared imaging radiometer depict volcanic thermal patterns and structural features.

PubMed

Fisher, W A; Moxham, R M; Polcyn, F; Landis, G H

1964-11-06

Aerial infrared-sensor surveys of Kilauea volcano have depicted the areal extent and the relative intensity of abnormal thermal features in the caldera area of the volcano and along its associated rift zones. Many of these anomalies show correlation with visible steaming and reflect convective transfer of heat to the surface from subterranean sources. Structural details of the volcano, some not evident from surface observation, are also delineated by their thermal abnormalities. Several changes were observed in the patterns of infrared emission during the period of study; two such changes show correlation in location with subsequent eruptions, but the cause-and-effect relationship is uncertain. Thermal anomalies were also observed on the southwest flank of Mauna Loa; images of other volcanoes on the island of Hawaii, and of Haleakala on the island of Maui, revealed no thermal abnormalities. Approximately 25 large springs issuing into the ocean around the periphery of Hawaii have been detected. Infrared emission varies widely with surface texture and composition, suggesting that similar observations may have value for estimating surface conditions on the moon or planets.

Interpretation of multispectral and infrared thermal surveys of the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elshazly, E. M.; Hady, M. A. A. H.; Hafez, M. A. A.; Salman, A. B.; Morsy, M. A.; Elrakaiby, M. M.; Alaassy, I. E. E.; Kamel, A. F.

1977-01-01

Remote sensing airborne surveys were conducted, as part of the plan of rehabilitation, of the Suez Canal Zone using I2S multispectral camera and Bendix LN-3 infrared passive scanner. The multispectral camera gives four separate photographs for the same scene in the blue, green, red, and near infrared bands. The scanner was operated in the microwave bands of 8 to 14 microns and the thermal surveying was carried out both at night and in the day time. The surveys, coupled with intensive ground investigations, were utilized in the construction of new geological, structural lineation and drainage maps for the Suez Canal Zone on a scale of approximately 1:20,000, which are superior to the maps made by normal aerial photography. A considerable number of anomalies belonging to various types were revealed through the interpretation of the executed multispectral and infrared thermal surveys.

VICS82: The VISTA–CFHT Stripe 82 Near-infrared Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geach, J. E.; Lin, Y.-T.; Makler, M.; Kneib, J.-P.; Ross, N. P.; Wang, W.-H.; Hsieh, B.-C.; Leauthaud, A.; Bundy, K.; McCracken, H. J.; Comparat, J.; Caminha, G. B.; Hudelot, P.; Lin, L.; Van Waerbeke, L.; Pereira, M. E. S.; Mast, D.

2017-07-01

We present the VISTA–CFHT Stripe 82 (VICS82) survey: a near-infrared (J+Ks) survey covering 150 square degrees of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) equatorial Stripe 82 to an average depth of J = 21.9 AB mag and Ks = 21.4 AB mag (80% completeness limits; 5σ point-source depths are approximately 0.5 mag brighter). VICS82 contributes to the growing legacy of multiwavelength data in the Stripe 82 footprint. The addition of near-infrared photometry to the existing SDSS Stripe 82 coadd ugriz photometry reduces the scatter in stellar mass estimates to δ {log}({M}\\star )≈ 0.3 dex for galaxies with {M}\\star > {10}9 {M}ȯ at z≈ 0.5, and offers improvement compared to optical-only estimates out to z≈ 1, with stellar masses constrained within a factor of approximately 2.5. When combined with other multiwavelength imaging of the Stripe, including moderate-to-deep ultraviolet (GALEX), optical and mid-infrared (Spitzer-IRAC) coverage, as well as tens of thousands of spectroscopic redshifts, VICS82 gives access to approximately 0.5 Gpc3 of comoving volume. Some of the main science drivers of VICS82 include (a) measuring the stellar mass function of {L}\\star galaxies out to z∼ 1; (b) detecting intermediate-redshift quasars at 2≲ z≲ 3.5; (c) measuring the stellar mass function and baryon census of clusters of galaxies, and (d) performing cross-correlation experiments of cosmic microwave background lensing in the optical/near-infrared that link stellar mass to large-scale dark matter structure. Here we define and describe the survey, highlight some early science results, and present the first public data release, which includes an SDSS-matched catalog as well as the calibrated pixel data themselves.

Near infrared photographic sky survey - A field index

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rossano, G. S.; Craine, E. R.

1980-01-01

The book presents an index of previously cataloged objects located in the fields of the northern sky included in the Steward Observatory Near Infrared Photographic Sky Survey, which was intended to be used for identification purposes in an effort to locate extremely red objects. The objects included in the index were taken from 16 catalogs of bright nebulae, dark nebulae, infrared objects, reflection nebulae, supernova remnants and other objects, and appear with their corresponding field numbers, computed field center coordinates, object name and 1950 epoch equatorial coordinates, as well as supplementary descriptive information as available. An appendix is also provided in which the center coordinates of each field are listed.

SHINE, The SpHere INfrared survey for Exoplanets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauvin, G.; Desidera, S.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Vigan, A.; Feldt, M.; Gratton, R.; Langlois, M.; Cheetham, A.; Bonnefoy, M.; Meyer, M.

2017-12-01

The SHINE survey for SPHERE High-contrast ImagiNg survey for Exoplanets, is a large near-infrared survey of 400-600 young, nearby stars and represents a significant component of the SPHERE consortium Guaranteed Time Observations consisting in 200 observing nights. The scientific goals are: i) to characterize known planetary systems (architecture, orbit, stability, luminosity, atmosphere); ii) to search for new planetary systems using SPHERE's unprecedented performance; and finally iii) to determine the occurrence and orbital and mass function properties of the wide-orbit, giant planet population as a function of the stellar host mass and age. Combined, the results will increase our understanding of planetary atmospheric physics and the processes of planetary formation and evolution.

SPIRITS: SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasliwal, Mansi; Lau, Ryan; Cao, Yi; Masci, Frank; Helou, George; Williams, Robert; Bally, John; Bond, Howard; Whitelock, Patricia; Cody, Ann Marie; Gehrz, Robert; Jencson, Jacob; Tinyanont, Samaporn; Smith, Nathan; Surace, Jason; Armus, Lee; Cantiello, Matteo; Langer, Norbert; Levesque, Emily; Mohamed, Shazrene; Ofek, Eran; Parthasarathy, Mudumba; van Dyk, Schuyler; Boyer, Martha; Phillips, Mark; Hsiao, Eric; Morrell, Nidia; Perley, Dan; Gonzalez, Consuelo; Contreras, Carlos; Jones, Olivia; Ressler, Michael; Adams, Scott; Moore, Anna; Cook, David; Fox, Ori; Johansson, Joel; Khan, Rubab; Monson, Andy

2016-08-01

Spitzer is pioneering a systematic exploration of the dynamic infrared sky. Our SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) has already discovered 147 explosive transients and 1948 eruptive variables. Of these 147 infrared transients, 35 are so red that they are devoid of optical counterparts and we call them SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). The nature of SPRITEs is unknown and progress on deciphering the explosion physics depends on mid-IR spectroscopy. Multiple physical origins have been proposed including stellar merger, birth of a massive binary, electron capture supernova and stellar black-hole formation. Hence, we propose a modest continuation of SPIRITS, focusing on discovering and monitoring SPRITEs, in preparation for follow-up with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As the SPRITEs evolve and cool, the bulk of the emission shifts to longer wavelengths. MIRI aboard JWST will be the only available platform in the near future capable of characterizing SPRITEs out to 28um. Specifically, the low resolution spectrometer would determine dust mass, grain chemistry, ice abundance and energetics to disentangle the proposed origins. The re-focused SPIRITS program consists of continued Spitzer monitoring of only those 104 luminous galaxies that are known SPRITE hosts or are most likely to host new SPRITEa. Scaling from the SPIRITS discovery rate, we estimate finding 22 new SPRITEs and 6 new supernovae over the next two years. The SPIRITS team remains committed to extensive ground-based follow-up. The Spitzer observations proposed here are essential for determining the final fates of active SPRITEs as well as bridging the time lag between the current SPIRITS survey and JWST launch.

SPIRITS: SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasliwal, Mansi; Jencson, Jacob; Lau, Ryan; Masci, Frank; Helou, George; Williams, Robert; Bally, John; Bond, Howard; Whitelock, Patricia; Cody, Ann Marie; Gehrz, Robert; Tinyanont, Samaporn; Smith, Nathan; Surace, Jason; Armus, Lee; Cantiello, Matteo; Langer, Norbert; Levesque, Emily; Mohamed, Shazrene; Ofek, Eran; Parthasarathy, Mudumba; van Dyk, Schuyler; Boyer, Martha; Phillips, Mark; Hsiao, Eric; Morrell, Nidia; Perley, Dan; Gonzalez, Consuelo; Contreras, Carlos; Jones, Olivia; Ressler, Michael; Adams, Scott; Moore, Anna; Cook, David; Fox, Ori; Johansson, Joel; Khan, Rubab; Monson, Andrew; Hankins, Matthew; Goldman, Steven; Jacob, Jencson

2018-05-01

Spitzer is pioneering a systematic exploration of the dynamic infrared sky. Our SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) has already discovered 78 explosive transients and 2457 eruptive variables. Of these 78 infrared transients, 60 are so red that they are devoid of optical counterparts and we call them SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). The nature of SPRITEs is unknown and progress on deciphering the explosion physics depends on mid-IR spectroscopy. Multiple physical origins have been proposed including stellar merger, birth of a massive binary, electron capture supernova and stellar black hole formation. Hence, we propose a modest continuation of SPIRITS, focusing on discovering and monitoring SPRITEs, in preparation for follow-up with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). As the SPRITEs evolve and cool, the bulk of the emission shifts to longer wavelengths. MIRI aboard JWST will be the only available platform in the near future capable of characterizing SPRITEs out to 28 um. Specifically, the low resolution spectrometer would determine dust mass, grain chemistry, ice abundance and energetics to disentangle the proposed origins. The re-focused SPIRITS program consists of continued Spitzer monitoring of those 106 luminous galaxies that are known SPRITE hosts or are most likely to host new SPRITEs. Scaling from the SPIRITS discovery rate, we estimate finding 10 new SPRITEs and 2-3 new supernovae in Cycle 14. The SPIRITS team remains committed to extensive ground-based follow-up. The Spitzer observations proposed here are essential for determining the final fates of active SPRITEs as well as bridging the time lag between the current SPIRITS survey and JWST launch.

THE BOLOCAM GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY. VIII. A MID-INFRARED KINEMATIC DISTANCE DISCRIMINATION METHOD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ellsworth-Bowers, Timothy P.; Glenn, Jason; Battersby, Cara

2013-06-10

We present a new distance estimation method for dust-continuum-identified molecular cloud clumps. Recent (sub-)millimeter Galactic plane surveys have cataloged tens of thousands of these objects, plausible precursors to stellar clusters, but detailed study of their physical properties requires robust distance determinations. We derive Bayesian distance probability density functions (DPDFs) for 770 objects from the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey in the Galactic longitude range 7. Degree-Sign 5 {<=} l {<=} 65 Degree-Sign . The DPDF formalism is based on kinematic distances, and uses any number of external data sets to place prior distance probabilities to resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity (KDA)more » for objects in the inner Galaxy. We present here priors related to the mid-infrared absorption of dust in dense molecular regions and the distribution of molecular gas in the Galactic disk. By assuming a numerical model of Galactic mid-infrared emission and simple radiative transfer, we match the morphology of (sub-)millimeter thermal dust emission with mid-infrared absorption to compute a prior DPDF for distance discrimination. Selecting objects first from (sub-)millimeter source catalogs avoids a bias towards the darkest infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) and extends the range of heliocentric distance probed by mid-infrared extinction and includes lower-contrast sources. We derive well-constrained KDA resolutions for 618 molecular cloud clumps, with approximately 15% placed at or beyond the tangent distance. Objects with mid-infrared contrast sufficient to be cataloged as IRDCs are generally placed at the near kinematic distance. Distance comparisons with Galactic Ring Survey KDA resolutions yield a 92% agreement. A face-on view of the Milky Way using resolved distances reveals sections of the Sagittarius and Scutum-Centaurus Arms. This KDA-resolution method for large catalogs of sources through the combination of (sub-)millimeter and mid-infrared observations of

Near-infrared counterparts to the Galactic Bulge Survey X-ray source population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greiss, S.; Steeghs, D.; Jonker, P. G.; Torres, M. A. P.; Maccarone, T. J.; Hynes, R. I.; Britt, C. T.; Nelemans, G.; Gänsicke, B. T.

2014-03-01

We report on the near-infrared matches, drawn from three surveys, to the 1640 unique X-ray sources detected by Chandra in the Galactic Bulge Survey (GBS). This survey targets faint X-ray sources in the bulge, with a particular focus on accreting compact objects. We present all viable counterpart candidates and associate a false alarm probability (FAP) to each near-infrared match in order to identify the most likely counterparts. The FAP takes into account a statistical study involving a chance alignment test, as well as considering the positional accuracy of the individual X-ray sources. We find that although the star density in the bulge is very high, ˜90 per cent of our sources have an FAP <10 per cent, indicating that for most X-ray sources, viable near-infrared counterparts candidates can be identified. In addition to the FAP, we provide positional and photometric information for candidate counterparts to ˜95 per cent of the GBS X-ray sources. This information in combination with optical photometry, spectroscopy and variability constraints will be crucial to characterize and classify secure counterparts.

Space-based infrared near-Earth asteroid survey simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tedesco, Edward F.; Muinonen, Karri; Price, Stephan D.

2000-08-01

We demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of using a satellite-based sensor with visual and infrared focal plane arrays to search for that subclass of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) with orbits largely interior to the Earth's orbit. A space-based visual-infrared system could detect approximately 97% of the Atens and 64% of the IEOs (the, as yet hypothetical, objects with orbits entirely Interior to Earth's Orbit) with diameters greater than 1 km in a 5-year mission and obtain orbits, albedos and diameters for all of them; the respective percentages with diameters greater than 500 m are 90% and 60%. Incidental to the search for Atens and IEOs, we found that 70% of all Earth-Crossing Asteroids (ECAs) with diameters greater than 1 km, and 50% of those with diameters greater than 500 m, would also be detected. These are the results of a feasibility study; optimizing the concept presented would result in greater levels of completion. The cost of such a space-based system is estimated to be within a factor of two of the cost of a ground-based system capable of about 21st magnitude, which would provide only orbits and absolute magnitudes and require decades to reach these completeness levels. In addition to obtaining albedos and diameters for the asteroids discovered in the space-based survey, a space-based visual-infrared system would obtain the same information on virtually all NEOs of interest. A combined space-based and ground-based survey would be highly synergistic in that each can concentrate on what it does best and each complements the strengths of the other. The ground-based system would discover the majority of Amors and Apollos and provide long-term follow-up on all the NEOs discovered in both surveys. The space-based system would discover the majority of Atens and IEOs and provide albedos and diameters on all the NEOs discovered in both surveys and most previously discovered NEOs as well. Thus, an integrated ground- and space-based system could accomplish

MID-INFRARED SELECTION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI WITH THE WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER. I. CHARACTERIZING WISE-SELECTED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI IN COSMOS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stern, Daniel; Assef, Roberto J.; Eisenhardt, Peter

2012-07-01

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is an extremely capable and efficient black hole finder. We present a simple mid-infrared color criterion, W1 - W2 {>=} 0.8 (i.e., [3.4]-[4.6] {>=}0.8, Vega), which identifies 61.9 {+-} 5.4 active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates per deg{sup 2} to a depth of W2 {approx} 15.0. This implies a much larger census of luminous AGNs than found by typical wide-area surveys, attributable to the fact that mid-infrared selection identifies both unobscured (type 1) and obscured (type 2) AGNs. Optical and soft X-ray surveys alone are highly biased toward only unobscured AGNs, while this simple WISEmore » selection likely identifies even heavily obscured, Compton-thick AGNs. Using deep, public data in the COSMOS field, we explore the properties of WISE-selected AGN candidates. At the mid-infrared depth considered, 160 {mu}Jy at 4.6 {mu}m, this simple criterion identifies 78% of Spitzer mid-infrared AGN candidates according to the criteria of Stern et al. and the reliability is 95%. We explore the demographics, multiwavelength properties and redshift distribution of WISE-selected AGN candidates in the COSMOS field.« less

AKARI's infrared view on nearby stars. Using AKARI infrared camera all-sky survey, 2MASS, and Hipparcos catalogs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ita, Y.; Matsuura, M.; Ishihara, D.; Oyabu, S.; Takita, S.; Kataza, H.; Yamamura, I.; Matsunaga, N.; Tanabé, T.; Nakada, Y.; Fujiwara, H.; Wada, T.; Onaka, T.; Matsuhara, H.

2010-05-01

Context. The AKARI, a Japanese infrared space mission, has performed an All-Sky Survey in six infrared-bands from 9 to 180 μm with higher spatial resolutions and better sensitivities than IRAS. Aims: We investigate the mid-infrared (9 and 18 μm) point source catalog (PSC) obtained with the infrared camera (IRC) onboard AKARI, in order to understand the infrared nature of the known objects and to identify previously unknown objects. Methods: Color-color diagrams and a color-magnitude diagram were plotted with the AKARI-IRC PSC and other available all-sky survey catalogs. We combined the Hipparcos astrometric catalog and the 2MASS all-sky survey catalog with the AKARI-IRC PSC. We furthermore searched literature and SIMBAD astronomical database for object types, spectral types, and luminosity classes. We identified the locations of representative stars and objects on the color-magnitude and color-color diagram schemes. The properties of unclassified sources can be inferred from their locations on these diagrams. Results: We found that the (B-V) vs. (V-S9W) color-color diagram is useful for identifying the stars with infrared excess emerged from circumstellar envelopes or disks. Be stars with infrared excess are separated well from other types of stars in this diagram. Whereas (J-L18W) vs. (S9W-L18W) diagram is a powerful tool for classifying several object types. Carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and OH/IR stars form distinct sequences in this color-color diagram. Young stellar objects (YSOs), pre-main sequence (PMS) stars, post-AGB stars, and planetary nebulae (PNe) have the largest mid-infrared color excess and can be identified in the infrared catalog. Finally, we plot the L18W vs. (S9W-L18W) color-magnitude diagram, using the AKARI data together with Hipparcos parallaxes. This diagram can be used to identify low-mass YSOs and AGB stars. We found that this diagram is comparable to the [24] vs. ([8.0]-[24]) diagram of Large Magellanic Cloud sources

Origins Space Telescope: 3D infrared surveys of star formation and black hole growth in galaxies over cosmic time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, Alexandra; Armus, Lee; bradford, charles; Origins Space Telescope STDT

2018-01-01

In the coming decade, new telescope facilities and surveys aim to provide a 3D map of the unobscured Universe over cosmic time. However, much of galaxy formation and evolution occurs behind dust, and is only observable through infrared observations. Previous extragalactic infrared surveys were fundamentally limited to a 2D mapping of the most extreme populations of galaxies due to spatial resolution and sensitivity. The Origins Space Telescope (OST) is the mission concept for the Far-Infrared Surveyor, one of the four science and technology definition studies sponsored by NASA to provide input to the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal survey. OST is planned to be a large aperture, actively-cooled telescope covering a wide span of the mid- to far-infrared spectrum, which will achieve spectral line sensitivities up to 1000 times deeper than previous infrared facilities. With powerful instruments such as the Medium Resolution Survey Spectrometer (MRSS), capable of simultaneous imaging and spectroscopy, the extragalactic infrared sky can finally be surveyed in 3D. In addition to spectroscopic redshifts, the rich suite of lines in the infrared provides unique diagnostics of the ongoing star formation (both obscured and unobscured) and the central supermassive black hole growth. In this poster, we present a simulated extragalactic survey with OST/MRSS which will detect millions of galaxies down to well below the knee of the infrared luminosity function. We demonstrate how this survey can map the coeval star formation and black hole growth in galaxies over cosmic time.

Update on the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mainzer, Amanda K.; Eisenhardt, Peter; Wright, Edward L.; Liu, Feng-Chuan; Irace, William; Heinrichsen, Ingolf; Cutri, Roc; Duval, Valerie

2006-01-01

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a NASA MIDEX mission, will survey the entire sky in four bands from 3.3 to 23 microns with a sensitivity 1000 times greater than the IRAS survey. The WISE survey will extend the Two Micron All Sky Survey into the thermal infrared and will provide an important catalog for the James Webb Space Telescope. Using 1024(sup 2) HgCdTe and Si:As arrays at 3.3, 4.7, 12 and 23 microns, WISE will find the most luminous galaxies in the universe, the closest stars to the Sun, and it will detect most of the main belt asteroids larger than 3 km. The single WISE instrument consists of a 40 cm diamond-turned aluminum afocal telescope, a two-stage solid hydrogen cryostat, a scan mirror mechanism, and reimaging optics giving 5 resolution (full-width-half-maximum). The use of dichroics and beamsplitters allows four color images of a 47' x47' field of view to be taken every 8.8 seconds, synchronized with the orbital motion to provide total sky coverage with overlap between revolutions. WISE will be placed into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit on a Delta 7320-10 launch vehicle. The WISE survey approach is simple and efficient. The three-axis-stabilized spacecraft rotates at a constant rate while the scan mirror freezes the telescope line of sight during each exposure. WISE has completed its mission Preliminary Design Review and its NASA Confirmation Review, and the project is awaiting confirmation from NASA to proceed to the Critical Design phase. Much of the payload hardware is now complete, and assembly of the payload will occur over the next year. WISE is scheduled to launch in late 2009; the project web site can be found at www.wise.ssl.berkeley.edu.

Infrared survey of the Pisgah Crater area, San Bernardino County, California - a geologic interpretation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gawarecki, Stephen J.

1968-01-01

The infrared survey of the Pisgah Crater Area, San Bernardino County, California was primarily undertaken to establish parameters by which rock types, structures, and textures peculiar to this locale could be recognized or differentiated. A secondary purpose was to provide an adequate evaluation and calibration of airborne and ground-based instruments used in the survey. Pisgah Crater and its vicinity was chosen as one of the fundamental test sites for the NASA remote sensing program because of its relatively fresh basaltic flows and pyroclastics. Its typical exposure of basalt also made it a possible lunar analogue. A fundamental test site for the purpose of the program is defined as a readily accessible area for which the topography, geology, hydrology, soils, vegetation and other features are relatively well known. All remote sensor instrument teams, i.e. infrared, radar, microwave, and photography, were obligated to use the fundamental test sites for instrument evaluation and to establish terrain identification procedures. Pisgah Crater, nearby Sunshine Cone, and their associated lava flows are in the southern Mojave Desert about 40 miles east-southeast of Barstow, California. (See fig. 1.) U. S. Highway 66 skirts .the northern part of the area and provides access via asphalt-paved and dirt roads to the Crater and to the perimeters of the flows. Pisgah Crater, which is a pumiceous cone, is owned and occasionally quarried by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The remaining part of the area to the south is within the boundary of the Marine Corps Base, Twentynine Palms, California and is currently being used as a gunnery, and bombing range. The proximate area to east, west, and north of Pisgah Crater is public domain. Originally, an area totaling 10 square miles was outlined for detailed study. (See plate 1.) This included an 8 mile long strip extending south- east from and including Pisgah Crater to Lavic Dry Lake, and a 2 mile strip aligned to include a

Optical Design Trade Study for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope [WFIRST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Content, David A.; Goullioud, R.; Lehan, John P.; Mentzell, John E.

2011-01-01

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission concept was ranked first in new space astrophysics mission by the Astro2010 Decadal Survey incorporating the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM)-Omega payload concept and multiple science white papers. This mission is based on a space telescope at L2 studying exoplanets [via gravitational microlensing], probing dark energy, and surveying the near infrared sky. Since the release of NWNH, the WFIRST project has been working with the WFIRST science definition team (SDT) to refine mission and payload concepts. We present the driving requirements. The current interim reference mission point design, based on the use of a 1.3m unobscured aperture three mirror anastigmat form, with focal imaging and slitless spectroscopy science channels, is consistent with the requirements, requires no technology development, and out performs the JDEM-Omega design.

All-Sky Infrared Survey

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-17

This infrared view of the whole sky highlights the flat plane of our Milky Way galaxy line across middle of image. NASA WISE, will take a similar infrared census of the whole sky, only with much improved resolution and sensitivity.

Precision Pointing for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoneking, Eric; Hsu, Oscar; Welter, Gary

2017-01-01

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission, scheduled for a mid-2020's launch, is currently in its definition phase. The mission is designed to investigate essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. WFIRST will use a 2.4-meter primary telescope (same size as the Hubble Space Telescope's primary mirror) and two instruments: the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) and the Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). In order to ad-dress the critical science requirements, the WFIRST mission will conduct large-scale surveys of the infrared sky, requiring both agility and precision pointing (11.6 milli-arcsec stability, 14 milli-arcsec jitter). This paper describes some of the challenges this mission profile presents to the GNC subsystem, and some of the design elements chosen to accommodate those challenges. The high-galactic-latitude survey is characterized by 3-minute observations separated by slews ranging from 0.025 deg to 0.8 deg. The need for observation efficiency drives the slew and settle process to be as rapid as possible. A description of the shaped slew profile chosen to minimize excitation of structural oscillation, and the handoff from star tracker-gyro control to fine guidance sensor control is detailed. Also presented is the fine guidance sensor (FGS), which is integral with the primary instrument (WFI). The FGS is capable of tracking up to 18 guide stars, enabling robust FGS acquisition and precision pointing. To avoid excitation of observatory structural jitter, reaction wheel speeds are operationally maintained within set limits. In addition, the wheel balance law is designed to maintain 1-Hz separation between the wheel speeds to avoid reinforcing jitter excitation at any particular frequency. The wheel balance law and operational implications are described. Finally, the candidate GNC hardware suite needed to meet the requirements of the mission is presented.

Precision Pointing for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope(WFIRST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoneking, Eric T.; Hsu, Oscar C.; Welter, Gary

2017-01-01

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission, scheduled for a mid-2020's launch, is currently in its definition phase. The mission is designed to investigate essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. WFIRST will use a 2.4-meter primary telescope (same size as the Hubble Space Telescope's primary mirror) and two instruments: the Wide Field Instrument (WFI) and the Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). In order to address the critical science requirements, the WFIRST mission will conduct large-scale surveys of the infrared sky, requiring both agility and precision pointing (11.6 milli-arcsec stability, 14 milli-arcsec jitter). This paper describes some of the challenges this mission profile presents to the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) subsystem, and some of the design elements chosen to accommodate those challenges. The high-galactic-latitude survey is characterized by 3-minute observations separated by slews ranging from 0.025 deg to 0.8 deg. The need for observation efficiency drives the slew and settle process to be as rapid as possible. A description of the shaped slew profile chosen to minimize excitation of structural oscillation, and the handoff from star tracker-gyro control to fine guidance sensor control is detailed. Also presented is the fine guidance sensor (FGS), which is integral with the primary instrument (WFI). The FGS is capable of tracking up to 18 guide stars, enabling robust FGS acquisition and precision pointing. To avoid excitation of observatory structural jitter, reaction wheel speeds are operationally maintained within set limits. In addition, the wheel balance law is designed to maintain 1-Hz separation between the wheel speeds to avoid reinforcing jitter excitation at any particular frequency. The wheel balance law and operational implications are described. Finally, the candidate GNC hardware suite needed to meet the requirements of the mission is presented.

Cool White Dwarfs Found in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leggett, S. K.; Lodieu, N.; Tremblay, P.-E.; Bergeron, P.; Nitta, A.

2011-07-01

We present the results of a search for cool white dwarfs in the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS). The UKIDSS LAS photometry was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to identify cool hydrogen-rich white dwarf candidates by their neutral optical colors and blue near-infrared colors, as well as faint reduced proper motion magnitudes. Optical spectroscopy was obtained at Gemini Observatory and showed the majority of the candidates to be newly identified cool degenerates, with a small number of G- to K-type (sub)dwarf contaminants. Our initial search of 280 deg2 of sky resulted in seven new white dwarfs with effective temperature T eff ≈ 6000 K. The current follow-up of 1400 deg2 of sky has produced 13 new white dwarfs. Model fits to the photometry show that seven of the newly identified white dwarfs have 4120 K <=T eff <= 4480 K, and cooling ages between 7.3 Gyr and 8.7 Gyr; they have 40 km s-1 <= v tan <= 85 km s-1 and are likely to be thick disk 10-11 Gyr-old objects. The other half of the sample has 4610 K <=T eff <= 5260 K, cooling ages between 4.3 Gyr and 6.9 Gyr, and 60 km s-1 <= v tan <= 100 km s-1. These are either thin disk remnants with unusually high velocities, or lower-mass remnants of thick disk or halo late-F or G stars.

Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope WFIRST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, J.; Schechter, P.; Baltay, C.; Bean, R.; Bennett, D.; Brown, R.; Conselice, C.; Donahue, M.; Fan, X.; Rauscher, B.;

Preliminary Results from NEOWISE: An Enhancement to the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for Solar System Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; Eisenhardt, P.; McMillan, R. S.; Wright, E.; Walker, R.; Jedicke, R.; Spahr, T.; Tholen, D.; Alles, R.; Beck, R.; Brandenburg, H.; Conrow, T.; Evans, T.; Fowler, J.; Jarrett, T.; Marsh, K.; Masci, F.; McCallon, H.; Wheelock, S.; Wittman, M.; Wyatt, P.; DeBaun, E.; Elliott, G.; Elsbury, D.; Gautier, T., IV; Gomillion, S.; Leisawitz, D.; Maleszewski, C.; Micheli, M.; Wilkins, A.

2011-04-01

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has surveyed the entire sky at four infrared wavelengths with greatly improved sensitivity and spatial resolution compared to its predecessors, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite and the Cosmic Background Explorer. NASA's Planetary Science Division has funded an enhancement to the WISE data processing system called "NEOWISE" that allows detection and archiving of moving objects found in the WISE data. NEOWISE has mined the WISE images for a wide array of small bodies in our solar system, including near-Earth objects (NEOs), Main Belt asteroids, comets, Trojans, and Centaurs. By the end of survey operations in 2011 February, NEOWISE identified over 157,000 asteroids, including more than 500 NEOs and ~120 comets. The NEOWISE data set will enable a panoply of new scientific investigations.

The Revised AFGL (Air Force Geophysics Laboratory) Infrared Sky Survey Catalog

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-16

REPRODUCE LEGIBLY. BEST AVAILABLE COPY Z!The Revised AFGL Infrared SlKy Survey C ~k I STEPHAN D. PRICE THO ’MAS L. MURADOCK 16 June 1983 ApprŖve f ,:, rd cwi...dii ut~un -jELE/:TE:j’ OCT 251MS3 ~ P ~CA PH3~ C D~/IS~~i\\PRO)JECT 767C AR F C R r, ;G,EQP IY i C S A6 QR A C , l, Y ’ AN5CIAND U : (,AF 1~’A SOt 3...34 . GAR , Direct r Infrared Physics Branch Iial Phy c Division Qualified requestors may obtain additional copies from the Defense Technical

The mid-infrared environments of 6.7 GHz methanol masers from the Methanol Multi-Beam Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallaway, M.; Thompson, M. A.; Lucas, P. W.; Fuller, G. A.; Caswell, J. L.; Green, J. A.; Voronkov, M. A.; Breen, S. L.; Quinn, L.; Ellingsen, S. P.; Avison, A.; Ward-Thompson, D.; Cox, J.

2013-04-01

We present a study of the mid-infrared environments and association with star formation tracers of 6.7 GHz methanol masers taken from the Methanol Multi-Beam (MMB) survey. Our ultimate goal is to establish the mass of the host star and its evolutionary stage for each maser site. As a first step, the GLIMPSE survey of the Galactic plane is utilized to investigate the environment of 776 methanol masers and we find that while the majority of the masers are associated with mid-infrared counterparts, a significant fraction (17 per cent) are not associated with any detectable mid-infrared emission. A number of the maser counterparts are clearly extended with respect to the GLIMPSE point spread function and we implement an adaptive non-circular aperture photometry (ANCAP) technique to determine the fluxes of the maser counterparts. The ANCAP technique doubles the number of masers with flux information at all four wavelengths compared to the number of the corresponding counterparts obtained from the GLIMPSE Point Source Catalog. The colours of the maser counterparts are found to be very similar to the smaller study carried out by Ellingsen. The MMB masers are weakly associated with extended green objects and Red MSX Survey embedded sources (YSO and H II region classifications) with 18 and 12 per cent of masers associated with these objects, respectively. The majority of MMB masers (60 per cent) have detectable GLIMPSE infrared counterparts but have not been identified with previously recognized tracers of massive star formation; this confirms that the MMB survey has the potential to identify massive star-forming regions independent of infrared selection.

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-Orbit Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Edward L.; Eisenhardt, Peter R. M.; Mainzer, Amy; Ressler, Michael E.; Cutri, Roc M.; Jarrett, Thomas; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Padgett, Deborah; McMillan, Robert S.; Skrutskie,Michael;

Deep near-infrared survey of the Southern Sky (DENIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deul, E.

1992-01-01

DENIS (Deep Near-Infrared Survey of the Southern Sky) will be the first complete census of astronomical sources in the near-infrared spectral range. The challenges of this novel survey are both scientific and technical. Phenomena radiating in the near-infrared range from brown dwarfs to galaxies in the early stages of cosmological evolution, the scientific exploitation of data relevant over such a wide range requires pooling expertise from several of the leading European astronomical centers. The technical challenges of a project which will provide an order of magnitude more sources than given by the IRAS space mission, and which will involve advanced data-handling and image-processing techniques, likewise require pooling of hardware and software resources, as well as of human expertise. The DENIS project team is composed of some 40 scientists, computer specialists, and engineers located in 5 European Community countries (France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and Spain), with important contributions from specialists in Australia, Brazil, Chile, and Hungary. DENIS will survey the entire southern sky in 3 colors, namely in the I band at a wavelength of 0.8 micron, in the 1.25 micron J band, and in the 2.15 micron K' band. The sensitivity limits will be 18th magnitude in the I band, 16th in the J band, and 14.5th in the K' band. The angular resolution achieved will be 1 arcsecond in the I band, and 3.0 arcseconds in the J and K' bands. The European Southern Observatory 1 m telescope on La Silla will be dedicated to survey use during operations expected to last four years, commencing in late 1993. DENIS aims to provide the astronomical community with complete digitized infrared images of the full southern sky and a catalogue of extracted objects, both of the best quality and in readily accessible form. This will be achieved through dedicated software packages and specialized catalogues, and with assistance from the Leiden and Paris Data Analysis Centers. The data

ESO imaging survey: infrared observations of CDF-S and HDF-S

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, L. F.; Miralles, J.-M.; da Costa, L.; Benoist, C.; Vandame, B.; Rengelink, R.; Rité, C.; Scodeggio, M.; Slijkhuis, R.; Wicenec, A.; Zaggia, S.

2006-06-01

This paper presents infrared data obtained from observations carried out at the ESO 3.5 m New Technology Telescope (NTT) of the Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S) and the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). These data were taken as part of the ESO Imaging Survey (EIS) program, a public survey conducted by ESO to promote follow-up observations with the VLT. In the HDF-S field the infrared observations cover an area of ~53 square arcmin, encompassing the HST WFPC2 and STIS fields, in the JHKs passbands. The seeing measured in the final stacked images ranges from 0.79 arcsec to 1.22 arcsec and the median limiting magnitudes (AB system, 2'' aperture, 5σ detection limit) are J_AB˜23.0, H_AB˜22.8 and K_AB˜23.0 mag. Less complete data are also available in JKs for the adjacent HST NICMOS field. For CDF-S, the infrared observations cover a total area of ~100 square arcmin, reaching median limiting magnitudes (as defined above) of J_AB˜23.6 and K_AB˜22.7 mag. For one CDF-S field H band data are also available. This paper describes the observations and presents the results of new reductions carried out entirely through the un-supervised, high-throughput EIS Data Reduction System and its associated EIS/MVM C++-based image processing library developed, over the past 5 years, by the EIS project and now publicly available. The paper also presents source catalogs extracted from the final co-added images which are used to evaluate the scientific quality of the survey products, and hence the performance of the software. This is done comparing the results obtained in the present work with those obtained by other authors from independent data and/or reductions carried out with different software packages and techniques. The final science-grade catalogs together with the astrometrically and photometrically calibrated co-added images are available at CDS.

The Munich Near-Infrared Cluster Survey - IV. Biases in the completeness of near-infrared imaging data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snigula, J.; Drory, N.; Bender, R.; Botzler, C. S.; Feulner, G.; Hopp, U.

2002-11-01

We present the results of completeness simulations for the detection of point sources as well as redshifted elliptical and spiral galaxies in the K'-band images of the Munich Near-Infrared Cluster Survey (MUNICS). The main focus of this work is to quantify the selection effects introduced by threshold-based object detection algorithms used in deep imaging surveys. Therefore, we simulate objects obeying the well-known scaling relations between effective radius and central surface brightness, for both de Vaucouleurs and exponential profiles. The results of these simulations, while presented for the MUNICS project, are applicable in a much wider context to deep optical and near-infrared selected samples. We investigate the detection probability as well as the reliability for recovering the true total magnitude with Kron-like (adaptive) aperture photometry. The results are compared with the predictions of the visibility theory of Disney and Phillipps in terms of the detection rate and the lost-light fraction. Additionally, the effects attributable to seeing are explored. The results show a bias against detecting high-redshifted massive elliptical galaxies in comparison to disc galaxies with exponential profiles, and that the measurements of the total magnitudes for intrinsically bright elliptical galaxies are systematically too faint. Disc galaxies, in contrast, show no significant offset in the magnitude measurement of luminous objects. Finally, we present an analytic formula to predict the completeness of point sources using only basic image parameters.

Merged infrared catalogue

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmitz, M.; Brown, L. W.; Mead, J. M.; Nagy, T. A.

1978-01-01

A compilation of equatorial coordinates, spectral types, magnitudes, and fluxes from five catalogues of infrared observations is presented. This first edition of the Merged Infrared Catalogue contains 11,201 oservations from the Two-Micron Sky Survey, Observations of Infrared Radiation from Cool Stars, the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory four Color Infrared Sky Survey and its Supplemental Catalog, and from Catalog of 10 micron Celestial Objects (HALL). This compilation is a by-product of a computerized infrared data base under development at Goddard Space Flight Center; the objective is to maintain a complete and current record of all infrared observations from 1 micron m to 1000 micron m of nonsolar system objects. These observations are being placed into a standardized system.

A survey of infrared and visual image fusion methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Xin; Jiang, Qian; Yao, Shaowen; Zhou, Dongming; Nie, Rencan; Hai, Jinjin; He, Kangjian

2017-09-01

Infrared (IR) and visual (VI) image fusion is designed to fuse multiple source images into a comprehensive image to boost imaging quality and reduce redundancy information, which is widely used in various imaging equipment to improve the visual ability of human and robot. The accurate, reliable and complementary descriptions of the scene in fused images make these techniques be widely used in various fields. In recent years, a large number of fusion methods for IR and VI images have been proposed due to the ever-growing demands and the progress of image representation methods; however, there has not been published an integrated survey paper about this field in last several years. Therefore, we make a survey to report the algorithmic developments of IR and VI image fusion. In this paper, we first characterize the IR and VI image fusion based applications to represent an overview of the research status. Then we present a synthesize survey of the state of the art. Thirdly, the frequently-used image fusion quality measures are introduced. Fourthly, we perform some experiments of typical methods and make corresponding analysis. At last, we summarize the corresponding tendencies and challenges in IR and VI image fusion. This survey concludes that although various IR and VI image fusion methods have been proposed, there still exist further improvements or potential research directions in different applications of IR and VI image fusion.

GNIRS-DQS: A Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph Distant Quasar Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Brandon; Shemmer, Ohad; Brotherton, Michael S.; Andruchow, Ileana; Boroson, Todd A.; Brandt, W. Niel; Cellone, Sergio; Ferrero, Gabriel; Gallagher, Sarah; Green, Richard F.; Hennawi, Joseph F.; Lira, Paulina; Myers, Adam D.; Plotkin, Richard; Richards, Gordon T.; Runnoe, Jessie; Schneider, Donald P.; Shen, Yue; Strauss, Michael A.; Willott, Chris J.; Wills, Beverley J.

2018-06-01

We describe an ongoing three-year Gemini survey, launched in 2017, that will obtain near-infrared spectroscopy of 416 Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars between redshifts of 1.5 and 3.5 in the ~1.0-2.5 μm band. These spectra will cover critical diagnostic emission lines, such as Mg II, Hβ, and [O III], in each source. This project will more than double the existing inventory of near-infrared spectra of luminous quasars at these redshifts, including the era of fast quasar growth. Additional rest frame ultraviolet coverage of at least the C IV emission line is provided by the SDSS spectrum of each source. We will utilize the spectroscopic inventory to determine the most accurate and precise quasar black hole masses, accretion rates, and redshifts, and use the results to derive improved prescriptions for UV-based proxies for these parameters. The improved redshifts will establish velocities of quasar outflows that interact with the host galaxies, and will help constrain how imprecise distance estimates bias quasar clustering measurements. Furthermore, our measurements will facilitate a more complete understanding of how the rest-frame UV-optical spectral properties depend on redshift and luminosity, and test whether the physical properties of the quasar central engine evolve over cosmic time. We will make our data immediately available to the public, provide reduced spectra via a dedicated website, and produce a catalog of measurements and fundamental quasar properties.

The High AV Quasar Survey: Reddened Quasi-Stellar Objects Selected from Optical/Near-Infrared Photometry—II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krogager, J.-K.; Geier, S.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Venemans, B. P.; Ledoux, C.; Møller, P.; Noterdaeme, P.; Vestergaard, M.; Kangas, T.; Pursimo, T.; Saturni, F. G.; Smirnova, O.

2015-03-01

Quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) whose spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are reddened by dust either in their host galaxies or in intervening absorber galaxies are to a large degree missed by optical color selection criteria like the ones used by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). To overcome this bias against red QSOs, we employ a combined optical and near-infrared (near-IR) color selection. In this paper, we present a spectroscopic follow-up campaign of a sample of red candidate QSOs which were selected from the SDSS and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The spectroscopic data and SDSS/UKIDSS photometry are supplemented by mid-infrared photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. In our sample of 159 candidates, 154 (97%) are confirmed to be QSOs. We use a statistical algorithm to identify sightlines with plausible intervening absorption systems and identify nine such cases assuming dust in the absorber similar to Large Magellanic Cloud sightlines. We find absorption systems toward 30 QSOs, 2 of which are consistent with the best-fit absorber redshift from the statistical modeling. Furthermore, we observe a broad range in SED properties of the QSOs as probed by the rest-frame 2 μm flux. We find QSOs with a strong excess as well as QSOs with a large deficit at rest-frame 2 μm relative to a QSO template. Potential solutions to these discrepancies are discussed. Overall, our study demonstrates the high efficiency of the optical/near-IR selection of red QSOs.

Computer-aided discovery of debris disk candidates: A case study using the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, T.; Pankratius, V.; Eckman, L.; Seager, S.

2018-04-01

Debris disks around stars other than the Sun have received significant attention in studies of exoplanets, specifically exoplanetary system formation. Since debris disks are major sources of infrared emissions, infrared survey data such as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey (WISE) catalog potentially harbors numerous debris disk candidates. However, it is currently challenging to perform disk candidate searches for over 747 million sources in the WISE catalog due to the high probability of false positives caused by interstellar matter, galaxies, and other background artifacts. Crowdsourcing techniques have thus started to harness citizen scientists for debris disk identification since humans can be easily trained to distinguish between desired artifacts and irrelevant noises. With a limited number of citizen scientists, however, increasing data volumes from large surveys will inevitably lead to analysis bottlenecks. To overcome this scalability problem and push the current limits of automated debris disk candidate identification, we present a novel approach that uses citizen science results as a seed to train machine learning based classification. In this paper, we detail a case study with a computer-aided discovery pipeline demonstrating such feasibility based on WISE catalog data and NASA's Disk Detective project. Our approach of debris disk candidates classification was shown to be robust under a wide range of image quality and features. Our hybrid approach of citizen science with algorithmic scalability can facilitate big data processing for future detections as envisioned in future missions such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).

Physical properties of asteroids in comet-like orbits in the infrared asteroidal survey catalogs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y.; Ishiguro, M.; Usui, F.

2014-07-01

Dormant comet and Infrared Asteroidal Survey Catalogs. Comet nucleus is a solid body consisting of dark refractory material and ice. Cometary volatiles sublimate from subsurface layer by solar heating, leaving behind large dust grains on the surface. Eventually, the appearance could turn into asteroidal rather than cometary. It is, therefore, expected that there would be ''dormant comets'' in the list of known asteroids. Over past decade, several ground-based studies have been performed to dig out such dormant comets. One common approach is applying a combination of optical and dynamical properties learned from active comet nucleus to the list of known asteroids. Typical comet nucleus has (i) Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter, T_{J}<3, (ii) low geometric albedo, p_{v}<0.1 and (iii) reddish or neutral spectra, similar to P, D, C-type asteroids. Following past ground-based surveys, infrared space missions gave us an opportunity to work on further study of dormant comets. To the present, three infrared asteroidal catalogs taken with IRAS[1], AKARI[2] and WISE[3] are available, providing information of sizes and albedos which are useful to study the physical properties of dormant comets as well as asteroids. Usui et al. (2014) merged three infrared asteroidal catalogs with valid sizes and albedos into single catalog, what they called I-A-W[4]. We applied a huge dataset of asteroids in I-A-W to investigate the physical properties of asteroids in comet-like orbits (ACOs, whose orbits satisfy Q>4.5 au and T_{J}<3). Here we present a study of ACOs in infrared asteroidal catalogs taken with AKARI, IRAS and WISE. In this presentation, we aim to introduce albedo and size properties of ACOs in infrared asteroidal survey catalogs, in combination with orbital and spectral properties from literature. Results and Implications. We summarize our finding and implication as followings: - are 123 ACOs (Q>4.5 au and T_J<3) in I-A-W catalog after rejection of objects with large

WINGS: WFIRST Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Benjamin

WFIRST's combination of wide field and high resolution will revolutionize the study of nearby galaxies. We propose to produce and analyze simulated WFIRST data of nearby galaxies and their halos to maximize the scientific yield in the limited observing time available, ensuring the legacy value of WFIRST's eventual archive. We will model both halo structure and resolved stellar populations to optimize WFIRST's constraints on both dark matter and galaxy formation models in the local universe. WFIRST can map galaxy structure down to ~35 mag/square arcsecond using individual stars. The resulting maps of stellar halos and accreting dwarf companions will provide stringent tests of galaxy formation and dark matter models on galactic (and even sub-galactic) scales, which is where the most theoretical tension exists with the Lambda-CDM model. With a careful, coordinated plan, WFIRST can be expected to improve current sample sizes by 2 orders of magnitude, down to surface brightness limits comparable to those currently reached only in the Local Group, and that are >4 magnitudes fainter than achievable from the ground due to limitations in star-galaxy separation. WFIRST's maps of galaxy halos will simultaneously produce photometry for billions of stars in the main bodies of galaxies within 10 Mpc. These data will transform studies of star formation histories that track stellar mass growth as a function of time and position within a galaxy. They also will constrain critical stellar evolution models of the near-infrared bright, rapidly evolving stars that can contribute significantly to the integrated light of galaxies in the near-infrared. Thus, with WFIRST we can derive the detailed evolution of individual galaxies, reconstruct the complete history of star formation in the nearby universe, and put crucial constraints on the theoretical models used to interpret near-infrared extragalactic observations. We propose a three-component work plan that will ensure these gains by

VISION - Vienna Survey in Orion. II. Infrared extinction in Orion A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meingast, Stefan; Alves, João; Lombardi, Marco

2018-06-01

We have investigated the shape of the extinction curve in the infrared up to 25μm for the Orion A star-forming complex. The basis of this work is near-infrared data acquired with the Visual and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, in combination with Pan-STARRS and mid-infrared Spitzer photometry. We obtain colour excess ratios for eight passbands by fitting a series of colour-colour diagrams. The fits are performed using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, together with a linear model under a Bayesian formalism. The resulting colour excess ratios are directly interpreted as a measure of the extinction law. We show that the Orion A molecular cloud is characterized by flat mid-infrared extinction, similar to many other recently studied sightlines. Moreover, we find statistically significant evidence that the extinction law from 1μm to at least 6μm varies across the cloud. In particular, we find a gradient along galactic longitude, where regions near the Orion Nebula Cluster show a different extinction law compared to L1641 and L1647, the low-mass star-forming sites in the cloud complex. These variations are of the order of only 3% and are most likely caused by the influence of the massive stars on their surrounding medium. While the observed general trends in our measurements are in agreement with model predictions, both well-established and new dust grain models are not able to fully reproduce our infrared extinction curve. We also present a new extinction map featuring a resolution of 1' and revisit the correlation between extinction and dust optical depth. This analysis shows that cloud substructure, which is not sampled by background sources, affects the conversion factor between these two measures. In conclusion, we argue that specific characteristics of the infrared extinction law are still not well understood, but Orion A can serve as an unbiased template for future studies. The extinction map (FITS file) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to

The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey: A High-Resolution Spectroscopy Anthology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dale, D. A.; Smith, J. D. T.; Schlawin, E. A.; Armus, L.; Buckalew, B. A.; Cohen, S. A.; Helou, G.; Jarrett, T. H.; Johnson, L. C.; Moustakas, J.; Murphy, E. J.; Roussel, H.; Sheth, K.; Staudaher, S.; Bot, C.; Calzetti, D.; Engelbracht, C. W.; Gordon, K. D.; Hollenbach, D. J.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Malhotra, S.

2009-03-01

High-resolution mid-infrared spectra are presented for 155 nuclear and extranuclear regions from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS). The fluxes for nine atomic forbidden and three molecular hydrogen mid-infrared emission lines are also provided, along with upper limits in key lines for infrared-faint targets. The SINGS sample shows a wide range in the ratio of [S III] 18.71 μm/[S III] 33.48 μm, but the average ratio of the ensemble indicates a typical interstellar electron density of 300-400 cm-3 on ~23'' × 15'' scales and 500-600 cm-3 using ~11'' × 9'' apertures, independent of whether the region probed is a star-forming nuclear, a star-forming extranuclear, or an active galactic nuclei (AGN) environment. Evidence is provided that variations in gas-phase metallicity play an important role in driving variations in radiation field hardness, as indicated by [Ne III] 15.56 μm/[Ne II] 12.81 μm, for regions powered by star formation. Conversely, the radiation hardness for galaxy nuclei powered by accretion around a massive black hole is independent of metal abundance. Furthermore, for metal-rich environments AGN are distinguishable from star-forming regions by significantly larger [Ne III] 15.56 μm/[Ne II] 12.81 μm ratios. Finally, [Fe II] 25.99 μm/[Ne II] 12.81 μm versus [Si II] 34.82 μm/[S III] 33.48 μm also provides an empirical method for discerning AGN from normal star-forming sources. However, similar to [Ne III] 15.56 μm/[Ne II] 12.81 μm, these mid-infrared line ratios lose their AGN/star-formation diagnostic powers for very low metallicity star-forming systems with hard radiation fields.

Surveying the Inner Solar System with an Infrared Space Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buie, Marc W.; Reitsema, Harold J.; Linfield, Roger P.

2016-11-01

We present an analysis of surveying the inner solar system for objects that may pose some threat to Earth. Most of the analysis is based on understanding the capability provided by Sentinel, a concept for an infrared space-based telescope placed in a heliocentric orbit near the distance of Venus. From this analysis, we show that (1) the size range being targeted can affect the survey design, (2) the orbit distribution of the target sample can affect the survey design, (3) minimum observational arc length during the survey is an important metric of survey performance, and (4) surveys must consider objects as small as D=15{--}30 m to meet the goal of identifying objects that have the potential to cause damage on Earth in the next 100 yr. Sentinel will be able to find 50% of all impactors larger than 40 m in a 6.5 yr survey. The Sentinel mission concept is shown to be as effective as any survey in finding objects bigger than D = 140 m but is more effective when applied to finding smaller objects on Earth-impacting orbits. Sentinel is also more effective at finding objects of interest for human exploration that benefit from lower propulsion requirements. To explore the interaction between space and ground search programs, we also study a case where Sentinel is combined with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and show the benefit of placing a space-based observatory in an orbit that reduces the overlap in search regions with a ground-based telescope. In this case, Sentinel+LSST can find more than 70% of the impactors larger than 40 m assuming a 6.5 yr lifetime for Sentinel and 10 yr for LSST.

SIMP: A Near-Infrared Proper Motion Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artigau, Étienne; Lafrenière, David; Doyon, René; Albert, Loïc; Robert, Jasmin; Malo, Lison

2009-02-01

SIMP is a proper motion (PM) survey made with the Observatoire du Mont Mégantic (OMM) wide-field near-infrared camera CPAPIR at the CTIO 1.5 m and OMM 1.6 m telescopes. The SIMP observations were initiated in early 2005, are still ongoing and, to date, have covered 28% of the sky at high galactic latitudes. The PMs of the sources detected are determined by comparing their measured positions with those listed in the 2MASS point source catalog, giving a time baseline of 4 to 10 years. The 5 σ uncertainty on the relative SIMP and 2MASS astrometry is 1'', equivalent to a PM lower limit of 0.125-0.250''/yr, or a tangential velocity limit of 15-30 km/s at 25 pc. Up to the 2MASS magnitude limit (J~16.5), T dwarfs are found out to ~25 pc, while L dwarfs may be found as far as 100 pc away.

Large infrared survey telescope for Antarctica at Dome C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrari-Toniolo, Marco; Epchtein, Nicolas; Corcione, Leonardo; Marenzi, Anna R.

2002-12-01

The first results obtained from the Site Campaigns performed in the last years in different locations of the Antarctic Continent and the acquired experience obtained from the first astronomical IR measures with SPIREX, have in fact opened the way to a present time challenge, about the installation of a large IR Telescope in the best possible site on earth, that will be competitive with the present frontier of ground based and space telescopes in the Infrared range. A project in this context has been submitted to the Italian Plan for Antarctic Research (PNRA), in collaboration with French and Australian colleagues that began to be funded this year. The project entitled "A preliminary study for a Large Infrared Telescope at Dome C", will lay the bases for the realization of a non-conventional instrument for the mid-IR domain, suited for the very particular and severe Antarctic situation. In this first paper a general overview is done about the future development plan for the GTA (Grande Telescopio Antartico), paying attention to the following themes: Large aperture and low emissivity and high reliability of Antarctic IR telescopes High resolution and very high sensitivity objectives for a mid-ir Survey Telescope. Non-conventional observing modes for quasi drift-scan measurements.

Ultracool Dwarfs in the Ukirt Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burningham, Ben; Pinfield, D.; Leggett, S. K.; Lodieu, N.; Warren, S. J.; Lucas, P. W.; Tamura, M.; Mortlock, D.; Kendall, T. R.; Jones, H. R.; Jameson, R. F.; Richard, M.; Martin, E. L.; UKIDSS Cool Dwarf Science Working Group

2007-05-01

The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS) presents an unparallelled resource for the study of field brown dwarfs. The UKIDSS Cool Dwarf Science Working Group (CDSWG) is carrying out a search for the lowest temperature brown dwarfs ever discovered, with the possibility of identifying a new spectral class of ultracool dwarf: the Y dwarf. CDSWG members identified 10 new T dwarfs in the early and first data releases of the LAS, including 2 objects with spectral types later than T7.5. One of these is thought to be the coolest T dwarf ever found with a spectral type of T8.5, and an estimated temperature of 650K. Data release 2 (DR2) took place on 1st March 2007, and already the most promising objects have been selected and followed-up photometrically and spectroscopically. In this contribution I will discuss the capabilities of UKIDSS for identifying ultracool dwarfs and summarise our latest results.

THE EXTENDED HIGH A ( V ) QUASAR SURVEY: SEARCHING FOR DUSTY ABSORBERS TOWARD MID-INFRARED-SELECTED QUASARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krogager, J.-K.; Noterdaeme, P.; Fynbo, J. P. U.

2016-11-20

We present the results of a new spectroscopic survey for dusty intervening absorption systems, particularly damped Ly α absorbers (DLAs), toward reddened quasars. The candidate quasars are selected from mid-infrared photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer combined with optical and near-infrared photometry. Out of 1073 candidates, we secure low-resolution spectra for 108 using the Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma, Spain. Based on the spectra, we are able to classify 100 of the 108 targets as quasars. A large fraction (50%) is observed to have broad absorption lines (BALs). Moreover, we find six quasars with strange breaks in theirmore » spectra, which are not consistent with regular dust reddening. Using template fitting, we infer the amount of reddening along each line of sight ranging from A ( V ) ≈ 0.1 to 1.2 mag (assuming a Small Magellanic Cloud extinction curve). In four cases, the reddening is consistent with dust exhibiting the 2175 Å feature caused by an intervening absorber, and for two of these, an Mg ii absorption system is observed at the best-fit absorption redshift. In the rest of the cases, the reddening is most likely intrinsic to the quasar. We observe no evidence for dusty DLAs in this survey. However, the large fraction of BAL quasars hampers the detection of absorption systems. Out of the 50 non-BAL quasars, only 28 have sufficiently high redshift to detect Ly α in absorption.« less

First Extended Catalogue of Galactic bubble infrared fluxes from WISE and Herschel surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bufano, F.; Leto, P.; Carey, D.; Umana, G.; Buemi, C.; Ingallinera, A.; Bulpitt, A.; Cavallaro, F.; Riggi, S.; Trigilio, C.; Molinari, S.

2018-01-01

In this paper, we present the first extended catalogue of far-infrared fluxes of Galactic bubbles. Fluxes were estimated for 1814 bubbles, defined here as the 'golden sample', and were selected from the Milky Way Project First Data Release (Simpson et al.) The golden sample was comprised of bubbles identified within the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) dataset (using 12- and 22-μm images) and Herschel data (using 70-, 160-, 250-, 350- and 500-μm wavelength images). Flux estimation was achieved initially via classical aperture photometry and then by an alternative image analysis algorithm that used active contours. The accuracy of the two methods was tested by comparing the estimated fluxes for a sample of bubbles, made up of 126 H II regions and 43 planetary nebulae, which were identified by Anderson et al. The results of this paper demonstrate that a good agreement between the two was found. This is by far the largest and most homogeneous catalogue of infrared fluxes measured for Galactic bubbles and it is a step towards the fully automated analysis of astronomical datasets.

Determining Mass-Loss Rates of Evolved Stars in the Galactic Bulge from Infrared Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riley, Allyssa; Sargent, Benjamin A.; Srinivasan, Sundar; Meixner, Margaret; Kastner, Joel H.

2018-06-01

To investigate the relationship between mass loss from evolved stars and host galaxy metallicity, we are computing the dust mass loss budget due to red supergiant (RSG) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Galactic Bulge and comparing this result to that previously obtained for the Magellanic Clouds. We construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for our candidate RSG and AGB stars using observations from various infrared surveys, including the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE). Because Robitaille et al (2008, AJ, 136, 2413) have already identified Intrinsically Red Objects from the GLIMPSE I and II surveys, we use their method as a starting point and expand the study by using the GLIMPSE 3D survey. Because AGB stars can be variable, we also match the GLIMPSE I, II, and 3D sources to other surveys, such as DEEP GLIMPSE, WISE, VVV, and DENIS, in order to characterize the variability across the spectral energy distribution (SED) of each source. This allows us to determine the source’s average SED over multiple epochs. We use extinction curves derived from Spitzer studies of extinction in the Galaxy to determine the extinction corrections for our sample. To establish mass-loss rates of evolved stars in the Bulge, we use the Grid of Red supergiant and Asymptotic giant branch ModelS (GRAMS) of dust-enshrouded evolved stars (2011, A&A, 532, A54; 2011, ApJ, 728, 93). This allows us to determine the total mass return to the Bulge from these stars. This work has been supported by NASA ADAP grant 80NSSC17K0057.

White Dwarfs in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Data Release 9

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Leggett, S. K.; Lodieu, N.; Freytag, B.; Bergeron, P.; Kalirai, J. S.; Ludwig, H.-G.

2014-06-01

We have identified 8 to 10 new cool white dwarfs from the Large Area Survey (LAS) Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The data set was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to obtain proper motions and a broad ugrizYJHK wavelength coverage. Optical spectroscopic observations were secured at Gemini Observatory and confirm the degenerate status for eight of our targets. The final sample includes two additional white dwarf candidates with no spectroscopic observations. We rely on improved one-dimensional model atmospheres and new multi-dimensional simulations with CO5BOLD to review the stellar parameters of the published LAS white dwarf sample along with our additional discoveries. Most of the new objects possess very cool atmospheres with effective temperatures below 5000 K, including two pure-hydrogen remnants with a cooling age between 8.5 and 9.0 Gyr, and tangential velocities in the range 40 km s-1 <=v tan <= 60 km s-1. They are likely thick disk 10-11 Gyr old objects. In addition, we find a resolved double degenerate system with v tan ~ 155 km s-1 and a cooling age between 3.0 and 5.0 Gyr. These white dwarfs could be disk remnants with a very high velocity or former halo G stars. We also compare the LAS sample with earlier studies of very cool degenerates and observe a similar deficit of helium-dominated atmospheres in the range 5000 < T eff (K) < 6000. We review the possible explanations for the spectral evolution from helium-dominated toward hydrogen-rich atmospheres at low temperatures.

The Infrared Properties of Sources Matched in the WISE All-Sky and Herschel Atlas Surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, Nicholas A.; Benford, Dominic J.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Eisenhardt, Peter; Amblard, Alexandre; Temi, Pasquale; Fleuren, Simone; Blain, Andrew W.; Dunne, Loretta; Smith, Daniel J.;

The Infrared Properties of Sources Matched in the Wise All-Sky and Herschel ATLAS Surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, Nicholas A.; Benford, Dominic J.; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Amblard, Alexandre; Fleuren, Simone; Blain, Andrew W.; Dunne, Loretta; Smith, Daniel J. B.; Maddox, Steve J.; Hoyos, Carlos;

The VISTA Carina Nebula Survey. II. Spatial distribution of the infrared-excess-selected young stellar population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeidler, P.; Preibisch, T.; Ratzka, T.; Roccatagliata, V.; Petr-Gotzens, M. G.

2016-01-01

We performed a deep wide-field (6.76 sq. deg) near-infrared survey with the VISTA telescope that covers the entire extent of the Carina nebula complex (CNC). The point-source catalog created from these data contains around four million individual objects down to masses of 0.1 M⊙. We present a statistical study of the large-scale spatial distribution and an investigation of the clustering properties of infrared-excesses objects, which are used to trace disk-bearing young stellar objects (YSOs). A selection based on a near-infrared (J-H) versus (H-Ks) color-color diagram shows an almost uniform distribution over the entire observed area. We interpret this as a result of the very high degree of background contamination that arises from the Carina Nebula's location close to the Galactic plane. Complementing the VISTA near-infrared catalog with Spitzer IRAC mid-infrared photometry improves the situation of the background contamination considerably. We find that a (J-H) versus (Ks- [4.5]) color-color diagram is well suited to tracing the population of YSO-candidates (cYSOs) by their infrared excess. We identify 8781 sources with strong infrared excess, which we consider as cYSOs. This sample is used to investigate the spatial distribution of the cYSOs with a nearest-neighbor analysis. The surface density distribution of cYSOs agrees well with the shape of the clouds as seen in our Herschel far-infrared survey. The strong decline in the surface density of excess sources outside the area of the clouds supports the hypothesis that our excess-selected sample consists predominantly of cYSOs with a low level of background contamination. This analysis allows us to identify 14 groups of cYSOs outside the central area.Our results suggest that the total population of cYSOs in the CNC comprises about 164 000 objects, with a substantial fraction (~35%) located in the northern, still not well studied parts. Our cluster analysis suggests that roughly half of the cYSOs constitute a

HCN Survey of Normal Spiral, Infrared-luminous, and Ultraluminous Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yu; Solomon, Philip M.

2004-05-01

We report systematic HCN J=1-0 (and CO) observations of a sample of 53 infrared (IR) and/or CO-bright and/or luminous galaxies, including seven ultraluminous infrared galaxies, nearly 20 luminous infrared galaxies, and more than a dozen of the nearest normal spiral galaxies. This is the largest and most sensitive HCN survey of galaxies to date. All galaxies observed so far follow the tight correlation between the IR luminosity LIR and the HCN luminosity LHCN initially proposed by Solomon, Downes, & Radford, which is detailed in a companion paper. We also address here the issue of HCN excitation. There is no particularly strong correlation between LHCN and the 12 μm luminosity; in fact, of all the four IRAS bands, the 12 μm luminosity has the weakest correlation with the HCN luminosity. There is also no evidence of stronger HCN emission or a higher ratio of HCN and CO luminosities LHCN/LCO for galaxies with excess 12 μm emission. This result implies that mid-IR radiative pumping, or populating, of the J=1 level of HCN by a mid-IR vibrational transition is not important compared with the collisional excitation by dense molecular hydrogen. Furthermore, large velocity gradient calculations justify the use of HCN J=1-0 emission as a tracer of high-density molecular gas (>~3×104/τcm-3) and give an estimate of the mass of dense molecular gas from HCN observations. Therefore, LHCN may be used as a measure of the total mass of dense molecular gas, and the luminosity ratio LHCN/LCO may indicate the fraction of molecular gas that is dense.

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Observations of the Evolution of Massive Star-Forming Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koenig, X. P.; Leisawitz, D. T.; Benford, D. J.; Rebull, L. M.; Padgett, D. L.; Assef, R. J.

2011-01-01

We present the results of a mid-infrared survey of 11 outer Galaxy massive star-forming regions and 3 open clusters with data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Using a newly developed photometric scheme to identify young stellar objects and exclude extragalactic contamination, we have studied the distribution of young stars within each region. These data tend to support the hypothesis that latter generations may be triggered by the interaction of winds and radiation from the first burst of massive star formation with the molecular cloud material leftover from that earlier generation of stars.We dub this process the "fireworks hypothesis" since star formation by this mechanism would proceed rapidly and resemble a burst of fireworks.We have also analyzed small cutout WISE images of the structures around the edges of these massive star-forming regions. We observe large (1-3 pc size) pillar and trunk-like structures of diffuse emission nebulosity tracing excited polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules and small dust grains at the perimeter of the massive star-forming regions. These structures contain small clusters of emerging Class I and Class II sources, but some are forming only a single to a few new stars.

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Observations of the Evolution of Massive Star-Forming Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koenig, X. P.; Leisawitz, D. T.; Benford, D. J.; Rebull, L. M.; Padgett, D. L.; Asslef, R. J.

2012-01-01

We present the results of a mid-infrared survey of II outer Galaxy massive star-forming regions and 3 open clusters with data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Using a newly developed photometric scheme to identify young stellar objects and exclude extragalactic contamination, we have studied the distribution of young stars within each region. These data tend to support the hypothesis that latter generations may be triggered by the interaction of winds and radiation from the first burst of massive star formation with the molecular cloud material leftover from that earlier generation of stars. We dub this process the "fireworks hypothesis" since star formation by this mechanism would proceed rapidly and resemble a burst of fireworks. We have also analyzed small cutout WISE images of the structures around the edges of these massive star-forming regions. We observe large (1-3 pc size) pillar and trunk-like structures of diffuse emission nebulosity tracing excited polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules and small dust grains at the perimeter of the massive star-forming regions. These structures contain small clusters of emerging Class I and Class II sources, but some are forming only a single to a few new stars.

A Survey of Near-infrared Diffuse Interstellar Bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamano, Satochi; Kobayashi, Naoto; Kawakita, Hideyo; Ikeda, Yuji; Kondo, Sohei; Sameshima, Hiroaki; Arai, Akira; Matsunaga, Noriyuki; Yasui, Chikako; Mizumoto, Misaki; Fukue, Kei; Izumi, Natsuko; Otsubo, Shogo; Takenada, Keiichi

2018-04-01

We propose a study of interstellar molecules with near-infrared (NIR) high-resolution spectroscopy as a science case for the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT). In particular, we present the results obtained on-going survey of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) in NIR with the newly developed NIR high-resolution spectrograph WINERED, which offers a high sensitivity in the wavelength range of 0.91-1.36 µm. Using the WINERED spectrograph attached to the 1.3-m Araki telescope in Japan, we obtained high-quality spectra of a number of early-type stars in various environments, such as diffuse interstellar clouds, dark clouds and star-forming regions, to investigate the properties of NIR DIBs and constrain their carriers. As a result, we successfully identified about 50 new NIR DIBs, where only five fairly strong DIBs had been identified previously. Also, some properties of DIBs in the NIR are discussed to constrain the carriers of DIBs.

The Mission Operations System for Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinrichsen, Ingolf H.

2006-01-01

The goal of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission is to perform a highly sensitive all-sky survey in 4 wavebands from 3 to 25(mu)m. Launched on a Delta II rocket into a 500km Sun-synchronous orbit in June 2009, during its 7 months of operations, WISE will acquire about 50GBytes of raw science data every day, which will be down-linked via the TDRSS relay satellite system and processed into an astronomical catalogue and image atlas. The WISE mission operations system is being implemented in collaboration between UCLA, JPL and IPAC (Caltech). In this paper we describe the challenges to manage a high data rate, cryogenic, low earth-orbit mission; maintaining safe on-orbit operations, fast anomaly recoveries (mandated by the desire to provide complete sky coverage in a limited lifetime), production and dissemination of high quality science products, given the constraints imposed by funding profiles for small space missions.

Surveying the elements of successful infrared predictive maintenance programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snell, John R., Jr.; Spring, Robert W.

1991-03-01

This paper summarizes the results of a survey of over three hundred maintenance personnel who use imaging equipment within their company or organization. All had previously participated in one or more of our training programs. The companies took in a broad range of industry, including, among other, power generation, pulp and paper, metals, mining, petrochemical, automotive and general manufacturing. The organizations were mainly quite large, either commercial or public, and included governmental agencies, military, colleges and universities, municipalities, and utilities. Although we had a very tight time line for the survey, we were pleased to have a 15% response rate. The results show that some of the causes of success and failure in infrared programs are not unlike those associated with any type of program in an organizational structure, i.e. the need for accurate and timely communications; justification requirements; etc. Another set of problems was shared more closely with other startup maintenance technologies (for example, vibration monitoring), such as the need for trending data; providing appropriate technical training; achieving reproducible results; etc. Finally, some of the driving mechanisms are more specific to this technology, such as re-designing equipment so that it can be thermally inspected; establishing effective documentation strategies; etc.

Infrared survey of 50 buildings constructed during 100 years: thermal performances and damage conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ljungberg, Sven-Ake

1995-03-01

Different building constructions and craftsmanship give rise to different thermal performance and damage conditions. The building stock of most industrial countries consists of buildings of various age, and constructions, from old historic buildings with heavy stone or wooden construction, to new buildings with heavy or light concrete construction, or modern steel or wooden construction. In this paper the result from a detailed infrared survey of 50 buildings from six Swedish military camps is presented. The presentation is limited to a comparison of thermal performance and damage conditions of buildings of various ages, functions, and constructions, of a building period of more than 100 years. The result is expected to be relevant even to civilian buildings. Infrared surveys were performed during 1992-1993, with airborne, and mobile short- and longwave infrared systems, out- and indoor thermography. Interpretation and analysis of infrared data was performed with interactive image and analyzing systems. Field inspections were carried out with fiber optics system, and by ocular inspections. Air-exchange rate was measured in order to quantify air leakages through the building envelope, indicated in thermograms. The objects studied were single-family houses, barracks, office-, service-, school- and exercise buildings, military hotels and restaurants, aircraft hangars, and ship factory buildings. The main conclusions from this study are that most buildings from 1880 - 1940 have a solid construction with a high quality of craftsmanship, relatively good thermal performance, due to extremely thick walls, and adding insulation at the attic floor. From about 1940 - 1960 the quality of construction, thermal performance and craftsmanship seem to vary a lot. Buildings constructed during the period of 1960 - 1990 have in general the best thermal performance due to a better insulation capacity, however, also one finds here the greatest variety of problems. The result from this

Near-infrared colors of minor planets recovered from VISTA-VHS survey (MOVIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popescu, M.; Licandro, J.; Morate, D.; de León, J.; Nedelcu, D. A.; Rebolo, R.; McMahon, R. G.; Gonzalez-Solares, E.; Irwin, M.

2016-06-01

Context. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) provide information about the surface composition of about 100 000 minor planets. The resulting visible colors and albedos enabled us to group them in several major classes, which are a simplified view of the diversity shown by the few existing spectra. A large set of data in the 0.8-2.5 μm, where wide spectral features are expected, is required to refine and complement the global picture of these small bodies of the solar system. Aims: We aim to obtain the near-infrared colors for a large sample of solar system objects using the observations made during the VISTA-VHS survey. Methods: We performed a serendipitous search in VISTA-VHS observations using a pipeline developed to retrieve and process the data that corresponds to solar system objects (SSo). The resulting photometric data is analyzed using color-color plots and by comparison with the known spectral properties of asteroids. Results: The colors and the magnitudes of the minor planets observed by the VISTA survey are compiled into three catalogs that are available online: the detections catalog (MOVIS-D), the magnitudes catalog (MOVIS-M), and the colors catalog (MOVIS-C). They were built using the third data release of the survey (VISTA VHS-DR3). A total of 39 947 objects were detected, including 52 NEAs, 325 Mars Crossers, 515 Hungaria asteroids, 38 428 main-belt asteroids, 146 Cybele asteroids, 147 Hilda asteroids, 270 Trojans, 13 comets, 12 Kuiper Belt objects and Neptune with its four satellites. The colors found for asteroids with known spectral properties reveal well-defined patterns corresponding to different mineralogies. The distributions of MOVIS-C data in color-color plots shows clusters identified with different taxonomic types. All the diagrams that use (Y - J) color separate the spectral classes more effectively than the (J - H) and (H - Ks) plots used until now: even for large color errors (<0.1), the

Optical infrared sky survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Craine, E. R.

1978-01-01

A description is presented of a photographic survey of the northern sky currently underway at Steward Observatory. The survey is being conducted at a principal bandpass of 8000-9000 A supplemented by a V bandpass. The survey is the first of its type conducted using a small (20-in. aperture) wide-field telescope, a very large-format (146 mm) image intensifier with a red-extended, multialkali photocathode. The output phosphor of the intensifier is photographed with IIaD emulsion on film. One of the goals of the survey is to catalog red stellar objects on the photographs and to examine in detail regions of the sky which are obscured by hydrogen emission on conventional photographs.

Examining the infrared variable star population discovered in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the SAGE-SMC survey

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Polsdofer, Elizabeth; Marengo, M.; Seale, J.

2015-02-01

We present our study on the infrared variability of point sources in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We use the data from the Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Program “Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution in the Tidally Stripped, Low Metallicity Small Magellanic Cloud” (SAGE-SMC) and the “Spitzer Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud” (S{sup 3}MC) survey, over three different epochs, separated by several months to 3 years. Variability in the thermal infrared is identified using a combination of Spitzer’s InfraRed Array Camera 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm bands, and the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer 24 μm band. Anmore » error-weighted flux difference between each pair of three epochs (“variability index”) is used to assess the variability of each source. A visual source inspection is used to validate the photometry and image quality. Out of ∼2 million sources in the SAGE-SMC catalog, 814 meet our variability criteria. We matched the list of variable star candidates to the catalogs of SMC sources classified with other methods, available in the literature. Carbon-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars make up the majority (61%) of our variable sources, with about a third of all of our sources being classified as extreme AGB stars. We find a small, but significant population of oxygen-rich (O-rich) AGB (8.6%), Red Supergiant (2.8%), and Red Giant Branch (<1%) stars. Other matches to the literature include Cepheid variable stars (8.6%), early type stars (2.8%), Young-stellar objects (5.8%), and background galaxies (1.2%). We found a candidate OH maser star, SSTISAGE1C J005212.88-730852.8, which is a variable O-rich AGB star, and would be the first OH/IR star in the SMC, if confirmed. We measured the infrared variability of a rare RV Tau variable (a post-AGB star) that has recently left the AGB phase. 59 variable stars from our list remain unclassified.« less

Catalog of infrared observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, D. Y.; Schmitz, M.; Mead, J. M.

1982-01-01

The infrared astronomical data base and its principal data product, the catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), comprise a machine readable library of infrared (1 microns to 1000 microns astronomical observations. To date, over 1300 journal articles and 10 major survey catalogs are included in this data base, which contains about 55,000 individual observations of about 10,000 different infrared sources. Of these, some 8,000 sources are identifiable with visible objects, and about 2,000 do not have known visible counterparts.

A 1500 deg2 near infrared proper motion catalogue from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Leigh; Lucas, P. W.; Burningham, B.; Jones, H. R. A.; Smart, R. L.; Andrei, A. H.; Catalán, S.; Pinfield, D. J.

2014-02-01

The United Kingdom Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS) began in 2005, with the start of the UKIDSS programme as a 7 year effort to survey roughly 4000 deg2 at high Galactic latitudes in Y, J, H and K bands. The survey also included a significant quantity of two epoch J band observations, with an epoch baseline greater than 2 years to calculate proper motions. We present a near-infrared proper motion catalogue for the 1500 deg2 of the two epoch LAS data, which includes 135 625 stellar sources and a further 88 324 with ambiguous morphological classifications, all with motions detected above the 5σ level. We developed a custom proper motion pipeline which we describe here. Our catalogue agrees well with the proper motion data supplied for a 300 deg2 subset in the current Wide Field Camera Science Archive (WSA) 10th data release (DR10) catalogue, and in various optical catalogues, but it benefits from a larger matching radius and hence a larger upper proper motion detection limit. We provide absolute proper motions, using LAS galaxies for the relative to absolute correction. By using local second-order polynomial transformations, as opposed to linear transformations in the WSA, we correct better for any local distortions in the focal plane, not including the radial distortion that is removed by the UKIDSS pipeline. We present the results of proper motion searches for new brown dwarfs and white dwarfs. We discuss 41 sources in the WSA DR10 overlap with our catalogue with proper motions >300 mas yr-1, several of which are new detections. We present 15 new candidate ultracool dwarf binary systems.

Exploring the relationship between black hole accretion and star formation with blind mid-/far-infrared spectroscopic surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, M.; Negrello, M.; Cai, Z.-Y.; De Zotti, G.; Bressan, A.; Lapi, A.; Pozzi, F.; Gruppioni, C.; Danese, L.

2014-11-01

We present new estimates of redshift-dependent luminosity functions of IR lines detectable by SPICA/SAFARI (SPace InfraRed telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics/SpicA FAR infrared Instrument) and excited both by star formation and by AGN activity. The new estimates improve over previous work by using updated evolutionary models and dealing in a self-consistent way with emission of galaxies as a whole, including both the starburst and the AGN component. New relationships between line and AGN bolometric luminosity have been derived and those between line and IR luminosities of the starburst component have been updated. These ingredients were used to work out predictions for the source counts in 11 mid-/far-IR emission lines partially or entirely excited by AGN activity. We find that the statistics of the emission line detection of galaxies as a whole is mainly determined by the star formation rate, because of the rarity of bright AGNs. We also find that the slope of the line integral number counts is flatter than two implying that the number of detections at fixed observing time increases more by extending the survey area than by going deeper. We thus propose a wide spectroscopic survey of 1 h integration per field of view over an area of 5 deg2 to detect (at 5σ) ˜760 AGNs in [O IV]25.89 μm - the brightest AGN mid-infrared line - out to z ˜ 2. Pointed observations of strongly lensed or hyperluminous galaxies previously detected by large area surveys such as those by Herschel and by the South Pole Telescope can provide key information on the galaxy-AGN co-evolution out to higher redshifts.

Calculating Proper Motions in the WFCAM Science Archive for the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, R.; Hambly, N.

2012-09-01

The ninth data release from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Surveys (hereafter UKIDSS DR9), represents five years worth of observations by its wide-field camera (WFCAM) and will be the first to include proper motion values in its source catalogues for the shallow, wide-area surveys; the Large Area Survey (LAS), Galactic Clusters Survey (GCS) and (ultimately) Galactic Plane Survey (GPS). We, the Wide Field Astronomy Unit (WFAU) at the University of Edinburgh who prepare these regular data releases in the WFCAM Science Archive (WSA), describe in this paper how we make optimal use of the individual detection catalogues from each observation to derive high-quality astrometric fits for the positions of each detection enabling us to calculate a proper motion solution across multiple epochs and passbands when constructing a merged source catalogue. We also describe how the proper motion solutions affect the calculation of the various attributes provided in the database source catalogue tables, what measures of data quality we provide and a demonstration of the results for observations of the Pleiades cluster.

Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Slitless Spectrometer: Design, Prototype, and Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gong, Qian; Content, David; Dominguez, Margaret; Emmett, Thomas; Griesmann, Ulf; Hagopian, John; Kruk, Jeffrey; Marx, Catherine; Pasquale, Bert; Wallace, Thomas;

Detecting the highest redshift (z > 8) quasi-stellar objects in a wide, near-infrared slitless spectroscopic survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roche, Nathan; Franzetti, Paolo; Garilli, Bianca; Zamorani, Giovanni; Cimatti, Andrea; Rossetti, Emanuel

2012-02-01

We investigate the prospects of extending observations of high-redshift quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) from the current z˜ 7 to z > 8 by means of a very wide-area near-infrared slitless spectroscopic survey, considering as an example the planned survey with the European Space Agency's Euclid telescope (scheduled for a 2019 launch). For any QSOs at z > 8.06, the strong Lyman α line will enter the wavelength range of the Euclid Near-Infrared Spectometer and Imaging Photometer (NISP). We perform a detailed simulation of near infrared spectrometer and imaging photometer (Euclid) NISP slitless spectroscopy (with the parameters of the wide survey) in an artificial field containing QSO spectra at all redshifts up to z= 12 and to a faint limit H= 22.5. QSO spectra are represented with a template based on a Sloan Digital Sky Survey composite spectrum, with the added effects of absorption from neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium. The spectra extracted from the simulation are analysed with an automated redshift finder, and a detection rate estimated as a function of H magnitude and redshift (defined as the proportion of spectra with both correct redshift measurements and classifications). We show that, as expected, spectroscopic identification of QSOs would reach deeper limits for the redshift ranges where either ? (0.67 < z < 2.05) or Lyman α (z > 8.06) is visible. Furthermore, if photometrically selected z > 8 spectra can be re-examined and refitted to minimize the effects of spectral contamination, the QSO detection rate in the Lyman α window will be increased by an estimated ˜60 per cent and will then be better here than at any other redshift, with an effective limit H≃ 21.5. With an extrapolated rate of QSO evolution, we predict that the Euclid wide (15 000 ?) spectroscopic survey will identify and measure spectroscopic redshifts for a total of 20-35 QSOs at z > 8.06 (reduced slightly to 19-33 if we apply a small correction for missed weak-lined QSOs

Large Magellanic Cloud Near-infrared Synoptic Survey. IV. Leavitt Laws for Type II Cepheid Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhardwaj, Anupam; Macri, Lucas M.; Rejkuba, Marina; Kanbur, Shashi M.; Ngeow, Chow-Choong; Singh, Harinder P.

2017-04-01

We present time-series observations of Population II Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud at near-infrared (JHK s ) wavelengths. Our sample consists of 81 variables with accurate periods and optical (VI) magnitudes from the OGLE survey, covering various subtypes of pulsators (BL Herculis, W Virginis, and RV Tauri). We generate light-curve templates using high-quality I-band data in the LMC from OGLE and K s -band data in the Galactic bulge from VISTA Variables in Via Láctea survey and use them to obtain robust mean magnitudes. We derive period-luminosity (P-L) relations in the near-infrared and Period-Wesenheit (P-W) relations by combining optical and near-infrared data. Our P-L and P-W relations are consistent with published work when excluding long-period RV Tauris. We find that Pop II Cepheids and RR Lyraes follow the same P-L relations in the LMC. Therefore, we use trigonometric parallax from the Gaia DR1 for VY Pyx and the Hubble Space Telescope parallaxes for k Pav and 5 RR Lyrae variables to obtain an absolute calibration of the Galactic K s -band P-L relation, resulting in a distance modulus to the LMC of {μ }{LMC}=18.54+/- 0.08 mag. We update the mean magnitudes of Pop II Cepheids in Galactic globular clusters using our light-curve templates and obtain distance estimates to those systems, anchored to a precise late-type eclipsing binary distance to the LMC. We find that the distances to these globular clusters based on Pop II Cepheids are consistent (within 2σ ) with estimates based on the {M}V-[{Fe}/{{H}}] relation for horizontal branch stars.

The Next Generation of Infrared Views

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-17

The image on the left shows an infrared view of the center of our Milky Way galaxy as seen by the 1983 Infrared Astronomical Satellite, which surveyed the whole sky with only 62 pixels. The image on the right shows an infrared view similar to what NASA

The Kepler and K2 Near-Infrared Transit Survey (KNITS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colon, Knicole; Rodriguez, Joseph E.; Barentsen, Geert; Cardoso, Jose Vinicius de Miranda; Vanderburg, Andrew

2018-01-01

NASA's Kepler mission discovered a plethora of transiting exoplanets after observing a single region of the Galaxy for four years. After a second reaction wheel failed, NASA's Kepler spacecraft was repurposed as K2 to observe different fields along the ecliptic in ~80 day campaigns. To date, K2 has discovered ~130 exoplanets along with another ~400 candidates. The exoplanets that have been confirmed or validated from Kepler and K2 have been primarily subject to spectroscopic observations, high-resolution imaging, or statistical methods. However, most of these, along with all the remaining candidate exoplanets, have had no follow-up transit photometry. In addition, recent studies have shown that for single-planet systems, statistical validation alone can be unreliable and additional follow-up observations are required to reveal the true nature of the system. I will present the latest results from an ongoing program to use the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory for near-infrared transit photometry of Kepler and K2 exoplanets and candidates. Our program of high-precision, high-cadence, high-spatial-resolution near-infrared transit photometry is providing new measurements of the transit ephemerides and planetary radii as well as weeding out false positives lurking within the candidate lists. To date, 25 K2 and 5 Kepler targets have been observed with WIYN. I will also describe upcoming observations with WIYN that will take place in January 2018 as part of a campaign to observe exoplanet transits in the near-infrared simultaneously with the Kepler spacecraft during K2 Campaign 16. Our program ultimately provides a vetted sample of exoplanets that could be targeted in the future by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and also demonstrates WIYN’s capabilities for observations of exoplanets to be discovered by NASA's all-sky Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).Data presented herein were obtained at the WIYN Observatory from

THE TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA RATE IN RADIO AND INFRARED GALAXIES FROM THE CANADA-FRANCE-HAWAII TELESCOPE SUPERNOVA LEGACY SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Graham, M. L.; Pritchet, C. J.; Balam, D.

2010-02-15

We have combined the large SN Ia database of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Supernova Legacy Survey and catalogs of galaxies with photometric redshifts, Very Large Array 1.4 GHz radio sources, and Spitzer infrared sources. We present eight SNe Ia in early-type host galaxies which have counterparts in the radio and infrared source catalogs. We find the SN Ia rate in subsets of radio and infrared early-type galaxies is {approx}1-5 times the rate in all early-type galaxies, and that any enhancement is always {approx}<2{sigma}. Rates in these subsets are consistent with predictions of the two-component 'A+B' SN Ia rate model. Since infraredmore » properties of radio SN Ia hosts indicate dust-obscured star formation, we incorporate infrared star formation rates into the 'A+B' model. We also show the properties of SNe Ia in radio and infrared galaxies suggest the hosts contain dust and support a continuum of delay time distributions (DTDs) for SNe Ia, although other DTDs cannot be ruled out based on our data.« less

A deep near-infrared spectroscopic survey of the Scutum-Crux arm for Wolf-Rayet stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosslowe, C. K.; Crowther, Paul A.

2018-01-01

We present a New Technology Telescope/Son-of-Isaac spectroscopic survey of infrared selected Wolf-Rayet (WR) candidates in the Scutum-Crux spiral arm (298° ≤ l ≤ 340°, |b| ≤ 0.5°. We obtained near-IR spectra of 127 candidates, revealing 17 WR stars - a ∼13 per cent success rate - of which 16 are newly identified here. The majority of the new WR stars are classified as narrow-lined WN5-7 stars, with two broad-lined WN4-6 stars and three WC6-8 stars. The new stars, with distances estimated from previous absolute magnitude calibrations, have no obvious association with the Scutum-Crux arm. Refined near-infrared (YHJK) classification criteria based on over a hundred Galactic and Magellanic Cloud WR stars, providing diagnostics for hydrogen in WN stars, plus the identification of WO stars and intermediate WN/C stars. Finally, we find that only a quarter of WR stars in the survey region are associated with star clusters and/or H II regions, with similar statistics found for luminous blue variables (LBVs) in the Milky Way. The relative isolation of evolved massive stars is discussed, together with the significance of the co-location of LBVs and WR stars in young star clusters.

Exploring the early dust-obscured phase of galaxy formation with blind mid-/far-infrared spectroscopic surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, M.; Negrello, M.; Cai, Z.-Y.; De Zotti, G.; Bressan, A.; Lapi, A.; Gruppioni, C.; Spinoglio, L.; Danese, L.

2014-03-01

While continuum imaging data at far-infrared to submillimetre wavelengths have provided tight constraints on the population properties of dusty star-forming galaxies up to high redshifts, future space missions like the Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) and ground-based facilities like the Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope (CCAT) will allow detailed investigations of their physical properties via their mid-/far-infrared line emission. We present updated predictions for the number counts and the redshift distributions of star-forming galaxies spectroscopically detectable by these future missions. These predictions exploit a recent upgrade of evolutionary models, that include the effect of strong gravitational lensing, in the light of the most recent Herschel and South Pole Telescope data. Moreover the relations between line and continuum infrared luminosity are re-assessed, considering also differences among source populations, with the support of extensive simulations that take into account dust obscuration. The derived line luminosity functions are found to be highly sensitive to the spread of the line to continuum luminosity ratios. Estimates of the expected numbers of detections per spectral line by SPICA/SpicA FAR-infrared Instrument (SAFARI) and by CCAT surveys for different integration times per field of view at fixed total observing time are presented. Comparing with the earlier estimates by Spinoglio et al. we find, in the case of SPICA/SAFARI, differences within a factor of 2 in most cases, but occasionally much larger. More substantial differences are found for CCAT.

Infrared Telescopes Spy Small, Dark Asteroids

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-09-29

This chart based on data from NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer illustrates why infrared-sensing telescopes are more suited to finding small, dark asteroids than telescopes that detect visible light.

The ISOPHOT 170 μm Serendipity Survey. IV. The far-infrared sky atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stickel, M.; Krause, O.; Klaas, U.; Lemke, D.

2007-05-01

Aims:To further increase the scientific utilization of the strip scanning measurements of the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey (ISOSS), the slew data has been assembled to a sky atlas with ≈15% sky coverage in the hitherto unobserved far-infrared wavelength band around 170 μm. Methods: The redundant information of the brightnesses at slew crossings has been used to globally rescale and homogenize the slew brightnesses, leading to significantly increased photometric accuracy and reproducibility as well as the homogeneity of the maps. The corrected slew data were mapped with a constant grid size of 22.4 arcsec and are presented in 124 maps in galactic coordinates. Results: The collection of image plates represents the ISOSS Sky Atlas, which will become available from major data archives. Exemplary scientific results are described, which show the scientific potential of the data set combined with far-infrared imaging data from previous and upcoming missions. Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA. Members of the Consortium on the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey (CISS) are MPIA Heidelberg, ESAC Villafranca, AIP Potsdam, IPAC Pasadena, Imperial College London. Image files (FITS files) are available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/466/1205 and the ISO Data Archive www.iso.vilspa.esa.es/

The van Gogh of the Infrared Sky

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-25

NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is a little like the Vincent van Gogh of the infrared sky, providing the world with picturesque images of the cosmos by representing infrared light through color. This image is the nebula NGC 2174.

The First Hundred Brown Dwarfs Discovered by the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Cushing, Michael C.; Gelino, Christopher R.; Griffith, Roger L.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; Wright, Edward L.; Mainzer, Amanda K.; Eisenhardt, Peter R.; McLean, Ian S.;

Mapping the Infrared Sky Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-17

This artist conception shows NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mapping the whole sky in infrared. The mission will unveil hundreds of thousands of asteroids, and hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies.

Managing the Development of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Irace, William; Cutri, Roc; Duval, Valerie; Eisenhardt, Peter; Elwell, John; Greanias, George; Heinrichsen, Ingolf; Howard, Joan; Liu, Feng-Chuan; Royer, Donald;

DA white dwarfs in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 and a search for infrared excess emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girven, J.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Steeghs, D.; Koester, D.

2011-10-01

We present a method which uses colour-colour cuts on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry to select white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich (DA) atmospheres without the recourse to spectroscopy. This method results in a sample of DA white dwarfs that is 95 per cent complete at an efficiency of returning a true DA white dwarf of 62 per cent. The approach was applied to SDSS Data Release 7 for objects with and without SDSS spectroscopy. This led to 4636 spectroscopicially confirmed DA white dwarfs with g≤ 19; a ˜70 per cent increase compared to Eisenstein et al.'s 2006 sample. Including the photometric-only objects, we estimate a factor of 3 increase in DA white dwarfs. We find that the SDSS spectroscopic follow-up is 44 per cent complete for DA white dwarfs with Teff≳ 8000 K. We further cross-correlated the SDSS sample with Data Release 8 of the UKIRT (United Kingdom Infrared Telescope) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey. The spectral energy distributions (SED) of both subsets, with and without SDSS spectroscopy, were fitted with white dwarf models to determine the fraction of DA white dwarfs with low-mass stellar companions or dusty debris discs via the detection of excess near-infrared emission. From the spectroscopic sample we find that 2.0 per cent of white dwarfs have an excess consistent with a brown dwarf type companion, with a firm lower limit of 0.8 per cent. From the white dwarfs with photometry only, we find that 1.8 per cent are candidates for having brown dwarf companions. Similarly, both samples show that ˜1 per cent of white dwarfs are candidates for having a dusty debris disc.

Quantitative evaluation of water bodies dynamic by means of thermal infrared and multispectral surveys on the Venetian lagoon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alberotanza, L.; Lechi, G. M.

1977-01-01

Surveys employing a two channel Daedalus infrared scanner and multispectral photography were performed. The spring waning tide, the velocity of the water mass, and the types of suspended matter were among the topics studied. Temperature, salinity, sediment transport, and ebb stream velocity were recorded. The bottom topography was correlated with the dynamic characteristics of the sea surface.

The Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sick, Jonathan

The spectral energy distributions of galaxies inform us about a galaxy's stellar populations and interstellar medium, revealing stories of galaxy formation and evolution. How we interpret this light depends in part on our proximity to the galaxy. For nearby galaxies, detailed star formation histories can be extracted from the resolved stellar populations, while more distant galaxies feature the contributions of entire stellar populations within their integrated spectral energy distribution (SED). This thesis aims to resolve whether the techniques used to investigate stellar populations in distant galaxies are consistent with those available for nearby galaxies. As the nearest spiral galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the ideal testbed for the joint study of resolved stellar populations and panchromatic SEDs. We present the Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey (ANDROIDS), which adds new near-UV to near-IR (u*g'r'i'JKs) imaging using the MegaCam and WIRCam cameras at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope to the available M31 panchromatic dataset. To accurately subtract photometric background from our extremely wide-field (14 square degree) mosaics, we present observing and data reduction techniques with sky-target nodding, optimization of image-to-image surface brightness, and a novel hierarchical Bayesian model to trace the background signal while modelling the astrophysical SED. We model the spectral energy distributions of M31 pixels with MAGPHYS (da Cunha et al. 2008) and compare those results to resolved stellar population models of the same pixels from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey (Williams et al. 2017). We find substantial (0.3 dex) differences in stellar mass estimates despite a common use of the Chabrier (2003) initial mass function. Stellar mass estimated from the resolved stellar population is larger than any mass estimate from SED models or colour-M/L relations (CMLRs). There is also considerable diversity among CMLR

THE TAIWAN ECDFS NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY: VERY BRIGHT END OF THE LUMINOSITY FUNCTION AT z > 7

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsieh, Bau-Ching; Wang, Wei-Hao; Lin, Lihwai

2012-04-10

The primary goal of the Taiwan ECDFS Near-Infrared Survey (TENIS) is to find well-screened galaxy candidates at z > 7 (z' dropout) in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (ECDFS). To this end, TENIS provides relatively deep J and K{sub s} data ({approx}25.3 ABmag, 5{sigma}) for an area of 0.5 Multiplication-Sign 0.5 deg. Leveraged with existing data at mid-infrared to optical wavelengths, this allows us to screen for the most luminous high-z objects, which are rare and thus require a survey over a large field to be found. We introduce new color selection criteria to select a z > 7 samplemore » with minimal contaminations from low-z galaxies and Galactic cool stars; to reduce confusion in the relatively low angular resolution Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) images, we introduce a novel deconvolution method to measure the IRAC fluxes of individual sources. Illustrating perhaps the effectiveness at which we screen out interlopers, we find only one z > 7 candidate, TENIS-ZD1. The candidate has a weighted z{sub phot} of 7.8, and its colors and luminosity indicate a young (45M years old) starburst galaxy with a stellar mass of 3.2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} M{sub Sun }. The result matches with the observational luminosity function analysis and the semianalytic simulation result based on the Millennium Simulations, which may over predict the volume density for high-z massive galaxies. The existence of TENIS-ZD1, if confirmed spectroscopically to be at z > 7, therefore poses a challenge to current theoretical models for how so much mass can accumulate in a galaxy at such a high redshift.« less

Predictions for imaging and spectroscopic surveys of galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei in the mid-/far-Infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, Matteo

2015-02-01

While continuum imaging data at far-infrared to sub-millimeter wavelengths have provided tight constraints on the population properties of dusty star-forming galaxies up to high redshifts, future space missions like the Space Infra-Red Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) and ground based facilities like the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope (CCAT) will allow detailed investigations of their physical properties via their mid-/far-infrared line emission. The goal of this thesis project was to carry out predictions for these spectroscopic surveys using both a phenomenological approach and physically grounded models. These predictions are useful to optimize the planning of the surveys. In the first part of the work, I present updated predictions for the number counts and the redshift distributions of star-forming galaxies spectroscopically detectable by these future missions. These predictions exploit a recent upgrade of evolutionary models, that includes the effect of strong gravitational lensing, in the light of the most recent Herschel and South Pole Telescope (SPT) data. Moreover the relations between line and continuum infrared luminosity are re-assessed, considering also differences among source populations, with the support of extensive simulations that take into account dust obscuration. My reference model for the redshift dependent IR luminosity functions is the one worked out by Cai et al. (2013) based on a comprehensive hybrid approach combining a physical model for the progenitors of early-type galaxies with a phenomenological one for late-type galaxies. The derived line luminosity functions are found to be highly sensitive to the spread of the line to continuum luminosity ratios. Estimates of the expected numbers of detections per spectral line by the SpicA FAR infrared Instrument (SAFARI) and by CCAT surveys for different integration times per field of view at fixed total observing

Low-Resolution Near-infrared Stellar Spectra Observed by the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Min Gyu; Lee, Hyung Mok; Arai, Toshiaki; Bock, James; Cooray, Asantha; Jeong, Woong-Seob; Kim, Seong Jin; Korngut, Phillip; Lanz, Alicia; Lee, Dae Hee; Lee, Myung Gyoon; Matsumoto, Toshio; Matsuura, Shuji; Nam, Uk Won; Onishi, Yosuke; Shirahata, Mai; Smidt, Joseph; Tsumura, Kohji; Yamamura, Issei; Zemcov, Michael

2017-02-01

We present near-infrared (0.8-1.8 μm) spectra of 105 bright ({m}J < 10) stars observed with the low-resolution spectrometer on the rocket-borne Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment. As our observations are performed above the Earth's atmosphere, our spectra are free from telluric contamination, which makes them a unique resource for near-infrared spectral calibration. Two-Micron All-Sky Survey photometry information is used to identify cross-matched stars after reduction and extraction of the spectra. We identify the spectral types of the observed stars by comparing them with spectral templates from the Infrared Telescope Facility library. All the observed spectra are consistent with late F to M stellar spectral types, and we identify various infrared absorption lines.

Infrared astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillett, Frederick; Houck, James; Bally, John; Becklin, Eric; Brown, Robert Hamilton; Draine, Bruce; Frogel, Jay; Gatley, Ian; Gehrz, Robert; Hildebrand, Roger

1991-01-01

The decade of 1990's presents an opportunity to address fundamental astrophysical issues through observations at IR wavelengths made possible by technological and scientific advances during the last decade. The major elements of recommended program are: the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and the IR Optimized 8-m Telescope (IRO), a detector and instrumentation program, the SubMilliMeter Mission (SMMM), the 2 Microns All Sky Survey (2MASS), a sound infrastructure, and technology development programs. Also presented are: perspective, science opportunities, technical overview, project recommendations, future directions, and infrastructure.

Temperature, Pressure, and Infrared Image Survey of an Axisymmetric Heated Exhaust Plume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Edward L.; Mahan, J. Robert; Birckelbaw, Larry D.; Turk, Jeffrey A.; Wardwell, Douglas A.; Hange, Craig E.

1996-01-01

The focus of this research is to numerically predict an infrared image of a jet engine exhaust plume, given field variables such as temperature, pressure, and exhaust plume constituents as a function of spatial position within the plume, and to compare this predicted image directly with measured data. This work is motivated by the need to validate computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes through infrared imaging. The technique of reducing the three-dimensional field variable domain to a two-dimensional infrared image invokes the use of an inverse Monte Carlo ray trace algorithm and an infrared band model for exhaust gases. This report describes an experiment in which the above-mentioned field variables were carefully measured. Results from this experiment, namely tables of measured temperature and pressure data, as well as measured infrared images, are given. The inverse Monte Carlo ray trace technique is described. Finally, experimentally obtained infrared images are directly compared to infrared images predicted from the measured field variables.

The review on infrared image restoration techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Sijian; Fan, Xiang; Zhu, Bin Cheng; Zheng, Dong

2016-11-01

The goal of infrared image restoration is to reconstruct an original scene from a degraded observation. The restoration process in the application of infrared wavelengths, however, still has numerous research possibilities. In order to give people a comprehensive knowledge of infrared image restoration, the degradation factors divided into two major categories of noise and blur. Many kinds of infrared image restoration method were overviewed. Mathematical background and theoretical basis of infrared image restoration technology, and the limitations or insufficiency of existing methods were discussed. After the survey, the direction and prospects of infrared image restoration technology for the future development were forecast and put forward.

Can reliable sage-grouse lek counts be obtained using aerial infrared technology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gillette, Gifford L.; Coates, Peter S.; Petersen, Steven; Romero, John P.

2013-01-01

More effective methods for counting greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are needed to better assess population trends through enumeration or location of new leks. We describe an aerial infrared technique for conducting sage-grouse lek counts and compare this method with conventional ground-based lek count methods. During the breeding period in 2010 and 2011, we surveyed leks from fixed-winged aircraft using cryogenically cooled mid-wave infrared cameras and surveyed the same leks on the same day from the ground following a standard lek count protocol. We did not detect significant differences in lek counts between surveying techniques. These findings suggest that using a cryogenically cooled mid-wave infrared camera from an aerial platform to conduct lek surveys is an effective alternative technique to conventional ground-based methods, but further research is needed. We discuss multiple advantages to aerial infrared surveys, including counting in remote areas, representing greater spatial variation, and increasing the number of counted leks per season. Aerial infrared lek counts may be a valuable wildlife management tool that releases time and resources for other conservation efforts. Opportunities exist for wildlife professionals to refine and apply aerial infrared techniques to wildlife monitoring programs because of the increasing reliability and affordability of this technology.

Extreme infrared variables from UKIDSS - II. An end-of-survey catalogue of eruptive YSOs and unusual stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, P. W.; Smith, L. C.; Contreras Peña, C.; Froebrich, D.; Drew, J. E.; Kumar, M. S. N.; Borissova, J.; Minniti, D.; Kurtev, R.; Monguió, M.

2017-12-01

We present a catalogue of 618 high-amplitude infrared variable stars (1 < ΔK < 5 mag) detected by the two widely separated epochs of 2.2 μm data in the UKIDSS Galactic plane survey, from searches covering ∼1470 deg2. Most were discovered by a search of all fields at 30 < l < 230°. Sources include new dusty Mira variables, three new cataclysmic variable candidates, a blazar and a peculiar source that may be an interacting binary system. However, ∼60 per cent are young stellar obbjects (YSOs), based on spatial association with star-forming regions at distances ranging from 300 pc to over 10 kpc. This confirms our initial result in Contreras Peña et al. (Paper I) that YSOs dominate the high-amplitude infrared variable sky in the Galactic disc. It is also supported by recently published VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) results at 295 < l < 350°. The spectral energy distributions of the YSOs indicate class I or flat-spectrum systems in most cases, as in the VVV sample. A large number of variable YSOs are associated with the Cygnus X complex and other groups are associated with the North America/Pelican nebula, the Gemini OB1 molecular cloud, the Rosette complex, the Cone nebula, the W51 star-forming region and the S86 and S236 H II regions. Most of the YSO variability is likely due to variable/episodic accretion on time-scales of years, albeit usually less extreme than classical FUors and EXors. Luminosities at the 2010 Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer epoch range from ∼0.1 to 103 L⊙ but only rarely exceed 102.5 L⊙.

The fraction and mid-infrared properties of broad absorption line quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Xingting

2014-02-01

We present the results of a study which uses a sample of 1822 Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars with reliable Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) detections in the redshift range 1.7≤ z≤4.38 to investigate the mid-infrared fraction of broad absorption line (BAL) quasars. The BAL quasars in the sample include both high-ionization BAL (HiBAL) quasars that show broad absorption from C iv and low-ionization BAL (LoBAL) quasars that show additional broad absorption from Mg ii. The fraction of C iv BAL quasars with nonzero absorption index (AI) is found to be 38.7±1.2 %, in good agreement with that derived for the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) sample. The C iv BAL quasar fractions remain constant with magnitude in the WISE 3.4 μm (W1) and 4.6 μm (W2) bands, and increase rapidly with decreasing magnitude in the WISE 12 μm (W3) and 22 μm (W4) bands. The nonzero AI fraction of 44.5±2.1 % determined in the WISE W4 band is more likely to represent the intrinsic BAL quasar fraction. No evidence that the fraction is a strong function of redshift is found. At 1.7≤ z≤2.15, the overall mid-infrared LoBAL fraction is and the fractions increase significantly with decreasing magnitude in all four of WISE bands. Moreover, it is found that the mean optical-to-WISE colors of BAL quasars are ≃0.2 mag redder than that of non-BAL quasars, while the traditional (nonzero balnicity) BAL quasars are redder than the nontraditional BAL quasars by ≃0.15 mag, which suggest a continuum of more reddening from non-BAL to nontraditional BAL to traditional BAL. No evidence that nontraditional BALs are a distinct class from traditional BALs is found. Finally, it is shown that the mean optical-to-WISE colors of LoBALs are ≃0.4 mag redder than that of HiBALs at 1.7≤ z≤2.15.

Far-infrared Properties of Infrared-bright Dust-obscured Galaxies Selected with IRAS and AKARI Far-infrared All-sky Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toba, Yoshiki; Nagao, Tohru; Wang, Wei-Hao; Matsuhara, Hideo; Akiyama, Masayuki; Goto, Tomotsugu; Koyama, Yusei; Ohyama, Youich; Yamamura, Issei

2017-05-01

We investigate the star-forming activity of a sample of infrared (IR)-bright dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) that show an extreme red color in the optical and IR regime, {(I-[22])}{AB}> 7.0. Combining an IR-bright DOG sample with the flux at 22 μm > 3.8 mJy discovered by Toba & Nagao with the IRAS faint source catalog version 2 and AKARI far-IR (FIR) all-sky survey bright source catalog version 2, we selected 109 DOGs with FIR data. For a subsample of seven IR-bright DOGs with spectroscopic redshifts (0.07< z< 1.0) that were obtained from the literature, we estimated their IR luminosity, star formation rate (SFR), and stellar mass based on the spectral energy distribution fitting. We found that (1) the WISE 22 μm luminosity at the observed frame is a good indicator of IR luminosity for IR-bright DOGs and (2) the contribution of the active galactic nucleus to IR luminosity increases with IR luminosity. By comparing the stellar mass and SFR relation for our DOG sample and the literature, we found that most of the IR-bright DOGs lie significantly above the main sequence of star-forming galaxies at similar redshift, indicating that the majority of IRAS- or AKARI-detected IR-bright DOGs are starburst galaxies.

Measuring Low Mass Galaxies In The WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallels Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colbert, James; Teplitz, Harry; Scarlata, Claudia; Siana, Brian; Malkan, Matt; McCarthy, Patrick; Henry, Alaina; Atek, Hakim; Fosbury, Robert; Ross, Nathanial; Hathi, Nimish; Bridge, Carrie; Bunker, Andrew; Dressler, Alan; Shim, Hyunjin; Bedregal, Alejandro; Dominguez, Alberto; Rafelski, Marc; Masters, Dan; Martin, Crystal; Dai, Sophia

2015-10-01

The WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallel (WISP) Survey uses over 1800 HST orbits to study galaxy evolution over a majority of cosmic history. Its slitless grism spectroscopy over a wide, continuous spectral range (0.8-1.7 micron) provides an unbiased selection of thousands of emission line galaxies over 0.5 < z < 2.5. Hundreds of these galaxies are detected in multiple emission lines, allowing for important diagnostics of metallicity and dust extinction. We propose deep 3.6 micron imaging (5 sigma, 0.9 micro-Jy) of 60 of the deepest WISP fields observed with the combination of G102+G141 grisms, in order to detect emission-line galaxies down to 0.1 L* and masses below 10^8 Mo. Combined with our HST optical and near-IR photometry, these IRAC data will be critical to determining accurate stellar masses for both passive and active galaxies in our survey. We will determine the evolution of the faint end slope of the stellar mass function and the mass-metallicity relation down to low-mass galaxies. The addition of the IRAC photometry will also provide much stronger constraints on dust extinction and star formation history, especially when combined with information available from the emission lines themselves.

Wide Field Infra-Red Survey Telescope (WFIRST) 2.4-Meter Mission Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Content, D.; Aaron, K.; Alplanalp, L.; Anderson, K.; Capps, R.; Chang, Z.; Dooley, J.; Egerman, R.; Goullioud, R.; Klein, D.;

Ultraluminous infrared galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, D. B.; Soifer, B. T.; Neugebauer, G.; Scoville, N. Z.; Madore, B. F.; Danielson, G. E.; Elias, J. H.; Matthews, K.; Persson, C. J.; Persson, S. E.

1987-01-01

The IRAS survey of the local universe has revealed the existence of a class of ultraluminous infrared galaxies with L(8 to 1000 micrometer) greater than 10 to the 12th L sub 0 that are slightly more numerous, and as luminous as optically selected quasars at similar redshift. Optical CCD images of these infrared galaxies show that nearly all are advanced mergers. Millimeter wave CO observations indicate that these interacting systems are extremely rich in molecular gas with total H2 masses 1 to 3 x 10 to the 10th power M sub 0. Nearly all of the ultraluminous infrared galaxies show some evidence in their optical spectra for nonthermal nuclear activity. It is proposed that their infrared luminosity is powered by an embedded active nucleus and a nuclear starburst both of which are fueled by the tremendous reservoir of molecular gas. Once these merger nuclei shed their obscuring dust, allowing the AGN to visually dominate the decaying starburst, they become the optically selected quasars.

LUMINOUS AND HIGH STELLAR MASS CANDIDATE GALAXIES AT z Almost-Equal-To 8 DISCOVERED IN THE COSMIC ASSEMBLY NEAR-INFRARED DEEP EXTRAGALACTIC LEGACY SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yan Haojing; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Huang, Kuang-Han

One key goal of the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey is to track galaxy evolution back to z Almost-Equal-To 8. Its two-tiered ''wide and deep'' strategy bridges significant gaps in existing near-infrared surveys. Here we report on z Almost-Equal-To 8 galaxy candidates selected as F105W-band dropouts in one of its deep fields, which covers 50.1 arcmin{sup 2} to 4 ks depth in each of three near-infrared bands in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey southern field. Two of our candidates have J < 26.2 mag, and are >1 mag brighter than any previously known F105W-dropouts.more » We derive constraints on the bright end of the rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity function of galaxies at z Almost-Equal-To 8, and show that the number density of such very bright objects is higher than expected from the previous Schechter luminosity function estimates at this redshift. Another two candidates are securely detected in Spitzer Infrared Array Camera images, which are the first such individual detections at z Almost-Equal-To 8. Their derived stellar masses are on the order of a few Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 9} M{sub Sun }, from which we obtain the first measurement of the high-mass end of the galaxy stellar mass function at z Almost-Equal-To 8. The high number density of very luminous and very massive galaxies at z Almost-Equal-To 8, if real, could imply a large stellar-to-halo mass ratio and an efficient conversion of baryons to stars at such an early time.« less

A Cross-Sectional Survey of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Use in Pediatric Cardiac ICUs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

PubMed

Hoskote, Aparna U; Tume, Lyvonne N; Trieschmann, Uwe; Menzel, Christoph; Cogo, Paola; Brown, Katherine L; Broadhead, Michael W

2016-01-01

Despite the increasing use of near-infrared spectroscopy across pediatric cardiac ICUs, there is significant variability and equipoise with no universally accepted management algorithms. We aimed to explore the use of near-infrared spectroscopy in pediatric cardiac ICUs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and Germany. A cross-sectional multicenter, multinational electronic survey of one consultant in each pediatric cardiac ICU. Pediatric cardiac ICUs in the United Kingdom and Ireland (n = 13), Italy (n = 12), and Germany (n = 33). Questionnaire targeted to establish use, targets, protocols/thresholds for intervention, and perceived usefulness of near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring. Overall, 42 of 58 pediatric cardiac ICUs (72%) responded: United Kingdom and Ireland, 11 of 13 (84.6%); Italy, 12 of 12 (100%); and Germany, 19 of 33 (57%, included all major centers). Near-infrared spectroscopy usage varied with 35% (15/42) reporting that near-infrared spectroscopy was not used at all (7/42) or occasionally (8/42); near-infrared spectroscopy use was much less common in the United Kingdom (46%) when compared with 78% in Germany and all (100%) in Italy. Only four units had a near-infrared spectroscopy protocol, and 18 specifically used near-infrared spectroscopy in high-risk patients; 37 respondents believed that near-infrared spectroscopy added value to standard monitoring and 23 believed that it gave an earlier indication of deterioration, but only 19 would respond based on near-infrared spectroscopy data alone. Targets for absolute values and critical thresholds for intervention varied widely between units. The reasons cited for not or occasionally using near-infrared spectroscopy were expense (n = 6), limited evidence and uncertainty on how it guides management (n = 4), difficulty in interpretation, and unreliability of data (n = 3). Amongst the regular or occasional near-infrared spectroscopy users (n = 35), 28 (66%) agreed that a multicenter study is warranted

New SPIRITS discoveries of Infrared Transients and Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jencson, J. E.; Kasliwal, M. M.; Adams, S.; Cook, D.; Tinyanont, S.; Kwan, S.; Prince, T.; Lau, R. M.; Perley, D.; Masci, F.; Helou, G.; Armus, L.; Surace, J.; Dyk, S. D. Van; Cody, A.; Boyer, M. L.; Bond, H. E.; Monson, A.; Bally, J.; Khan, R.; Levesque, E.; Fox, O.; Williams, R.; Whitelock, P. A.; Mohamed, S.; Gehrz, R. D.; Amodeo, S.; Shenoy, D.; Carlon, R.; Cass, A.; Corgan, D.; Dykhoff, D.; Faella, J.; Gburek, T.; Smith, N.; Cantiello, M.; Langer, N.; Ofek, E.; Johansson, J.; Parthasarathy, M.; Hsiao, E.; Phillips, M.; Morrell, N.; Gonzalez, C.; Contreras, C.

2017-10-01

We report the discoveries of mid-infrared transients/strong variables found in the course of the Spitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) using Spitzer Early Release Data (ATel #6644, #7929, #8688, #8940, #9434, #10171, #10172, #10488).

The Star Formation Reference Survey - II. Activity demographics and host-galaxy properties for infrared-selected galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maragkoudakis, A.; Zezas, A.; Ashby, M. L. N.; Willner, S. P.

2018-04-01

We present activity demographics and host-galaxy properties of infrared-selected galaxies in the local Universe, using the representative Star Formation Reference Survey (SFRS). Our classification scheme is based on a combination of optical emission-line diagrams (BPT) and infrared (IR)-colour diagnostics. Using the weights assigned to the SFRS galaxies based on its parent sample, a far-IR-selected sample comprises 71 per cent H II galaxies, 13 per cent Seyferts, 3 per cent transition objects (TOs), and 13 per cent low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs). For the SFRS H II galaxies, we derive nuclear star formation rates and gas-phase metallicities. We measure host-galaxy metallicities for all galaxies with available long-slit spectroscopy and abundance gradients for a subset of 12 face-on galaxies. The majority of H II galaxies show a narrow range of metallicities, close to solar, and flat metallicity profiles. Based on their host-galaxy and nuclear properties, the dominant ionizing source in the far-infrared selected TOs is star-forming activity. LINERs are found mostly in massive hosts (median of 1010.5 M⊙), median L(60 μm) = 109 L⊙, median dust temperatures of F60/F100 = 0.36, and median LH α surface density of 1040.2 erg s-1kpc-2, indicating older stellar populations as their main ionizing source rather than active galactic nucleus activity.

The establishment and use of the point source catalog database of the 2MASS near infrared survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Y. F.; Shan, H. G.; Cheng, D.

2003-02-01

The 2MASS near infrared survey project is introduced briefly. The 2MASS point sources catalog (2MASS PSC) database and the network query system are established by using the PHP Hypertext Preprocessor and MySQL database server. By using the system, one can not only query information of sources listed in the catalog, but also draw the plots related. Moreover, after the 2MASS data are diagnosed , some research fields which can be benefited from this database are suggested.

The Two Micron All Sky Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kleinmann, S. G.; Lysaght, M. G.; Pughe, W. L.; Schneider, S. E.; Skrutskie, M. F.; Weinberg, M. D.; Price, S. D.; Matthews, K.; Soifer, B. T.; Huchra, J. P.

1994-01-01

The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) will provide a uniform survey of the entire sky at three near-infrared wavebands: J(lambda(sub eff) = 1.25 micrometers), H(lambda(sub eff) = 1.65 micrometers), and K(sub s)(lambda(sub eff) = 2.16 micrometers). A major goal of the survey is to probe large scale structures in the Milky Way and in the Local Universe, exploiting the relatively high transparency of the interstellar medium in the near-infrared, and the high near-infrared luminosities of evolved low- and intermediate-mass stars. A sensitive overview of the near-infrared sky is also an essential next step to maximize the gains achievable with infrared array technology. Our assessment of the astrophysical questions that might be addressed with these new arrays is currently limited by the very bright flux limit of the only preceding large scale near-infrared sky survey, the Two Micron Sky Survey carried out at Caltech in the late 1960's. Near-infrared instruments based on the new array technology have already obtained spectra of objects 1 million times fainter than the limit of the TMSS! This paper summarizes the essential parameters of the 2MASS project and the rationale behind those choices, and gives an overview of results obtained with a prototype camera that has been in operation since May 1992. We conclude with a list of expected data products and a statement of the data release policy.

Catalog of infrared observations. Part 2: Appendixes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, Daniel Y.; Schmitz, Marion; Mead, Jaylee M.

1987-01-01

The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO) is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of astronomical journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature searches are complete for years 1965 to 1986. Supporting appendixes are published in this part. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions, two bibliographies of infrared literature upon which the search was based, and, keyed to the main Catalog listings (organized alphabetically by first author, and by date), an atlas of infrared spectral ranges, and IRAS data for the CIO sources. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed microfiche and magnetic tape formats.

Infrared properties of serendipitous X-ray quasars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neugebauer, G.; Soifer, B. T.; Matthews, K.; Margon, B.; Chanan, G. A.

1982-01-01

Near infrared measurements were obtained of 30 quasars originally found serendipitously as X-ray sources in fields of other objects. The observations show that the infrared characteristics of these quasars do not differ significantly from those of quasars selected by other criteria. Because this X-ray selected sample is subject to different selection biases than previous radio and optical surveys, this conclusion is useful in validating previous inferences regarding the infrared colors of 'typical' quasars.

Visible and near-infrared spectral survey of lunar meteorites recovered by the National Institute of Polar Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiroi, T.; Kaiden, H.; Yamaguchi, A.; Kojima, H.; Uemoto, K.; Ohtake, M.; Arai, T.; Sasaki, S.

2016-12-01

Lunar meteorite chip samples recovered by the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) have been studied by a UV-visible-near-infrared spectrometer, targeting small areas of about 3 × 2 mm in size. Rock types and approximate mineral compositions of studied meteorites have been identified or obtained through this spectral survey with no sample preparation required. A linear deconvolution method was used to derive end-member mineral spectra from spectra of multiple clasts whenever possible. In addition, the modified Gaussian model was used in an attempt of deriving their major pyroxene compositions. This study demonstrates that a visible-near-infrared spectrometer on a lunar rover would be useful for identifying these kinds of unaltered (non-space-weathered) lunar rocks. In order to prepare for such a future mission, further studies which utilize a smaller spot size are desired for improving the accuracy of identifying the clasts and mineral phases of the rocks.

A Kinematic Survey in the Perseus Molecular Cloud: Results from the APOGEE Infrared Survey of Young Nebulous Clusters (IN-SYNC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Covey, Kevin R.; Cottaar, M.; Foster, J. B.; Nidever, D. L.; Meyer, M.; Tan, J.; Da Rio, N.; Flaherty, K. M.; Stassun, K.; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Majewski, S.; APOGEE IN-SYNC Team

2014-01-01

Demographic studies of stellar clusters indicate that relatively few persist as bound structures for 100 Myrs or longer. If cluster dispersal is a 'violent' process, it could strongly influence the formation and early evolution of stellar binaries and planetary systems. Unfortunately, measuring the dynamical state of 'typical' (i.e., ~300-1000 member) young star clusters has been difficult, particularly for clusters still embedded within their parental molecular cloud. The near-infrared spectrograph for the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), which can measure precise radial velocities for 230 cluster stars simultaneously, is uniquely suited to diagnosing the dynamics of Galactic star formation regions. We give an overview of the INfrared Survey of Young Nebulous Clusters (IN-SYNC), an APOGEE ancillary science program that is carrying out a comparative study of young clusters in the Perseus molecular cloud: NGC 1333, a heavily embedded cluster, and IC 348, which has begun to disperse its surrounding molecular gas. These observations appear to rule out a significantly super-virial velocity dispersion in IC 348, contrary to predictions of models where a cluster's dynamics is strongly influenced by the dispersal of its primordial gas. We also summarize the properties of two newly identified spectroscopic binaries; binary systems such as these play a key role in the dynamical evolution of young clusters, and introduce velocity offsets that must be accounted for in measuring cluster velocity dispersions.

Efficient computer algorithms for infrared astronomy data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pelzmann, R. F., Jr.

1976-01-01

Data processing techniques to be studied for use in infrared astronomy data analysis systems are outlined. Only data from space based telescope systems operating as survey instruments are considered. Resulting algorithms, and in some cases specific software, will be applicable for use with the infrared astronomy satellite (IRAS) and the shuttle infrared telescope facility (SIRTF). Operational tests made during the investigation use data from the celestial mapping program (CMP). The overall task differs from that involved in ground-based infrared telescope data reduction.

The Alhambra Survey: a Large Area Multimedium-Band Optical and Near-Infrared Photometric Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moles, M.; Benítez, N.; Aguerri, J. A. L.; Alfaro, E. J.; Broadhurst, T.; Cabrera-Caño, J.; Castander, F. J.; Cepa, J.; Cerviño, M.; Cristóbal-Hornillos, D.; Fernández-Soto, A.; González Delgado, R. M.; Infante, L.; Márquez, I.; Martínez, V. J.; Masegosa, J.; del Olmo, A.; Perea, J.; Prada, F.; Quintana, J. M.; Sánchez, S. F.

2008-09-01

Here we describe the first results of the Advanced Large Homogeneous Area Medium-Band Redshift Astronomical (ALHAMBRA) survey, which provides cosmic tomography of the evolution of the contents of the universe over most of cosmic history. Our novel approach employs 20 contiguous, equal-width, medium-band filters covering from 3500 Å to 9700 Å, plus the standard JHKs near-infrared (NIR) bands, to observe a total area of 4 deg2 on the sky. The optical photometric system has been designed to maximize the number of objects with accurate classification by spectral energy distribution type and redshift, and to be sensitive to relatively faint emission features in the spectrum. The observations are being carried out with the Calar Alto 3.5 m telescope using the wide-field cameras in the optical, Large Area Imager for Calar Alto, and in the NIR, Omega-2000. The first data confirm that we are reaching the expected magnitude limits (for a total of 100 ks integration time per pointing) of AB <= 25 mag (for an unresolved object, signal-to-noise ratio = 5) in the optical filters from the blue to 8300 Å, and from AB = 24.7 to 23.4 for the redder ones. The limit in the NIR, for a total of 15 ks exposure time per pointing, is (in the Vega system) Ks ≈ 20 mag, H≈ 21 mag, J≈ 22 mag. Some preliminary results are presented here to illustrate the capabilities of the ongoing survey. We expect to obtain accurate redshift values, Δz/(1 + z) <= 0.03 for about five ×105 galaxies with I <= 25 (60% completeness level), and z med = 0.74. This accuracy, together with the homogeneity of the selection function, will allow for the study of the redshift evolution of the large-scale structure, the galaxy population and its evolution with redshift, the identification of clusters of galaxies, and many other studies, without the need for any further follow-up. It will also provide targets for detailed studies with 10 m class telescopes. Given its area, spectral coverage, and its depth, apart

The Many Infrared Personalities of the Sculptor Galaxy

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-10-13

The Sculptor galaxy, or NGC 253, is seen in a rainbow of infrared colors in this mosaic by NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. The Sculptor galaxy can be seen by observers in the southern hemisphere with a pair of good binoculars.

Four faint T dwarfs from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Southern Stripe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, Kuenley; Liu, Michael C.; Jiang, Linhua; Allers, Katelyn N.; Stark, Daniel P.; Bunker, Andrew; Fan, Xiaohui; Glazebrook, Karl; Dupuy, Trent J.

2008-03-01

We present the optical and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of four faint T dwarfs newly discovered from the UKIDSS first data release. The sample, drawn from an imaged area of ~136 deg2 to a depth of Y = 19.9 (5σ, Vega), is located in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Southern Equatorial Stripe, a region of significant future deep imaging potential. We detail the selection and followup of these objects, three of which are spectroscopically confirmed brown dwarfs ranging from type T2.5 to T7.5, and one is photometrically identified as early T. Their magnitudes range from Y = 19.01 to 19.88 with derived distances from 34 to 98 pc, making these among the coldest and faintest brown dwarfs known. The T7.5 dwarf appears to be single based on 0.05-arcsec images from Keck laser guide star adaptive optics. The sample brings the total number of T dwarfs found or confirmed by UKIDSS data in this region to nine, and we discuss the projected numbers of dwarfs in the future survey data. We estimate that ~240 early and late T dwarfs are discoverable in the UKIDSS Large Area Survey (LAS) data, falling significantly short of published model projections and suggesting that initial mass functions and/or birth rates may be at the low end of possible models. Thus, deeper optical data have good potential to exploit the UKIDSS survey depth more fully, but may still find the potential Y dwarf sample to be extremely rare.

Catalog of Infrared Observations, Third Edition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, Daniel Y.; Schmitz, Marion; Pitts, Patricia S.; Mead, Jaylee M.

1993-01-01

The Far Infrared Supplement contains a subset of the data in the full Catalog of Infrared Observations (all observations at wavelengths greater than 4.6 microns). The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), NASA RP-1294, is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of scientific journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature search is complete for years 1965 through 1990 in this Third Edition. The Catalog contains about 210,000 observations of roughly 20,000 individual sources and supporting appendices. The expanded Third Edition contains coded IRAS 4-band data for all CIO sources detected by IRAS. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions (also included in this volume), two bibliographies of Catalog listings, and an atlas of infrared spectral ranges. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed, microfiche, and magnetic-tape formats.

Spacewatch Survey for Asteroids and Comets

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-01

radar images. Relationship of Spacewatch to the WISE spacecraft mission: E. L. Wright of the UCLA Astronomy Dept. is the PI of the Wide-field Infrared ...Survey Explorer (WISE) MIDEX spacecraft mission. WISE will map the whole sky at thermal infrared wavelengths with 500 times more sensitivity than the...elongations. WISE=s detections in the thermal infrared will also provide a size-limited sample of asteroids instead of the brightness-limited surveys

Discovery of two new Galactic candidate luminous blue variables with Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gvaramadze, V. V.; Kniazev, A. Y.; Miroshnichenko, A. S.; Berdnikov, L. N.; Langer, N.; Stringfellow, G. S.; Todt, H.; Hamann, W.-R.; Grebel, E. K.; Buckley, D.; Crause, L.; Crawford, S.; Gulbis, A.; Hettlage, C.; Hooper, E.; Husser, T.-O.; Kotze, P.; Loaring, N.; Nordsieck, K. H.; O'Donoghue, D.; Pickering, T.; Potter, S.; Romero Colmenero, E.; Vaisanen, P.; Williams, T.; Wolf, M.; Reichart, D. E.; Ivarsen, K. M.; Haislip, J. B.; Nysewander, M. C.; LaCluyze, A. P.

2012-04-01

We report the discovery of two new Galactic candidate luminous blue variable (LBV) stars via detection of circular shells (typical of confirmed and candidate LBVs) and follow-up spectroscopy of their central stars. The shells were detected at 22 μm in the archival data of the Mid-Infrared All Sky Survey carried out with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Follow-up optical spectroscopy of the central stars of the shells conducted with the renewed Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) showed that their spectra are very similar to those of the well-known LBVs P Cygni and AG Car, and the recently discovered candidate LBV MN112, which implies the LBV classification for these stars as well. The LBV classification of both stars is supported by detection of their significant photometric variability: one of them brightened in the R and I bands by 0.68 ± 0.10 and 0.61 ± 0.04 mag, respectively, during the last 13-18 years, while the second one (known as Hen 3-1383) varies its B, V, R, I and Ks brightnesses by ≃0.5-0.9 mag on time-scales from 10 d to decades. We also found significant changes in the spectrum of Hen 3-1383 on a time-scale of ≃3 months, which provides additional support for the LBV classification of this star. Further spectrophotometric monitoring of both stars is required to firmly prove their LBV status. We discuss a connection between the location of massive stars in the field and their fast rotation, and suggest that the LBV activity of the newly discovered candidate LBVs might be directly related to their possible runaway status. a USNO B-1 (Monet et al. 2003); bDENIS; c2MASS; dSALT; ePROMPT.

Photogeologic and thermal infrared reconnaissance surveys of the Los Negritos-Ixtlan de los Hervores geothermal area, Michoacan, Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gomez, Valle R.; Friedman, J.D.; Gawarecki, S.J.; Banwell, C.J.

1970-01-01

New techniques, involving interpretation of panchromatic, ektachrome and ektachrome infrared aerographic photogaphs and thermographic infrared imagery recording emission from the earth's surface in middle and far infrared wavelengths (3-5??m and 8-14??m), are being introduced in geothermal investigations in Mexico to identify outstanding structural and geologic features in a rapid and economical manner. The object of this work is to evaluate the new airborne infrared techniques and equipment as a complement to the data obtained from panchromatic aerial photography. This project is part of the Mexican remote sensing program of natural resources carried out under the auspices of the Comision Nacional del Espacio Exterior and in which the Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones de la Industria Electrica) is actively participating. The present study was made cooperatively with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey. The Los Negritos-Ixtlan de los Hervores geothermal fields are located east of Lake Chapala at the intersection of the Sierra Madre occidental and the west-central segment of the neovolcanic axis of Mexico. The two principal zones of hydrothermal activity occur in a tectonic trench filled with lake sediments of the Quaternary intercalated with Quaternary and Holocene volcanic rocks and characterized by an intricate system of block-fault tectonics, part of the Chapala-Acambay tectonic system, along which there has been volcanic activity in modern time. Surface manifestations of geothermal activity consist of relatively high heat flow and hot springs, small geysers and small steam vents aligned along an E-W axis at Ixtlan, possibly at the intersection of major fault trends and mud volcanoes and hot pools aligned NE-SW at Los Negritos. More than 20 exit points of thermal waters are shown on infrared imagery to be aligned along an extension of the Ixtlan fault between Ixtlan and El Salitre. A narrow zone of

Use of the transect method in satellite survey missions with application to the infrared astronomical satellite /IRAS/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mclaughlin, W. I.; Lundy, S. A.; Ling, H. Y.; Stroberg, M. W.

1980-01-01

The coverage of the celestial sphere or the surface of the earth with a narrow-field instrument onboard a satellite can be described by a set of swaths on the sphere. A transect is a curve on this sphere constructed to sample the coverage. At each point on the transect the number of times that the field-of-view of the instrument has passed over the point is recorded. This information is conveniently displayed as an integer-valued histogram over the length of the transect. The effectiveness of the transect method for a particular observing plan and the best placement of the transects depends upon the structure of the set of observations. Survey missions are usually characterized by a somewhat parallel alignment of the instrument swaths. Using autocorrelation and cross-correlation functions among the histograms the structure of a survey has been analyzed into two components, and each is illustrated by a simple mathematical model. The complex, all-sky survey to be performed by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) is synthesized in some detail utilizing the objectives and constraints of that mission. It is seen that this survey possesses the components predicted by the simple models and this information is useful in characterizing the properties of the IRAS survey and the placement of the transects as a function of celestial latitude and certain structural properties of the coverage.

Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Mission and Synergies with LISA and LIGO-Virgo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, N.; Spergel, D.

2015-01-01

The Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a NASA space mission in study for launch in 2024. It has a 2.4 m telescope, wide-field IR instrument operating in the 0.7 - 2.0 micron range and an exoplanet imaging coronagraph instrument operating in the 400 - 1000 nm range. The observatory will perform galaxy surveys over thousands of square degrees to J=27 AB for dark energy weak lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation measurements and will monitor a few square degrees for dark energy SN Ia studies. It will perform microlensing observations of the galactic bulge for an exoplanet census and direct imaging observations of nearby exoplanets with a pathfinder coronagraph. The mission will have a robust and wellfunded guest observer program for 25% of the observing time. WFIRST will be a powerful tool for time domain astronomy and for coordinated observations with gravitational wave experiments. Gravitational wave events produced by mergers of nearby binary neutron stars (LIGO-Virgo) or extragalactic supermassive black hole binaries (LISA) will produce electromagnetic radiation that WFIRST can observe.

GALACTICNUCLEUS: A high angular resolution JHKs imaging survey of the Galactic centre. I. Methodology, performance, and near-infrared extinction towards the Galactic centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nogueras-Lara, F.; Gallego-Calvente, A. T.; Dong, H.; Gallego-Cano, E.; Girard, J. H. V.; Hilker, M.; de Zeeuw, P. T.; Feldmeier-Krause, A.; Nishiyama, S.; Najarro, F.; Neumayer, N.; Schödel, R.

2018-03-01

Context. The Galactic centre (GC) is of fundamental astrophysical interest, but existing near-infrared surveys fall short covering it adequately, either in terms of angular resolution, multi-wavelength coverage, or both. Here we introduce the GALACTICNUCLEUS survey, a JHKs imaging survey of the centre of the Milky Way with a 0.2″ angular resolution. Aim. The purpose of this paper is to present the observations of Field 1 of our survey, centred approximately on SgrA* with an approximate size of 7.95' × 3.43'. We describe the observational set-up and data reduction pipeline and discuss the quality of the data. Finally, we present the analysis of the data. Methods: The data were acquired with the near-infrared camera High Acuity Wide field K-band Imager (HAWK-I) at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). Short readout times in combination with the speckle holography algorithm allowed us to produce final images with a stable, Gaussian PSF (point spread function) of 0.2″ FWHM (full width at half maximum). Astrometric calibration is achieved via the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) survey and photometric calibration is based on the SIRIUS/Infrared Survey Facility telescope (IRSF) survey. The quality of the data is assessed by comparison between observations of the same field with different detectors of HAWK-I and at different times. Results: We reach 5σ detection limits of approximately J = 22, H = 21, and Ks = 20. The photometric uncertainties are less than 0.05 at J ≲ 20, H ≲ 17, and Ks ≲ 16. We can distinguish five stellar populations in the colour-magnitude diagrams; three of them appear to belong to foreground spiral arms, and the other two correspond to high- and low-extinction star groups at the GC. We use our data to analyse the near-infrared extinction curve and find some evidence for a possible difference between the extinction index between J - H and H - Ks. However, we conclude that it can be described very well by a power law with an index of

Combining Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data with near-infrared data from the ESO VISTA Hemisphere Survey

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Banerji, M.; Jouvel, S.; Lin, H.

2014-11-25

We present the combination of optical data from the Science Verification phase of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with near-infrared (NIR) data from the European Southern Observatory VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS). The deep optical detections from DES are used to extract fluxes and associated errors from the shallower VHS data. Joint seven-band ( grizYJK) photometric catalogues are produced in a single 3 sq-deg dedicated camera field centred at 02h26m-04d36m where the availability of ancillary multiwavelength photometry and spectroscopy allows us to test the data quality. Dual photometry increases the number of DES galaxies with measured VHS fluxes by a factormore » of ~4.5 relative to a simple catalogue level matching and results in a ~1.5 mag increase in the 80 per cent completeness limit of the NIR data. Almost 70 per cent of DES sources have useful NIR flux measurements in this initial catalogue. Photometric redshifts are estimated for a subset of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts and initial results, although currently limited by small number statistics, indicate that the VHS data can help reduce the photometric redshift scatter at both z < 0.5 and z > 1. We present example DES+VHS colour selection criteria for high-redshift luminous red galaxies (LRGs) at z ~ 0.7 as well as luminous quasars. Using spectroscopic observations in this field we show that the additional VHS fluxes enable a cleaner selection of both populations with <10 per cent contamination from galactic stars in the case of spectroscopically confirmed quasars and <0.5 per cent contamination from galactic stars in the case of spectroscopically confirmed LRGs. The combined DES+VHS data set, which will eventually cover almost 5000 sq-deg, will therefore enable a range of new science and be ideally suited for target selection for future wide-field spectroscopic surveys.« less

Combining Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data with near-infrared data from the ESO VISTA Hemisphere Survey

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Banerji, M.; Jouvel, S.; Lin, H.

2014-11-25

We present the combination of optical data from the Science Verification phase of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with near-infrared (NIR) data from the European Southern Observatory VISTA Hemisphere Survey (VHS). The deep optical detections from DES are used to extract fluxes and associated errors from the shallower VHS data. Joint seven-band (grizYJK) photometric catalogues are produced in a single 3 sq-deg dedicated camera field centred at 02h26m-04d36m where the availability of ancillary multiwavelength photometry and spectroscopy allows us to test the data quality. Dual photometry increases the number of DES galaxies with measured VHS fluxes by a factor ofmore » similar to 4.5 relative to a simple catalogue level matching and results in a similar to 1.5 mag increase in the 80 per cent completeness limit of the NIR data. Almost 70 per cent of DES sources have useful NIR flux measurements in this initial catalogue. Photometric redshifts are estimated for a subset of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts and initial results, although currently limited by small number statistics, indicate that the VHS data can help reduce the photometric redshift scatter at both z < 0.5 and z > 1. We present example DES VHS colour selection criteria for high-redshift luminous red galaxies (LRGs) at z similar to 0.7 as well as luminous quasars. Using spectroscopic observations in this field we show that the additional VHS fluxes enable a cleaner selection of both populations with <10 per cent contamination from galactic stars in the case of spectroscopically confirmed quasars and <0.5 per cent contamination from galactic stars in the case of spectroscopically confirmed LRGs. The combined DES+VHS data set, which will eventually cover almost 5000 sq-deg, will therefore enable a range of new science and be ideally suited for target selection for future wide-field spectroscopic surveys.« less

Far infrared supplement. Third edition: Catalog of infrared observations (lambda greater than or equal to 4.6 micrometers)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, Daniel Y.; Schmitz, Marion; Pitts, Patricia S.; Mead, Jaylee M.

1993-01-01

The Far Infrared Supplement contains a subset of the data in the full Catalog of Infrared Observations (all observations at wavelengths greater than 4.6 microns). The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), NASA RP-1294, is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of scientific journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature search is complete for years 1965 through 1990 in this third edition. The catalog contains about 210,000 observations of roughly 20,000 individual sources, and supporting appendices. The expanded third edition contains coded IRAS 4-band data for all CIO sources detected by IRAS. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions (also included in this volume), two bibliographies of catalog listings, and an atlas of infrared spectral ranges. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed, microfiche, and magnetic tape formats.

A redshift survey of IRAS galaxies. VII - The infrared and redshift data for the 1.936 Jansky sample

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strauss, Michael A.; Huchra, John P.; Davis, Marc; Yahil, Amos; Fisher, Karl B.; Tonry, John

1992-01-01

We present the data for a redshift survey of galaxies selected from the database of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). The sample is flux limited to 1.936 Jy at 60 microns and covers 11.01 sr of the sky. It consists of 5014 objects, of which 2658 are galaxies. The remaining 2356 sources are listed in a separate table with identifications. Redshift data are also given for 212 IRAS galaxies which are not part of the complete sample, but were measured in conjunction with this project.

Local Volume Hi Survey: the far-infrared radio correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Li; Koribalski, Bärbel S.; Wang, Jing; Ho, Luis C.; Staveley-Smith, Lister

2018-06-01

In this paper we measure the far-infrared (FIR) and radio flux densities of a sample of 82 local gas-rich galaxies, including 70 "dwarf" galaxies (M* < 109 M⊙), from the Local Volume HI Survey (LVHIS), which is close to volume limited. It is found that LVHIS galaxies hold a tight linear FIR-radio correlation (FRC) over four orders of magnitude (F_1.4GHz ∝ F_FIR^{1.00± 0.08}). However, for detected galaxies only, a trend of larger FIR-to-radio ratio with decreasing flux density is observed. We estimate the star formation rate by combining UV and mid-IR data using empirical calibration. It is confirmed that both FIR and radio emission are strongly connected with star formation but with significant non-linearity. Dwarf galaxies are found radiation deficient in both bands, when normalized by star formation rate. It urges a "conspiracy" to keep the FIR-to-radio ratio generally constant. By using partial correlation coefficient in Pearson definition, we identify the key galaxy properties associated with the FIR and radio deficiency. Some major factors, such as stellar mass surface density, will cancel out when taking the ratio between FIR and radio fluxes. The remaining factors, such as HI-to-stellar mass ratio and galaxy size, are expected to cancel each other due to the distribution of galaxies in the parameter space. Such cancellation is probably responsible for the "conspiracy" to keep the FRC alive.

Preliminary Analysis of Ground-based Orbit Determination Accuracy for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sease, Brad

2017-01-01

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is a 2.4-meter telescope planned for launch to the Sun-Earth L2 point in 2026. This paper details a preliminary study of the achievable accuracy for WFIRST from ground-based orbit determination routines. The analysis here is divided into two segments. First, a linear covariance analysis of early mission and routine operations provides an estimate of the tracking schedule required to meet mission requirements. Second, a simulated operations scenario gives insight into the expected behavior of a daily Extended Kalman Filter orbit estimate over the first mission year given a variety of potential momentum unloading schemes.

Preliminary Analysis of Ground-Based Orbit Determination Accuracy for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sease, Bradley; Myers, Jessica; Lorah, John; Webster, Cassandra

2017-01-01

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is a 2.4-meter telescope planned for launch to the Sun-Earth L2 point in 2026. This paper details a preliminary study of the achievable accuracy for WFIRST from ground-based orbit determination routines. The analysis here is divided into two segments. First, a linear covariance analysis of early mission and routine operations provides an estimate of the tracking schedule required to meet mission requirements. Second, a simulated operations'' scenario gives insight into the expected behavior of a daily Extended Kalman Filter orbit estimate over the first mission year given a variety of potential momentum unloading schemes.

GOODS Far Infrared Imaging with Herschel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frayer, David T.; Elbaz, D.; Dickinson, M.; GOODS-Herschel Team

2010-01-01

Most of the stars in galaxies formed at high redshift in dusty environments, where their energy was absorbed and re-radiated at infrared wavelengths. Similarly, much of the growth of nuclear black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) was also obscured from direct view at UV/optical and X-ray wavelengths. The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey Herschel (GOODS-H) open time key program will obtain the deepest far-infrared view of the distant universe, mapping the history of galaxy growth and AGN activity over a broad swath of cosmic time. GOODS-H will image the GOODS-North field with the PACS and SPIRE instruments at 100 to 500 microns, matching the deep survey of GOODS-South in the guaranteed time key program. GOODS-H will also observe an ultradeep sub-field within GOODS-South with PACS, reaching the deepest flux limits planned for Herschel (0.6 mJy at 100 microns with S/N=5). GOODS-H data will detect thousands of luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies out to z=4 or beyond, measuring their far-infrared luminosities and spectral energy distributions, and providing the best constraints on star formation rates and AGN activity during this key epoch of galaxy and black hole growth in the young universe.

Survey of the clinical assessment and utility of near-infrared cerebral oximetry in cardiac surgery.

PubMed

Zacharias, David G; Lilly, Kevin; Shaw, Cynthia L; Pirundini, Paul; Rizzo, Robert J; Body, Simon C; Longford, Nicholas T

2014-04-01

Near-infrared cerebral oximetry increasingly is used for monitoring during cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, the scientific basis for incorporating this technology into clinical practice, the indications for when to do so, and standard diagnostic and treatment algorithms for defining abnormal values are yet to be rigorously defined. The authors hypothesized that there would be (1) variation in clinical use and practices for near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), and (2) variation in management of patients when clinicians are provided with NIRS information. In order to test this hypothesis, they sought to assess the nature and strength of response heterogeneity among anesthesiologists and cardiac perfusionists when provided with cardiac surgery patient scenarios and cerebral oximetry data. A prospectively collected survey. A hospital-based, multi-institutional, multinational study. By e-mail, the authors surveyed the membership of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists and the online Cardiovascular Perfusion Forum. This survey was focused on ascertaining what actions clinicians would take in each scenario, given case information and cerebral oximetry tracings. Questions were based on 11 patient scenarios selected to represent small, large, symmetric, or asymmetric decreases in measured regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) encountered during cardiac surgery. Information on the respondents' (n = 796; 73% anesthesiologists) clinical practice, demography, and cerebral oximetry utilization was collected. An index of dispersion was used to assess response heterogeneity overall and within demographic subgroups. The majority of respondents indicated that cerebral oximetry monitoring was either useful or an essential monitor, especially perfusionists and clinicians who used cerebral oximetry most frequently. There were marked differences in responses between perfusionists and anesthesiologists for 4 of the 6 scenarios (p<0.005 for each of these 4 scenarios) occurring

Andromeda (M31) optical and infrared disk survey. I. Insights in wide-field near-IR surface photometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sick, Jonathan; Courteau, Stéphane; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles

We present wide-field near-infrared J and K{sub s} images of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) taken with WIRCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope as part of the Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey. This data set allows simultaneous observations of resolved stars and near-infrared (NIR) surface brightness across M31's entire bulge and disk (within R = 22 kpc), permitting a direct test of the stellar composition of near-infrared light in a nearby galaxy. Here we develop NIR observation and reduction methods to recover a uniform surface brightness map across the 3° × 1° disk of M31 with 27 WIRCam fields. Two sky-targetmore » nodding strategies are tested, and we find that strictly minimizing sky sampling latency cannot improve background subtraction accuracy to better than 2% of the background level due to spatio-temporal variations in the NIR skyglow. We fully describe our WIRCam reduction pipeline and advocate using flats built from night-sky images over a single night, rather than dome flats that do not capture the WIRCam illumination field. Contamination from scattered light and thermal background in sky flats has a negligible effect on the surface brightness shape compared to the stochastic differences in background shape between sky and galaxy disk fields, which are ∼0.3% of the background level. The most dramatic calibration step is the introduction of scalar sky offsets to each image that optimizes surface brightness continuity. Sky offsets reduce the mean surface brightness difference between observation blocks from 1% to <0.1% of the background level, though the absolute background level remains statistically uncertain to 0.15% of the background level. We present our WIRCam reduction pipeline and performance analysis to give specific recommendations for the improvement of NIR wide-field imaging methods.« less

Progress Towards a High-Precision Infrared Spectroscopic Survey of the H_3^+ Ion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, Adam J.; Hodges, James N.; Markus, Charles R.; Kocheril, G. Stephen; Jenkins, Paul A., II; McCall, Benjamin J.

2015-06-01

The trihydrogen cation, H_3^+, represents one of the most important and fundamental molecular systems. Having only two electrons and three nuclei, H_3^+ is the simplest polyatomic system and is a key testing ground for the development of new techniques for calculating potential energy surfaces and predicting molecular spectra. Corrections that go beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, including adiabatic, non-adiabatic, relativistic, and quantum electrodynamic corrections are becoming more feasible to calculate. As a result, experimental measurements performed on the H_3^+ ion serve as important benchmarks which are used to test the predictive power of new computational methods. By measuring many infrared transitions with precision at the sub-MHz level it is possible to construct a list of the most highly precise experimental rovibrational energy levels for this molecule. Until recently, only a select handful of infrared transitions of this molecule have been measured with high precision (˜ 1 MHz). Using the technique of Noise Immune Cavity Enhanced Optical Heterodyne Velocity Modulation Spectroscopy, we are aiming to produce the largest high-precision spectroscopic dataset for this molecule to date. Presented here are the current results from our survey along with a discussion of the combination differences analysis used to extract the experimentally determined rovibrational energy levels. O. Polyansky, et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2012), 370, 5014. M. Pavanello, et al., J. Chem. Phys. (2012), 136, 184303. L. Diniz, et al., Phys. Rev. A (2013), 88, 032506. L. Lodi, et al., Phys. Rev. A (2014), 89, 032505. J. Hodges, et al., J. Chem. Phys (2013), 139, 164201.

Sensitivity of an imaging space infrared interferometer.

PubMed

Nakajima, T; Matsuhara, H

2001-02-01

We study the sensitivities of space infrared interferometers. We formulate the signal-to-noise ratios of infrared images obtained by aperture synthesis in the presence of source shot noise, background shot noise, and detector read noise. We consider the case in which n beams are combined pairwise at n(n-1)/2 detectors and the case in which all the n beams are combined at a single detector. We apply the results to future missions, Terrestrial Planet Finder and Darwin. We also discuss the potential of a far-infrared interferometer for a deep galaxy survey.

Tracing Star Formation in the Mid-infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Ronin

One of the most important missions of the 20th century in astrophysics is the launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope in August 2003. Since then, with its unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution in the infrared, this earth--trailing satellite has significantly improved our understanding of star--formation history and the composition of the interstellar medium from an extragalactic perspective. In this thesis, I present the statistical studies of several star--formation tracers and properties of star--forming galaxies using the photometric and spectroscopic data taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The first approach I take in understanding the mid-infrared star--forming tracers is studying the aromatic features at 7.7mum. Aromatic features are the dominant emission lines in the mid-infrared spectra of star--forming galaxies, but these features are much weaker in galaxies of low--luminosity. I combine the infrared and the optical imaging data to demonstrate this trend. Comparison with optical spectroscopic data shows that the strength of the 7.7mum aromatic feature is closely related to the stellar mass of galaxies. Our analysis shows that both oxygen abundance and radiation hardness affect the strength of this feature. However, the generally low oxygen abundance in low--luminosity galaxy interstellar environments, which prevents the synthesis of aromatic molecules, appears to have the stronger effect. The second approach I take is the analysis of the Spitzer SDSS Statistical Spectroscopic Survey (S5), a multi-wavelength study of ˜300 homogeneously selected star--forming galaxies at redshifts 0.05 < z < 0.1. The S5 galaxies span the color range of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and span two orders of magnitudes in stellar mass. The key goal of the survey is to provide a deeper understanding of the properties of warm interstellar medium by comparing the optical and mid-infrared spectra of galaxies that are structurally similar. The S5 survey contains a

An Explosion of Infrared Color

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-12-09

This oddly colorful nebula is the supernova remnant IC 443 as seen by NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer; the Jellyfish nebula is particularly interesting because it provides a look into how stellar explosions interact with their environment.

SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasliwal, Mansi M.; Bally, John; Masci, Frank; Cody, Ann Marie; Bond, Howard E.; Jencson, Jacob E.; Tinyanont, Samaporn; Cao, Yi; Contreras, Carlos; Dykhoff, Devin A.; Amodeo, Samuel; Armus, Lee; Boyer, Martha; Cantiello, Matteo; Carlon, Robert L.; Cass, Alexander C.; Cook, David; Corgan, David T.; Faella, Joseph; Fox, Ori D.; Green, Wayne; Gehrz, R. D.; Helou, George; Hsiao, Eric; Johansson, Joel; Khan, Rubab M.; Lau, Ryan M.; Langer, Norbert; Levesque, Emily; Milne, Peter; Mohamed, Shazrene; Morrell, Nidia; Monson, Andy; Moore, Anna; Ofek, Eran O.; O' Sullivan, Donal; Parthasarathy, Mudumba; Perez, Andres; Perley, Daniel A.; Phillips, Mark; Prince, Thomas A.; Shenoy, Dinesh; Smith, Nathan; Surace, Jason; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Whitelock, Patricia A.; Williams, Robert

2017-04-01

We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS—SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer/IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between -11 and -14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]-[4.5] colors between 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr-1 to >7 mag yr-1. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.

THE FIRST HUNDRED BROWN DWARFS DISCOVERED BY THE WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER (WISE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davy Kirkpatrick, J.; Gelino, Christopher R.; Griffith, Roger L.

2011-12-01

We present ground-based spectroscopic verification of 6 Y dwarfs (see also Cushing et al.), 89 T dwarfs, 8 L dwarfs, and 1 M dwarf identified by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Eighty of these are cold brown dwarfs with spectral types {>=}T6, six of which have been announced earlier by Mainzer et al. and Burgasser et al. We present color-color and color-type diagrams showing the locus of M, L, T, and Y dwarfs in WISE color space. Near-infrared and, in a few cases, optical spectra are presented for these discoveries. Near-infrared classifications as late as early Y are presentedmore » and objects with peculiar spectra are discussed. Using these new discoveries, we are also able to extend the optical T dwarf classification scheme from T8 to T9. After deriving an absolute WISE 4.6 {mu}m (W2) magnitude versus spectral type relation, we estimate spectrophotometric distances to our discoveries. We also use available astrometric measurements to provide preliminary trigonometric parallaxes to four of our discoveries, which have types of L9 pec (red), T8, T9, and Y0; all of these lie within 10 pc of the Sun. The Y0 dwarf, WISE 1541-2250, is the closest at 2.8{sup +1.3}{sub -0.6} pc; if this 2.8 pc value persists after continued monitoring, WISE 1541-2250 will become the seventh closest stellar system to the Sun. Another 10 objects, with types between T6 and >Y0, have spectrophotometric distance estimates also placing them within 10 pc. The closest of these, the T6 dwarf WISE 1506+7027, is believed to fall at a distance of {approx}4.9 pc. WISE multi-epoch positions supplemented with positional info primarily from the Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera allow us to calculate proper motions and tangential velocities for roughly one-half of the new discoveries. This work represents the first step by WISE to complete a full-sky, volume-limited census of late-T and Y dwarfs. Using early results from this census, we present preliminary, lower limits to the space

The Universe at Infrared and Submillimeter Wavelengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dwek, E.; Arendt, R. G.; Benford, D. J.; Mather, J. C.; Moseley, S. H.; Shafer, R. A.; Staguhn, J.

2004-01-01

Far infrared and submillimeter surveys offer unique information on the early stages of galaxy formation and evolution, and the cosmic history of star formation and metal enrichment. This paper presents various model results that can be used in the interpretation of far-IR and submm surveys with different diameter telescopes.

Estimation of walrus populations on sea ice with infrared imagery and aerial photography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Udevitz, M.S.; Burn, D.M.; Webber, M.A.

2008-01-01

Population sizes of ice-associated pinnipeds have often been estimated with visual or photographic aerial surveys, but these methods require relatively slow speeds and low altitudes, limiting the area they can cover. Recent developments in infrared imagery and its integration with digital photography could allow substantially larger areas to be surveyed and more accurate enumeration of individuals, thereby solving major problems with previous survey methods. We conducted a trial survey in April 2003 to estimate the number of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) hauled out on sea ice around St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. The survey used high altitude infrared imagery to detect groups of walruses on strip transects. Low altitude digital photography was used to determine the number of walruses in a sample of detected groups and calibrate the infrared imagery for estimating the total number of walruses. We propose a survey design incorporating this approach with satellite radio telemetry to estimate the proportion of the population in the water and additional low-level flights to estimate the proportion of the hauled-out population in groups too small to be detected in the infrared imagery. We believe that this approach offers the potential for obtaining reliable population estimates for walruses and other ice-associated pinnipeds. ?? 2007 by the Society for Marine Mammalogy.

A near-infrared interferometric survey of debris-disc stars. V. PIONIER search for variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertel, S.; Defrère, D.; Absil, O.; Le Bouquin, J.-B.; Augereau, J.-C.; Berger, J.-P.; Blind, N.; Bonsor, A.; Lagrange, A.-M.; Lebreton, J.; Marion, L.; Milli, J.; Olofsson, J.

2016-10-01

Context. Extended circumstellar emission has been detected within a few 100 milli-arcsec around ≳10% of nearby main sequence stars using near-infrared interferometry. Follow-up observations using other techniques, should they yield similar results or non-detections, can provide strong constraints on the origin of the emission. They can also reveal the variability of the phenomenon. Aims: We aim to demonstrate the persistence of the phenomenon over the timescale of a few years and to search for variability of our previously detected excesses. Methods: Using Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI)/Precision Integrated Optics Near Infrared ExpeRiment (PIONIER) in H band we have carried out multi-epoch observations of the stars for which a near-infrared excess was previously detected using the same observation technique and instrument. The detection rates and distribution of the excesses from our original survey and the follow-up observations are compared statistically. A search for variability of the excesses in our time series is carried out based on the level of the broadband excesses. Results: In 12 of 16 follow-up observations, an excess is re-detected with a significance of > 2σ, and in 7 of 16 follow-up observations significant excess (> 3σ) is re-detected. We statistically demonstrate with very high confidence that the phenomenon persists for the majority of the systems. We also present the first detection of potential variability in two sources. Conclusions: We conclude that the phenomenon responsible for the excesses persists over the timescale of a few years for the majority of the systems. However, we also find that variability intrinsic to a target can cause it to have no significant excess at the time of a specific observation. Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under program IDs 088.C-0266, 089.C-0365, 090.C-0526, 091.C-0576, 091.C-0597, 094.C-0232, and commissioning data.

Infrared near-Earth-object survey modeling for observatories interior to the Earth's orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buie, M.

2014-07-01

The search for and dynamical characterization of the near-Earth population of objects (NEOs) has been a busy topic for surveys for many years. Most of the work thus far has been from ground-based optical surveys such as the Catalina Sky Survey and LINEAR. These surveys have essentially reached a complete inventory of objects down to 1 km diameter and have shown that the known objects do not pose any significant impact threat. Smaller objects are correspondingly smaller threats but there are more of them and fewer of them have so far been discovered. The next generation of surveys is looking to extend their reach down to much smaller sizes. From an impact risk perspective, those objects as small as 30--40 m are still of interest (similar in size to the Tunguska bolide). Smaller objects than this are largely of interest from a space resource or in-situ analysis efforts. A recent mission concept promoted by the B612 Foundation and Ball Aerospace calls for an infrared survey telescope in a Venus-like orbit, known as the Sentinel Mission. This wide-field facility has been designed to complete the inventory down to a 140 m diameter while also providing substantial constraints on the NEO population down to a Tunguska-sized object. I have been working to develop a suite of tools to provide survey modeling for this class of survey telescope. The purpose of the tool is to uncover hidden complexities that govern mission design and operation while also working to quantitatively understand the orbit quality provided on its catalog of objects without additional followup assets. The baseline mission design calls for a 6.5 year survey lifetime. This survey model is a statistically based tool for establishing completeness as a function of object size and survey duration. Effects modeled include the ability to adjust the field-of-regard (includes all pointing restrictions), field-of-view, focal plane array fill factor, and the observatory orbit. Consequences tracked include time

Near-Infrared Surveys and the Potential of an Upgraded WFCAM on UKIRT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Richard F.; Kerr, Tom; Varricatt, Watson; Bold, Matthew; Kendrick, Rick; Hodapp, Klaus

2015-08-01

Near-infrared surveys provide the samples of faint objects essential for characterizing the assembly and evolution of galaxies, both at earliest cosmic times and near the peak of star formation and black hole activity. Near-IR broad and medium-band filter measurements are critical for accurate photometric redshifts and spectral energy distributions. The same areal coverage combined with time domain sampling reveals the variability properties of pre-main sequence stars in regions of active star formation, particularly in the presence of appreciable reddening. The possibility of deep, very wide-area K-band coverage creates the opportunity to trace the outer regions of the Galaxy and the Local Group. Targeting for James Webb Space Telescope will depend on accurate contemporaneous Near-IR astrometry. NASA's mission objectives for protecting working spacecraft from orbital debris are facilitated by near-IR characterization of debris, particularly for objects dark in the visible like solar panels.As one realization of advanced survey capability, we describe a proposed upgrade to the Wide-Field camera on the UKIRT 3.8-m. The powerful performance of an array of Teledyne Hawaii-4RG detectors combined with a new corrector and filters promise a Northern Hemisphere capability matched to the next generation of science requirements. Anticipated improvements include (nearly) contiguous detectors (alleviating the need for a large-step dither pattern), higher DQE, and no restriction on field because of guide stars. We would be assured of better wide-area astrometry and sensitivity compared to the generation of devices used for UKIDSS and HEMISPHERE.

The remarkable infrared galaxy Arp 220 = IC 4553

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soifer, B. T.; Neugebauer, G.; Helou, G.; Lonsdale, C. J.; Hacking, P.; Rice, W.; Houck, J. R.; Low, F. J.; Rowan-Robinson, M.

1984-01-01

IRAS observations of the peculiar galaxy Arp 220 = IC 4553 show that it is extremely luminous in the far-infrared, with a total luminosity of 2 x 10 to the 12th solar luminosities. The infrared-to-blue luminosity ratio of this galaxy is about 80, which is the largest value of the ratio for galaxies in the UGC catalog, and places it in the range of the 'unidentified' infrared sources recently reported by Houck et al. in the IRAS all-sky survey. Other observations of Arp 220, combined with the luminosity in the infrared, allow either a Seyfert-like or starburst origin for this luminosity.

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SPECTROSCOPY OF BROWN DWARFS DISCOVERED WITH THE WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, Adam C.; Cushing, Michael C.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy

2015-05-10

We present a sample of brown dwarfs identified with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) for which we have obtained Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) near-infrared grism spectroscopy. The sample (22 in total) was observed with the G141 grism covering 1.10–1.70 μm, while 15 were also observed with the G102 grism, which covers 0.90–1.10 μm. The additional wavelength coverage provided by the G102 grism allows us to (1) search for spectroscopic features predicted to emerge at low effective temperatures (e.g.,ammonia bands) and (2) construct a smooth spectral sequence across the T/Y boundary. We find no evidencemore » of absorption due to ammonia in the G102 spectra. Six of these brown dwarfs are new discoveries, three of which are found to have spectral types of T8 or T9. The remaining three, WISE J082507.35+280548.5 (Y0.5), WISE J120604.38+840110.6 (Y0), and WISE J235402.77+024015.0 (Y1), are the 19th, 20th, and 21st spectroscopically confirmed Y dwarfs to date. We also present HST grism spectroscopy and reevaluate the spectral types of five brown dwarfs for which spectral types have been determined previously using other instruments.« less

A NuSTAR SURVEY OF NEARBY ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Teng, Stacy H.; Rigby, Jane R.; Ptak, Andrew

We present a Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Chandra, and XMM-Newton survey of nine of the nearest ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). The unprecedented sensitivity of NuSTAR at energies above 10 keV enables spectral modeling with far better precision than was previously possible. Six of the nine sources observed were detected sufficiently well by NuSTAR to model in detail their broadband X-ray spectra, and recover the levels of obscuration and intrinsic X-ray luminosities. Only one source (IRAS 13120–5453) has a spectrum consistent with a Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN), but we cannot rule out that a second source (Arp 220) harborsmore » an extremely highly obscured AGN as well. Variability in column density (reduction by a factor of a few compared to older observations) is seen in IRAS 05189–2524 and Mrk 273, altering the classification of these borderline sources from Compton-thick to Compton-thin. The ULIRGs in our sample have surprisingly low observed fluxes in high-energy (>10 keV) X-rays, especially compared to their bolometric luminosities. They have lower ratios of unabsorbed 2–10 keV to bolometric luminosity, and unabsorbed 2–10 keV to mid-IR [O iv] line luminosity than do Seyfert 1 galaxies. We identify IRAS 08572+3915 as another candidate intrinsically X-ray weak source, similar to Mrk 231. We speculate that the X-ray weakness of IRAS 08572+3915 is related to its powerful outflow observed at other wavelengths.« less

Infrared Astronomy Satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrera, G. A.

1981-09-01

In 1982, the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) will be launched into a 900-km sun-synchronous (twilight) orbit to perform an unbiased, all-sky survey of the far-infrared spectrum from 8 to 120 microns. Observations telemetered to ground stations will be compiled into an IR astronomy catalog. Attention is given the cryogenically cooled, 60-cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope carried by the satellite, whose primary and secondary mirrors are fabricated from beryllium by means of 'Cryo-Null Figuring'. This technique anticipates the mirror distortions that will result from cryogenic cooling of the telescope and introduces dimensional compensations for them during machining and polishing. Consideration is also given to the interferometric characterization of telescope performance and Cryo/Thermal/Vacuum simulated space environment testing.

Comparison of visual-based helicopter and fixed-wing forward-looking infrared surveys for counting white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Storm, Daniel J.; Samuel, Michael D.; Van Deelen, Timothy R.; Malcolm, Karl D.; Rolley, Robert E.; Frost, Nancy A.; Bates, Donald P.; Richards, Bryan J.

2011-01-01

Aerial surveys using direct counts of animals are commonly used to estimate deer abundance. Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) technology is increasingly replacing traditional methods such as visual observation from helicopters. Our goals were to compare fixed-wing FLIR and visual, helicopter-based counts in terms of relative bias, influence of snow cover and cost. We surveyed five plots: four 41.4 km2 plots with free-ranging white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus populations in Wisconsin and a 5.3 km2 plot with a white-tailed deer population contained by a high fence in Michigan. We surveyed plots using both fixed-wing FLIR and helicopters, both with snow cover and without snow. None of the methods counted more deer than the other when snow was present. Helicopter counts were lower in the absence of snow, but lack of snow cover did not apparently affect FLIR. Group sizes of observed deer were similar regardless of survey method or season. We found that FLIR counts were generally precise (CV = 0.089) when two or three replicate surveys were conducted within a few hours. However, at the plot level, FLIR counts differed greatly between seasons, suggesting that detection rates vary over larger time scales. Fixed-wing FLIR was more costly than visual observers in helicopters and was more restrictive in terms of acceptable survey conditions. Further research is needed to understand what factors influence the detection of deer during FLIR surveys.

Evidence for Infrared-faint Radio Sources as z > 1 Radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huynh, Minh T.; Norris, Ray P.; Siana, Brian; Middelberg, Enno

2010-02-01

Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRSs) are a class of radio objects found in the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey which have no observable mid-infrared counterpart in the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) survey. The extended Chandra Deep Field South now has even deeper Spitzer imaging (3.6-70 μm) from a number of Legacy surveys. We report the detections of two IFRS sources in IRAC images. The non-detection of two other IFRSs allows us to constrain the source type. Detailed modeling of the spectral energy distribution of these objects shows that they are consistent with high-redshift (z >~ 1) active galactic nuclei.

EVIDENCE FOR INFRARED-FAINT RADIO SOURCES AS z > 1 RADIO-LOUD ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huynh, Minh T.; Norris, Ray P.; Siana, Brian

2010-02-10

Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRSs) are a class of radio objects found in the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey which have no observable mid-infrared counterpart in the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) survey. The extended Chandra Deep Field South now has even deeper Spitzer imaging (3.6-70 {mu}m) from a number of Legacy surveys. We report the detections of two IFRS sources in IRAC images. The non-detection of two other IFRSs allows us to constrain the source type. Detailed modeling of the spectral energy distribution of these objects shows that they are consistent with high-redshift (z {approx}> 1) active galactic nuclei.

Infrared Faint Radio Sources in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huynh, Minh T.

2009-01-01

Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRSs) are a class of radio objects found in the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) which have no observable counterpart in the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic Survey (SWIRE). The extended Chandra Deep Field South now has even deeper Spitzer imaging (3.6 to 70 micron) from a number of Legacy surveys. We report the detections of two IFRS sources in IRAC images. The non-detection of two other IFRSs allows us to constrain the source type. Detailed modeling of the SED of these objects shows that they are consistent with high redshift AGN (z > 2).

Recent SPIRITS discoveries of Infrared Transients and Variables with Spitzer/IRAC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jencson, J. E.; Kasliwal, M. M.; Adams, S.; Cook, D.; Tinyanont, S.; Kwan, S.; Prince, T.; Lau, R. M.; Perley, D.; Masci, F.; Helou, G.; Armus, L.; Surace, J.; Dyk, S. D. Van; Cody, A.; Boyer, M. L.; Bond, H. E.; Monson, A.; Bally, J.; Khan, R.; Levesque, E.; Fox, O.; Williams, R.; Whitelock, P. A.; Mohamed, S.; Gehrz, R. D.; Amodeo, S.; Shenoy, D.; Carlon, R.; Cass, A.; Corgan, D.; Dykhoff, D.; Faella, J.; Gburek, T.; Smith, N.; Cantiello, M.; Langer, N.; Ofek, E.; Johansson, J.; Parthasarathy, M.; Hsiao, E.; Phillips, M.; Morrell, N.; Gonzalez, C.; Contreras, C.

2018-04-01

We report the discoveries of mid-infrared transients/strong variables found in the course of the Spitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey (SPIRITS) using Spitzer Early Release Data (ATel #6644, #7929, #8688, #8940, #9434, #10171, #10172, #10488, #10903).

SPIRITS: Uncovering Unusual Infrared Transients with Spitzer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kasliwal, Mansi M.; Jencson, Jacob E.; Tinyanont, Samaporn

2017-04-20

We present an ongoing, five-year systematic search for extragalactic infrared transients, dubbed SPIRITS—SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey. In the first year, using Spitzer /IRAC, we searched 190 nearby galaxies with cadence baselines of one month and six months. We discovered over 1958 variables and 43 transients. Here, we describe the survey design and highlight 14 unusual infrared transients with no optical counterparts to deep limits, which we refer to as SPRITEs (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events). SPRITEs are in the infrared luminosity gap between novae and supernovae, with [4.5] absolute magnitudes between −11 and −14 (Vega-mag) and [3.6]–[4.5] colors betweenmore » 0.3 mag and 1.6 mag. The photometric evolution of SPRITEs is diverse, ranging from <0.1 mag yr{sup −1} to >7 mag yr{sup −1}. SPRITEs occur in star-forming galaxies. We present an in-depth study of one of them, SPIRITS 14ajc in Messier 83, which shows shock-excited molecular hydrogen emission. This shock may have been triggered by the dynamic decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars that led to either the formation of a binary or a protostellar merger.« less

Concluding Thoughts on New Directions in Infrared Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harwit, Martin

Currently planned infrared space missions are ambitious and bound to be rewarding. We ask whether design criteria of the past still hold for these projects, and suggest that accumulating experience dictates new engineering guidelines for these increasingly sophisticated missions. Striking spectroscopic advances presented at this symposium indicate that generally held beliefs about the chemical evolution of galaxies may need to be revised. Similar changes in attitude may be required by the results of deep infrared surveys and the recent detectedion of a diffuse far-infrared (FIR) extragalactic background

Searching for faint comoving companions to the α Centauri system in the VVV survey infrared images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beamín, J. C.; Minniti, D.; Pullen, J. B.; Ivanov, V. D.; Bendek, E.; Bayo, A.; Gromadzki, M.; Kurtev, R.; Lucas, P. W.; Butler, R. P.

2017-12-01

The VVV survey has observed the southern disc of the Milky Way in the near-infrared, covering 240 deg2 in the ZYJHKs filters. We search the VVV survey images in a ∼19 deg2 field around α Centauri, the nearest stellar system to the Sun, to look for possible overlooked companions that the baseline in time of VVV would be able to uncover. The photometric depth of our search reaches Y ∼ 19.3 mag, J ∼ 19 mag, and Ks ∼ 17 mag. This search has yielded no new companions in α Centauri system, setting an upper mass limit for any unseen companion well into the brown dwarf/planetary mass regime. The apparent magnitude limits were turned into effective temperature limits, and the presence of companion objects with effective temperatures warmer than 325 K can be ruled out using different state-of-the-art atmospheric models. These limits were transformed into mass limits using evolutionary models, companions with masses above 11MJup were discarded, extending the constraints recently provided in the literature up to projected distances of d < 7000 au from α Cen AB and ∼1 200 au from Proxima. In the next few years, the VVV extended survey (VVVX) will allow us to extend the search and place similar limits on brown dwarfs/planetary companions to α Cen AB for separations up to 20 000 au.

The INfrared Survey of Young Nebulous Clusters (IN-SYNC): Surveying the Dynamics and Star Formation Histories of Young Clusters with APOGEE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Covey, Kevin R.; Cottaar, Michiel; Foster, Jonathan B.; Da Rio, Nicola; Tan, Jonathan; Meyer, Michael; Nidever, David L.; Flaherty, Kevin M.; Arce, Hector G.; Rebull, Luisa M.; Chojnowski, S. Drew; Frinchaboy, Peter M.; Hearty, Fred R.; Majewski, Steven R.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Stassun, Keivan; Wilson, John C.; Zasowski, Gail

2015-01-01

Young clusters are the most prolific sites of star formation in the Milky Way, but demographic studies indicate that relatively few of the Milky Way's stellar clusters persist as bound structures for 100 Myrs or longer. Uniform & precise measurements of the stellar populations and internal dynamics of these regions are difficult to obtain, however, particularly for extremely young clusters whose optical visibility is greatly hampered by their parental molecular cloud. The INfrared Survey of Young Nebulous Clusters (IN-SYNC), an SDSS-III ancillary science program, leverages the stability and multiplex capability of the APOGEE spectrograph to obtain high resolution spectra at near-infrared wavelengths, where photospheric emission is better able to penetrate the dusty shrouds that surround sites of active star formation. We summarize our recent measurements of the kinematics and stellar populations of IC 348 and NGC 1333, two young clusters in the Perseus Molecular Cloud, and of the members of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) and L1641 filament in the Orion molecular complex. These measurements highlight the dynamically 'warm' environment within these young clusters, and suggest a range of stellar radii within these quasi-single-age populations. We close with a preview of plans for continuing this work as part of the APOGEE-2 science portfolio: self-consistent measurements of the kinematics and star formation histories for clusters spanning a range of initial conditions and ages will provide a opportunity to disentangle the mechanisms that drive the formation and dissolution of sites of active star formation.

Mapping the Infrared Universe: Part 1

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-14

This image is a map of the portion of the sky covered by the preliminary release of WISE data. WISE surveyed the entire sky in four infrared wavelengths in 2010. This map is centered on the Milky Way galaxy.

UNIVERSALITY OF THE NEAR-INFRARED EXTINCTION LAW BASED ON THE APOGEE SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Shu; Jiang, B. W., E-mail: shuwang@mail.bnu.edu.cn, E-mail: bjiang@bnu.edu.cn

Whether the near-infrared (NIR) extinction law is universal has long been a debated topic. Based on the APOGEE H-band spectroscopic survey, a key project of SDSS-III, the intrinsic colors of a large number of giant stars are accurately determined from the stellar effective temperature. Taking advantage of this and using a sample of 5942 K-type giants, the NIR extinction law is carefully revisited. The color excess ratio E(J – H)/E(J – K {sub S}), representative of the NIR extinction law, shows no dependence on the color excess when E(J – K {sub S}) changes from ∼0.3 to ∼4.0, which implies amore » universal NIR extinction law from diffuse to dense regions. The constant value of E(J – H)/E(J – K {sub S}), 0.64, corresponds to a power law index of 1.95. The other two ratios, E(H – K {sub S})/E(J – K {sub S}) and E(J – H)/E(H – K {sub S}), are 0.36 and 1.78, respectively. The results are consistent with the MRN dust size distribution.« less

Understanding Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the Herschel Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Jason; Sanders, David B.; Larson, Kirsten L.; Mazzarella, Joseph M.; Howell, Justin; Diaz Santos, Tanio; Xu, C. Kevin; Paladini, Roberta; Schulz, Bernhard; Shupe, David L.; Appleton, Philip N.; Armus, Lee; Billot, Nicolas; Pan Chan, Hiu; Evans, Aaron S.; Fadda, Dario; Frayer, David T.; Haan, Sebastian; Mie Ishida, Catherine; Iwasawa, Kazushi; Kim, Dong-Chan; Lord, Steven D.; Murphy, Eric J.; Petric, Andreea; Privon, George C.; Surace, Jason A.; Treister, Ezequiel; Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey, Cosmic Evolution Survey

2017-06-01

Luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies [(U)LIRGs] are some of the most extreme objects in the universe with their elevated star formation rates and/or presence of a powerful AGN, playing a central role in the evolution of galaxies throughout cosmic history. The 201 local (U)LIRGs (z<0.088) within the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) provide an unmatched opportunity to characterize the diverse properties in a large, statistically significant sample, in addition to comparisons with their high redshift counterparts. In this thesis talk I will first present the Herschel PACS and SPIRE far infrared image atlas of the entire GOALS sample (encompassing the 70-500 micron wavelength range), and demonstrate the excellent data quality. The Herschel GOALS images presented here are the highest resolution, most sensitive and comprehensive far-infrared imaging survey of the nearest (U)LIRGs to date. This allows us for the first time to directly probe the critical far infrared and submillimeter wavelength regime of these systems, enabling us to accurately determine the bolometric luminosities, infrared surface brightnesses, star formation rates, and dust masses and temperatures on spatial scales of 2-5 kpc. In addition, the superb resolution of Herschel means we can resolve many of the galaxy pairs and systems within the GOALS sample, allowing us to measure far infrared fluxes of component galaxies. Finally, using the Herschel photometry in conjunction with Spitzer, WISE, and IRAS data, I will show our first results on the global properties of (U)LIRGs such as their average 3-500 micron infrared SEDs and far infrared colors, and compare them to lower infrared luminosity objects. We will also compare and contrast their infrared SED shapes with previously published SED templates from the literature. If time permits, I will also show initial results from our rest-frame optical spectroscopy program on z~2.3 infrared selected galaxies in the COSMOS field.

The Stellar Mass of M31 as inferred by the Andromeda Optical & Infrared Disk Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sick, Jonathan; Courteau, Stephane; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; Dalcanton, Julianne; de Jong, Roelof; McDonald, Michael; Simard, Dana; Tully, R. Brent

2015-04-01

Our proximity and external vantage point make M31 an ideal testbed for understanding the structure of spiral galaxies. The Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey (ANDROIDS) has mapped M31's bulge and disk out to R=40 kpc in ugriJKs bands with CFHT using a careful sky calibration. We use Bayesian modelling of the optical-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) to estimate profiles of M31's stellar populations and mass along the major axis. This analysis provides evidence for inside-out disk formation and a declining metallicity gradient. M31's i-band mass-to-light ratio (M/Li *) decreases from 0.5 dex in the bulge to ~ 0.2 dex at 40 kpc. The best-constrained stellar population models use the full ugriJKs SED but are also consistent with optical-only fits. Therefore, while NIR data can be successfully modelled with modern stellar population synthesis, NIR data do not provide additional constraints in this application. Fits to the gi-SED alone yield M/Li * that are systematically lower than the full SED fit by 0.1 dex. This is still smaller than the 0.3 dex scatter amongst different relations for M/Li via g - i colour found in the literature. We advocate a stellar mass of M *(30 kpc) = 10.3+2.3 -1.7 × 1010 M⊙ for the M31 bulge and disk.

A HIGH-PRECISION NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY FOR RADIAL VELOCITY VARIABLE LOW-MASS STARS USING CSHELL AND A METHANE GAS CELL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gagné, Jonathan; Plavchan, Peter; Gao, Peter

2016-05-01

We present the results of a precise near-infrared (NIR) radial velocity (RV) survey of 32 low-mass stars with spectral types K2–M4 using CSHELL at the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility in the K band with an isotopologue methane gas cell to achieve wavelength calibration and a novel, iterative RV extraction method. We surveyed 14 members of young (≈25–150 Myr) moving groups, the young field star ε Eridani, and 18 nearby (<25 pc) low-mass stars and achieved typical single-measurement precisions of 8–15 m s{sup −1}with a long-term stability of 15–50 m s{sup −1} over longer baselines. We obtain the best NIR RVmore » constraints to date on 27 targets in our sample, 19 of which were never followed by high-precision RV surveys. Our results indicate that very active stars can display long-term RV variations as low as ∼25–50 m s{sup −1} at ≈2.3125 μ m, thus constraining the effect of jitter at these wavelengths. We provide the first multiwavelength confirmation of GJ 876 bc and independently retrieve orbital parameters consistent with previous studies. We recovered RV variabilities for HD 160934 AB and GJ 725 AB that are consistent with their known binary orbits, and nine other targets are candidate RV variables with a statistical significance of 3 σ –5 σ . Our method, combined with the new iSHELL spectrograph, will yield long-term RV precisions of ≲5 m s{sup −1} in the NIR, which will allow the detection of super-Earths near the habitable zone of mid-M dwarfs.« less

THE CHANDRA COSMOS SURVEY. III. OPTICAL AND INFRARED IDENTIFICATION OF X-RAY POINT SOURCES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Civano, F.; Elvis, M.; Aldcroft, T.

2012-08-01

The Chandra COSMOS Survey (C-COSMOS) is a large, 1.8 Ms, Chandra program that has imaged the central 0.9 deg{sup 2} of the COSMOS field down to limiting depths of 1.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -16} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in the soft (0.5-2 keV) band, 7.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -16} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in the hard (2-10 keV) band, and 5.7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -16} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in the full (0.5-10 keV) band. In this paper we report the i, K, and 3.6 {mu}m identifications of the 1761 X-ray point sources. We use the likelihood ratio technique tomore » derive the association of optical/infrared counterparts for 97% of the X-ray sources. For most of the remaining 3%, the presence of multiple counterparts or the faintness of the possible counterpart prevented a unique association. For only 10 X-ray sources we were not able to associate a counterpart, mostly due to the presence of a very bright field source close by. Only two sources are truly empty fields. The full catalog, including spectroscopic and photometric redshifts and classification described here in detail, is available online. Making use of the large number of X-ray sources, we update the 'classic locus' of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) defined 20 years ago in soft X-ray surveys and define a new locus containing 90% of the AGNs in the survey with full-band luminosity >10{sup 42} erg s{sup -1}. We present the linear fit between the total i-band magnitude and the X-ray flux in the soft and hard bands, drawn over two orders of magnitude in X-ray flux, obtained using the combined C-COSMOS and XMM-COSMOS samples. We focus on the X-ray to optical flux ratio (X/O) and we test its known correlation with redshift and luminosity, and a recently introduced anti-correlation with the concentration index (C). We find a strong anti-correlation (though the dispersion is of the order of 0.5 dex) between X/O computed in the hard band and C and that 90% of the obscured AGNs in the sample with

U.S. market for infrared thermography equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulop, Gabor F.

1995-03-01

The market for infrared thermography is undergoing dramatic changes. Focal plane array technologies previously dominated by the military are being opened up to the commercial sector, new uncooled technologies are advancing rapidly and entirely new applications are emerging. Maxtech International has carried out its second in-depth analysis of these markets within two years. In 1994, the U.S. market for commercial (and dual-use) infrared thermography equipment reached 100 million and is expected to grow to 250 million by 1999. As part of the analysis, a survey of over 3,900 users of infrared thermography equipment has been completed. Included are segmentation by end-user industry and expected spending projections in various market segments.

Unbiased Large Spectroscopic Surveys of Galaxies Selected by SPICA Using Dust Bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneda, H.; Ishihara, D.; Oyabu, S.; Yamagishi, M.; Wada, T.; Armus, L.; Baes, M.; Charmandaris, V.; Czerny, B.; Efstathiou, A.; Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A.; Ferrara, A.; González-Alfonso, E.; Griffin, M.; Gruppioni, C.; Hatziminaoglou, E.; Imanishi, M.; Kohno, K.; Kwon, J.; Nakagawa, T.; Onaka, T.; Pozzi, F.; Scott, D.; Smith, J.-D. T.; Spinoglio, L.; Suzuki, T.; van der Tak, F.; Vaccari, M.; Vignali, C.; Wang, L.

2017-11-01

The mid-infrared range contains many spectral features associated with large molecules and dust grains such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and silicates. These are usually very strong compared to fine-structure gas lines, and thus valuable in studying the spectral properties of faint distant galaxies. In this paper, we evaluate the capability of low-resolution mid-infrared spectroscopic surveys of galaxies that could be performed by SPICA. The surveys are designed to address the question how star formation and black hole accretion activities evolved over cosmic time through spectral diagnostics of the physical conditions of the interstellar/circumnuclear media in galaxies. On the basis of results obtained with Herschel far-infrared photometric surveys of distant galaxies and Spitzer and AKARI near- to mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of nearby galaxies, we estimate the numbers of the galaxies at redshift z > 0.5, which are expected to be detected in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon features or dust continuum by a wide (10 deg2) or deep (1 deg2) blind survey, both for a given observation time of 600 h. As by-products of the wide blind survey, we also expect to detect debris disks, through the mid-infrared excess above the photospheric emission of nearby main-sequence stars, and we estimate their number. We demonstrate that the SPICA mid-infrared surveys will efficiently provide us with unprecedentedly large spectral samples, which can be studied further in the far-infrared with SPICA.

Large Magellanic Cloud Near-infrared Synoptic Survey. V. Period–Luminosity Relations of Miras

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yuan, Wenlong; Macri, Lucas M.; He, Shiyuan

We study the near-infrared properties of 690 Mira candidates in the central region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, based on time-series observations at JHK{sub s}. We use densely sampled I -band observations from the OGLE project to generate template light curves in the near-infrared and derive robust mean magnitudes at those wavelengths. We obtain near-infrared Period–Luminosity relations for oxygen-rich Miras with a scatter as low as 0.12 mag at K{sub s}. We study the Period–Luminosity–Color relations and the color excesses of carbon-rich Miras, which show evidence for a substantially different reddening law.

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 1: Explanatory supplement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beichman, C. A. (Editor); Neugebauer, G. (Editor); Habing, H. J. (Editor); Clegg, P. E. (Editor); Chester, Thomas J. (Editor)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched on January 26, 1983. During its 300-day mission, IRAS surveyed over 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. Volume 1 describes the instrument, the mission, and data reduction.

Remote sensing of land-based voids using computer enhanced infrared thermography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weil, Gary J.

1989-10-01

Experiments are described in which computer-enhanced infrared thermography techniques are used to detect and describe subsurface land-based voids, such as voids surrounding buried utility pipes, voids in concrete structures such as airport taxiways, abandoned buried utility storage tanks, and caves and underground shelters. Infrared thermography also helps to evaluate bridge deck systems, highway pavements, and garage concrete. The IR thermography techniques make it possible to survey large areas quickly and efficiently. The paper also surveys the advantages and limitations of thermographic testing in comparison with other forms of NDT.

Automated classification of periodic variable stars detected by the wide-field infrared survey explorer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Masci, Frank J.; Grillmair, Carl J.; Cutri, Roc M.

2014-07-01

We describe a methodology to classify periodic variable stars identified using photometric time-series measurements constructed from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) full-mission single-exposure Source Databases. This will assist in the future construction of a WISE Variable Source Database that assigns variables to specific science classes as constrained by the WISE observing cadence with statistically meaningful classification probabilities. We have analyzed the WISE light curves of 8273 variable stars identified in previous optical variability surveys (MACHO, GCVS, and ASAS) and show that Fourier decomposition techniques can be extended into the mid-IR to assist with their classification. Combined with other periodicmore » light-curve features, this sample is then used to train a machine-learned classifier based on the random forest (RF) method. Consistent with previous classification studies of variable stars in general, the RF machine-learned classifier is superior to other methods in terms of accuracy, robustness against outliers, and relative immunity to features that carry little or redundant class information. For the three most common classes identified by WISE: Algols, RR Lyrae, and W Ursae Majoris type variables, we obtain classification efficiencies of 80.7%, 82.7%, and 84.5% respectively using cross-validation analyses, with 95% confidence intervals of approximately ±2%. These accuracies are achieved at purity (or reliability) levels of 88.5%, 96.2%, and 87.8% respectively, similar to that achieved in previous automated classification studies of periodic variable stars.« less

Development of a near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph (WINERED) for a survey of bulge stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsujimoto, T.; Kobayashi, N.; Yasui, C.; Kondo, S.; Minami, A.; Motohara, K.; Ikeda, Y.; Gouda, N.

2008-07-01

We are developing a new near-infrared high-resolution (R[max] = 100,000) and high-sensitive spectrograph WINERED, which is specifically customized for short NIR bands at 0.9 1.35 μm. WINERED employs an innovative optical system; a portable design and a warm optics without any cold stops. The planned astrometric space mission JASMINE will provide precise positions, distances, and proper motions of the bulge stars. The missing components, the radial velocity and chemical composition will be measured by WINERED. These combined data brought by JASMINE and WINERED will certainly reveal the nature of the Galactic bulge. We plan to complete this instrument for observations of single objects by the end of 2008 and to attach it to various 4 10m telescopes as a PI-type instrument. We hope to upgrade WINERED with a multi-object feed in the future for efficient survey of the JASMINE bulge stars.

X-ray Counterparts of Infrared Faint Radio Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schartel, Norbert

2011-10-01

Infrared Faint Radio Sources (IFRS) are radio sources with extremely faint or even absent infrared emission in deep Spitzer Surveys. Models of their spectral energy distributions, the ratios of radio to infrared flux densities and their steep radio spectra strongly suggest that IFRS are AGN at high redshifts (2infrared fluxes, will constrain the class-specific SED.

Catalog of infrared observations. Part 1: Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, Daniel Y.; Schmitz, Marion; Mead, Jaylee M.

1987-01-01

The Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO) is a compilation of infrared astronomical observational data obtained from an extensive literature search of astronomical journals and major astronomical catalogs and surveys. The literature searches are complete for 1965 through 1986 in this Second Edition. The Catalog is published in two parts, with the observational data (roughly 200,000 observations of 20,000 individual sources) listed in Part I, and supporting appendices in Part II. The expanded Second Edition contains a new feature: complete IRAS 4-band data for all CIO sources detected, listed with the main Catalog observations, as well as in complete detail in the Appendix. The appendices include an atlas of infrared source positions, two bibliographies of infrared literature upon which the search was based, and, keyed to the main Catalog listings (organized alphabetically by author and then chronologically), an atlas of infrared spectral ranges, and IRAS data from the CIO sources. The complete CIO database is available to qualified users in printed microfiche and magnetic tape formats.

The Las Campanas Infrared Survey - II. Photometric redshifts, comparison with models and clustering evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firth, A. E.; Somerville, R. S.; McMahon, R. G.; Lahav, O.; Ellis, R. S.; Sabbey, C. N.; McCarthy, P. J.; Chen, H.-W.; Marzke, R. O.; Wilson, J.; Abraham, R. G.; Beckett, M. G.; Carlberg, R. G.; Lewis, J. R.; Mackay, C. D.; Murphy, D. C.; Oemler, A. E.; Persson, S. E.

2002-05-01

The Las Campanas Infrared (LCIR) Survey, using the Cambridge Infra-Red Survey Instrument (CIRSI), reaches H ~21 over nearly 1deg2 . In this paper we present results from 744arcmin2 centred on the Hubble Deep Field South for which UBVRI optical data are publicly available. Making conservative magnitude cuts to ensure spatial uniformity, we detect 3177 galaxies to H =20.0 in 744arcmin2 and a further 842 to H =20.5 in a deeper subregion of 407arcmin2 . We compare the observed optical-infrared (IR) colour distributions with the predictions of semi-analytic hierarchical models and find reasonable agreement. We also determine photometric redshifts, finding a median redshift of ~0.55. We compare the redshift distributions N (z ) of E, Sbc, Scd and Im spectral types with models, showing that the observations are inconsistent with simple passive-evolution models while semi-analytic models provide a reasonable fit to the total N (z ) but underestimate the number of z ~1 red spectral types relative to bluer spectral types. We also present N (z ) for samples of extremely red objects (EROs) defined by optical-IR colours. We find that EROs with R -H >4 and H <20.5 have a median redshift z m ~1 while redder colour cuts have slightly higher z m . In the magnitude range 194 comprise ~18 per cent of the observed galaxy population, while in semi-analytic models they contribute only ~4 per cent. We also determine the angular correlation function w (θ ) for magnitude, colour, spectral type and photometric redshift-selected subsamples of the data and use the photometric redshift distributions to derive the spatial clustering statistic ξ (r ) as a function of spectral type and redshift out to z ~1.2. Parametrizing ξ (r ) by ξ (r c ,z )=[r c /r *(z )]-1.8 , where r c is in comoving coordinates, we find that r *(z ) increases by a factor of 1.5-2 from z =0 to z ~1.2. We interpret this as a selection effect - the galaxies selected at z ~1.2 are

Identifying OH Imposters in the ALFALFA Neutral Hydrogen Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suess, Katherine A.; Darling, Jeremy; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo

2016-06-01

OH megamasers (OHMs) are rare, luminous molecular masers that are typically observed in (ultra) luminous infrared galaxies and serve as markers of major galaxy mergers. In blind emission line surveys such as the Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-Band Feed Array (ALFALFA) survey for neutral hydrogen (H I), OHMs at z ˜ 0.2 can mimic z ˜ 0.05 H I lines. We present the results of optical spectroscopy of ambiguous H I detections in the ALFALFA 40 per cent data release detected by the Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) but with uncertain optical counterparts. The optical redshifts, obtained from observations at the Apache Point Observatory, revealed five new OHMs and identified 129 H I optical counterparts. 60 candidates remain ambiguous. The new OHMs are the first detected in a blind spectral line survey. The number of OHMs in ALFALFA is consistent with predictions from the OH luminosity function. Additionally, the mid-infrared magnitudes and colours of the OHM host galaxies found in a blind survey do not seem to differ from those found in previous targeted surveys. This validates the methods used in previous IR-selected OHM surveys and indicates there is no previously unknown OHM-producing population at z ˜ 0.2. We also provide a method for future surveys to separate OH megamasers from 99 per cent of H I line emitters without optical spectroscopy by using WISE infrared colours and magnitudes. Since the fraction of OHMs found in flux-limited H I surveys is expected to increase with the survey's redshift, this selection method can be applied to future flux-limited high-redshift hydrogen surveys.

SEDS: The Spitzer Extended Deep Survey. Survey Design, Photometry, and Deep IRAC Source Counts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashby, M. L. N.; Willner, S. P.; Fazio, G. G.; Huang, J.-S.; Arendt, A.; Barmby, P.; Barro, G; Bell, E. F.; Bouwens, R.; Cattaneo, A.;

An ISO far-infrared survey of line and continuum emission for 227 galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brauher, J. R.

2002-01-01

Far-infrared line and continuum fluxes are presented for a sample of 227 galaxies observed with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer on the Infrared Space Observatory, selected from the ISO Data Archive and having an IRAS 60/100 mu m color ration of 0.2-1.4 and IRAS 60 mu m flux density between 0.1 Jy and 1300 Jy.

Use Of Infrared Thermography For The Identification Of Design And Construction Faults In Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seeber, Stephen A.

1984-03-01

Many design and construction details can affect building energy consumption in unex-pected ways. Further, design and construction errors can increase building energy consumption, result in discomfort to building occupants and cause structural damage to the building. Infrared inspections can easily evaluate the energy efficiency of various aspects of a building's design and identify flaws that might otherwise be detected as a result of occupants' complaints or damage to the building's mechanical or structural systems. Infrared thermography can be used by the architect to evaluate his designs and by the contractor to control the quality of construction. This paper discusses a number of issues that can help determine the effectiveness of infrared building surveys. Following this, three case stud-ies will be presented to illustrate design flaws that were detected through infrared build-ing surveys.

Predictions of Planet Detections with Near-infrared Radial Velocities in the Upcoming SPIRou Legacy Survey-planet Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cloutier, Ryan; Artigau, Étienne; Delfosse, Xavier; Malo, Lison; Moutou, Claire; Doyon, René; Donati, Jean-Francois; Cumming, Andrew; Dumusque, Xavier; Hébrard, Élodie; Menou, Kristen

2018-02-01

The SPIRou near-infrared spectropolarimeter is destined to begin science operations at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope in mid-2018. One of the instrument’s primary science goals is to discover the closest exoplanets to the solar system by conducting a three- to five-year long radial velocity survey of nearby M dwarfs at an expected precision of ∼1 m s‑1, the SPIRou Legacy Survey-Planet Search (SLS-PS). In this study, we conduct a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the SLS-PS using our current understanding of the occurrence rate of M dwarf planetary systems and physical models of stellar activity. From simultaneous modeling of planetary signals and activity, we predict the population of planets to be detected in the SLS-PS. With our fiducial survey strategy and expected instrument performance over a nominal survey length of ∼3 years, we expect SPIRou to detect {85.3}-12.4+29.3 planets including {20.0}-7.2+16.8 habitable-zone planets and {8.1}-3.2+7.6 Earth-like planets from a sample of 100 M1–M8.5 dwarfs out to 11 pc. By studying mid-to-late M dwarfs previously inaccessible to existing optical velocimeters, SPIRou will put meaningful constraints on the occurrence rate of planets around those stars including the value of {η }\\oplus at an expected level of precision of ≲ 45 % . We also predict that a subset of {46.7}-6.0+16.0 planets may be accessible with dedicated high-contrast imagers on the next generation of extremely large telescopes including {4.9}-2.0+4.7 potentially imagable Earth-like planets. Lastly, we compare the results of our fiducial survey strategy to other foreseeable survey versions to quantify which strategy is optimized to reach the SLS-PS science goals. The results of our simulations are made available to the community on GitHub (https://github.com/r-cloutier/SLSPS_Simulations).

The middle infrared properties of OH megamaser host galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J. S.; Wang, J. Z.; Di, G. X.; Zhu, Q. F.; Guo, Q.; Wang, J.

2014-10-01

We compiled all 119 OH maser galaxies (110 out of them are megamasers, i.e., LOH> 10 L⊙) published so far and cross-identified these OH masers with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalog, to investigate the middle infrared (MIR) properties of OH maser galaxies. The WISE magnitude data at the 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 μm (W1 to W4) are collected for the OH maser sample and one control sample, which are non-detection sources. The color-color diagrams show that both OH megamaser (OHM) and non-OHM (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs) are far away from the single blackbody model line and many of them can follow the path described by the power-law model. The active galaxy nuclei (AGN) fraction is about ~40% for both OHM and non-OHM (U)LIRGs, according to the AGN criteria W1 - W2 ≥ 0.8. Among the Arecibo survey sample, OHM sources tend to have a lower luminosity at short MIR wavelengths (e.g., 3.4 μm and 4.6 μm) than that of non-OHM sources, which should come from the low OHM fraction among the survey sample with large 3.4 μm and 4.6 μm luminosity. The OHM fraction tends to increase with cooler MIR colors (larger F22 μm/F3.4 μm). These may be good for sample selection when searching OH megamasers, such as excluding extreme luminous sources at short MIR wavelengths, choosing sources with cooler MIR colors. In the case of the power-law model, we derived the spectral indices for our samples. For the Arecibo survey sample, OHM (U)LIRGs tend to have larger spectral index α22-12 than non-OHM sources, which agrees with previous results. One significant correlation exists between the WISE infrared luminosity at 22μm and the color [W1]-[W4] for the Arecibo OHM hosts. These clues should provide suitable constraints on the sample selection for OH megamaser surveys by future advanced telescopes (e.g., FAST). In addition, the correlation of maser luminosity and the MIR luminosity of maser hosts tends to be non-significant, which may indirectly support

How Complete is Mid-Infrared Selection of Active Galactic Nuclei?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grae Short, Miona; Diamond-Stanic, Aleks

2015-01-01

Essentially every galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole, and roughly 10% of those black holes are currently growing as active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Given the compelling evidence that galaxies and black holes co-evolve, there is strong motivation to study how black holes assemble their mass through cosmic time. However, this is challenging because a large fraction of black hole growth is enshrouded by gas and dust. Deep and wide surveys at X-ray and infrared wavelengths offer a powerful way to study the obscured AGN population, but an important caveat is that X-ray surveys are not complete for the most highly absorbed sources and infrared surveys are not able to distinguish low-luminosity AGNs from normal galaxies. To help address these outstanding issues and to analyze the completeness of mid-infrared AGN selection, we use Spitzer and WISE photometry to study the mid-infrared colors of a complete sample of local AGNs. The sample is drawn from the revised Shapley-Ames galaxy catalog and includes every galaxy in the sky brighter than B=13 that is known to host Seyfert activity. This sample is unique in its sensitivity to low-luminosity and highly obscured sources. Our main result is that most of these known AGNs would be classified as normal galaxies on the basis of their mid-infrared colors, implying that analogs to local Seyfert galaxies would not be identified as AGNs in existing surveys. We find that this a strong function of AGN luminosity, and we also present trends as a function of AGN obscuration, galaxy luminosity, and stellar mass. These results provide important insights into the AGN population that is missing from our census of black hole growth in the distant universe. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation's REU program through NSF Award AST-1004881. We also acknowledge support from The Grainger Foundation and from gifts made to the Department of Astronomy at UW-Madison.

Addressing Thermal Model Run Time Concerns of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope using Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peabody, Hume; Guerrero, Sergio; Hawk, John; Rodriguez, Juan; McDonald, Carson; Jackson, Cliff

2016-01-01

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope using Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA) utilizes an existing 2.4 m diameter Hubble sized telescope donated from elsewhere in the federal government for near-infrared sky surveys and Exoplanet searches to answer crucial questions about the universe and dark energy. The WFIRST design continues to increase in maturity, detail, and complexity with each design cycle leading to a Mission Concept Review and entrance to the Mission Formulation Phase. Each cycle has required a Structural-Thermal-Optical-Performance (STOP) analysis to ensure the design can meet the stringent pointing and stability requirements. As such, the models have also grown in size and complexity leading to increased model run time. This paper addresses efforts to reduce the run time while still maintaining sufficient accuracy for STOP analyses. A technique was developed to identify slews between observing orientations that were sufficiently different to warrant recalculation of the environmental fluxes to reduce the total number of radiation calculation points. The inclusion of a cryocooler fluid loop in the model also forced smaller time-steps than desired, which greatly increases the overall run time. The analysis of this fluid model required mitigation to drive the run time down by solving portions of the model at different time scales. Lastly, investigations were made into the impact of the removal of small radiation couplings on run time and accuracy. Use of these techniques allowed the models to produce meaningful results within reasonable run times to meet project schedule deadlines.

THE TAIWAN ECDFS NEAR-INFRARED SURVEY: ULTRA-DEEP J AND K{sub S} IMAGING IN THE EXTENDED CHANDRA DEEP FIELD-SOUTH

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsieh, Bau-Ching; Wang, Wei-Hao; Hsieh, Chih-Chiang

2012-12-15

We present ultra-deep J and K{sub S} imaging observations covering a 30' Multiplication-Sign 30' area of the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (ECDFS) carried out by our Taiwan ECDFS Near-Infrared Survey (TENIS). The median 5{sigma} limiting magnitudes for all detected objects in the ECDFS reach 24.5 and 23.9 mag (AB) for J and K{sub S} , respectively. In the inner 400 arcmin{sup 2} region where the sensitivity is more uniform, objects as faint as 25.6 and 25.0 mag are detected at 5{sigma}. Thus, this is by far the deepest J and K{sub S} data sets available for the ECDFS. To combinemore » TENIS with the Spitzer IRAC data for obtaining better spectral energy distributions of high-redshift objects, we developed a novel deconvolution technique (IRACLEAN) to accurately estimate the IRAC fluxes. IRACLEAN can minimize the effect of blending in the IRAC images caused by the large point-spread functions and reduce the confusion noise. We applied IRACLEAN to the images from the Spitzer IRAC/MUSYC Public Legacy in the ECDFS survey (SIMPLE) and generated a J+K{sub S} -selected multi-wavelength catalog including the photometry of both the TENIS near-infrared and the SIMPLE IRAC data. We publicly release the data products derived from this work, including the J and K{sub S} images and the J+K{sub S} -selected multi-wavelength catalog.« less

Infrared Astronomy and Education: Linking Infrared Whole Sky Mapping with Teacher and Student Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borders, Kareen; Mendez, Bryan; Thaller, Michelle; Gorjian, Varoujan; Borders, Kyla; Pitman, Peter; Pereira, Vincent; Sepulveda, Babs; Stark, Ron; Knisely, Cindy; Dandrea, Amy; Winglee, Robert; Plecki, Marge; Goebel, Jeri; Condit, Matt; Kelly, Susan

The Spitzer Space Telescope and the recently launched WISE (Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer) observe the sky in infrared light. Among the objects WISE will study are asteroids, the coolest and dimmest stars, and the most luminous galaxies. Secondary students can do authentic research using infrared data. For example, students will use WISE data to mea-sure physical properties of asteroids. In order to prepare students and teachers at this level with a high level of rigor and scientific understanding, the WISE and the Spitzer Space Tele-scope Education programs provided an immersive teacher professional development workshop in infrared astronomy.The lessons learned from the Spitzer and WISE teacher and student pro-grams can be applied to other programs engaging them in authentic research experiences using data from space-borne observatories such as Herschel and Planck. Recently, WISE Educator Ambassadors and NASA Explorer School teachers developed and led an infrared astronomy workshop at Arecibo Observatory in PuertoRico. As many common misconceptions involve scale and distance, teachers worked with Moon/Earth scale, solar system scale, and distance and age of objects in the Universe. Teachers built and used basic telescopes, learned about the history of telescopes, explored ground and satellite based telescopes, and explored and worked on models of WISE Telescope. An in-depth explanation of WISE and the Spitzer telescopes gave participants background knowledge for infrared astronomy observations. We taught the electromagnetic spectrum through interactive stations. We will outline specific steps for sec-ondary astronomy professional development, detail student involvement in infrared telescope data analysis, provide data demonstrating the impact of the above professional development on educator understanding and classroom use, and detail future plans for additional secondary professional development and student involvement in infrared astronomy. Funding was

Extremely Luminous Far-infrared Sources (ELFS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harwit, Martin; Houck, James R.; Soifer, B. Thomas; Palumbo, Giorgio G. C.

1987-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) survey uncovered a class of Extremely Luminous Far Infrared Sources (ELFS), exhibiting luminosities up to and occasionally exceeding 10 to the 12th power L sub 0. Arguments are presented to show that sources with luminosities L equal to or greater than 3 x 10 to the 10th power L sub 0 may represent gas rich galaxies in collision. The more conventional explanation of these sources as sites of extremely active star formation fails to explain the observed low optical luminosities of ELFS as well as their high infrared excess. In contrast, a collisional model heats gas to a temperature of approx. 10 to the 6th power K where cooling takes place in the extreme ultraviolet. The UV is absorbed by dust and converted into far infrared radiation (FIR) without generation of appreciable optical luminosity. Gas recombination as it cools generates a Lyman alpha photon only once for every two extreme ultraviolet approx. 50eV photons emitted by the 10 to the 6th power gas. That accounts for the high infrared excess. Finally, the model also is able to explain the observed luminosity distribution of ELFS as well as many other traits.

The infrared imaging radiometer for PICASSO-CENA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corlay, Gilles; Arnolfo, Marie-Christine; Bret-Dibat, Thierry; Lifferman, Anne; Pelon, Jacques

2017-11-01

Microbolometers are infrared detectors of an emerging technology mainly developed in US and few other countries for few years. The main targets of these developments are low performing and low cost military and civilian applications like survey cameras. Applications in space are now arising thanks to the design simplification and the associated cost reduction allowed by this new technology. Among the four instruments of the payload of PICASSO-CENA, the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) is based on the microbolometer technology. An infrared camera in development for the IASI instrument is the core of the IIR. The aim of the paper is to recall the PICASSO-CENA mission goal, to describe the IIR instrument architecture and highlight its main features and performances and to give the its development status.

A primary study on finding hot groundwater using infrared remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Y.; Wu, Q.

Hot groundwater is a kind of valuable natural resources to be explored utilized. Shanxi Province, located in the eastern Loess Plateau of China, is rich in geothermal resources, most of which was found in irrigation well drilling or geological survey. Basic study is weak. Now new developed Remote Sensing technique provides geothermal study with an advanced way. Air-RS information of thermal infrared and dada from thermal channel of Meteorological Landset AVHRR has been used widely. A thermal infrared channel (TM6) was installed in the U. S. second Landset, Its resolving power of space is as high as 120 m, 10 times more t an one ofh AVHRR. A Landset earth recourses launched by China and Brazil (CBERS-1) in 1999, including a spectrum of thermal infrared. It is paid a great interested and attention to survey geothermal resources using thermal infrared. This article is a brief introduction of finding hot groundwater with on the bases of differences of thermal radiation of objects reflected by thermal infrared in the Landset, and treated with HIS colors changes. This study provides an advanced way widely used to exploit hot groundwater and to promote the development of tourism and geothermal medical in China.

Deep 12 and 25 Micron Imaging with the Wide Field Infrared Explorer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Londsdale, Carol J.

1997-01-01

The Wide Field Infrared Explorer is a new NASA Small Explorer class observatory to be launced in late 1998. It will survey hundreds of square degrees of high latitude sky in the mid-infrared 12 and 25 micron bands to flux densities up to a factor of 1000 better than IRAS.

ISO deep far-infrared survey in the Lockman Hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawara, K.; Sato, Y.; Matsuhara, H.; Taniguchi, Y.; Okuda, H.; Sofue, Y.; Matsumoto, T.; Wakamatsu, K.; Cowie, L. L.; Joseph, R. D.; Sanders, D. B.

1999-03-01

Two 44 arcmin x 44 arcmin fields in the Lockman Hole were mapped at 95 and 175 μm using ISOPHOT. A simple program code combined with PIA works well to correct for the drift in the detector responsivity. The number density of 175 μm sources is 3 - 10 times higher than expected from the no-evolution model. The source counts at 95 and 175 μm are consistent with the cosmic infrared background.

Rest-Frame Mid-Infrared Detection of an Extremely Luminous Lyman Break Galaxy with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teplitz, H. I.; Charmandaris, V.; Armus, L.; Appleton, P. N.; Houck, J. R.; Soifer, B. T.; Weedman, D.; Brandl, B. R.; vanCleve, J.; Grillmair, C.;

Stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy (SOFIA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becklin, E. E.; Moon, L. J.

The joint U.S. and German SOFIA project to develop and operate a 2.5-meter infrared airborne telescope in a Boeing 747-SP is now well into development. First science flights will begin in 2004 with 20% of the observing time assigned to German investigators. The observatory is expected to operate for over 20 years. The sensitivity, characteristics and science instrument complement are discussed. SOFIA will have instrumentation that will allow astronomical surveys that were not possible on the KAO. A future SOFIA survey project related to astrochemistry is discussed.

A COMPREHENSIVE CENSUS OF NEARBY INFRARED EXCESS STARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cotten, Tara H.; Song, Inseok, E-mail: tara@physast.uga.edu, E-mail: song@physast.uga.edu

The conclusion of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) mission presents an opportune time to summarize the history of using excess emission in the infrared as a tracer of circumstellar material and exploit all available data for future missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope . We have compiled a catalog of infrared excess stars from peer-reviewed articles and perform an extensive search for new infrared excess stars by cross-correlating the Tycho-2 and all-sky WISE (AllWISE) catalogs. We define a significance of excess in four spectral type divisions and select stars showing greater than either 3 σmore » or 5 σ significance of excess in the mid- and far-infrared. Through procedures including spectral energy distribution fitting and various image analyses, each potential excess source was rigorously vetted to eliminate false positives. The infrared excess stars from the literature and the new stars found through the Tycho-2 and AllWISE cross-correlation produced nearly 500 “Prime” infrared excess stars, of which 74 are new sources of excess, and >1200 are “Reserved” stars, of which 950 are new sources of excess. The main catalog of infrared excess stars are nearby, bright, and either demonstrate excess in more than one passband or have infrared spectroscopy confirming the infrared excess. This study identifies stars that display a spectral energy distribution suggestive of a secondary or post-protoplanetary generation of dust, and they are ideal targets for future optical and infrared imaging observations. The final catalogs of stars summarize the past work using infrared excess to detect dust disks, and with the most extensive compilation of infrared excess stars (∼1750) to date, we investigate various relationships among stellar and disk parameters.« less

Mapping the Infrared Universe: The Entire WISE Sky

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-03-14

This is a mosaic of the images covering the entire sky as observed by NASA Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer WISE, part of its All-Sky Data Release. In this mosaic, the Milky Way Galaxy runs horizontally across the map.

The first VLBI image of an infrared-faint radio source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middelberg, E.; Norris, R. P.; Tingay, S.; Mao, M. Y.; Phillips, C. J.; Hotan, A. W.

2008-11-01

Context: We investigate the joint evolution of active galactic nuclei and star formation in the Universe. Aims: In the 1.4 GHz survey with the Australia Telescope Compact Array of the Chandra Deep Field South and the European Large Area ISO Survey - S1 we have identified a class of objects which are strong in the radio but have no detectable infrared and optical counterparts. This class has been called Infrared-Faint Radio Sources, or IFRS. 53 sources out of 2002 have been classified as IFRS. It is not known what these objects are. Methods: To address the many possible explanations as to what the nature of these objects is we have observed four sources with the Australian Long Baseline Array. Results: We have detected and imaged one of the four sources observed. Assuming that the source is at a high redshift, we find its properties in agreement with properties of Compact Steep Spectrum sources. However, due to the lack of optical and infrared data the constraints are not particularly strong.

The UKIDSS-2MASS proper motion survey - I. Ultracool dwarfs from UKIDSS DR4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deacon, N. R.; Hambly, N. C.; King, R. R.; McCaughrean, M. J.

2009-04-01

The UK Infrared Telescope Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) is the first of a new generation of infrared surveys. Here, we combine the data from two UKIDSS components, the Large Area Survey (LAS) and the Galactic Cluster Survey (GCS), with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) data to produce an infrared proper motion survey for low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. In total, we detect 267 low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with significant proper motions. We recover all 10 known single L dwarfs and the one known T dwarf above the 2MASS detection limit in our LAS survey area and identify eight additional new candidate L dwarfs. We also find one new candidate L dwarf in our GCS sample. Our sample also contains objects from 11 potential common proper motion binaries. Finally, we test our proper motions and find that while the LAS objects have proper motions consistent with absolute proper motions, the GCS stars may have proper motions which are significantly underestimated. This is possibly due to the bulk motion of some of the local astrometric reference stars used in the proper motion determination.

Cygnids and Taurids - Two classes of infrared objects.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strecker, D. W.; Ney, E. P.; Murdock, T. L.

1973-01-01

In a study of the anonymous objects from the IRC Survey, we have found that about 10 percent have large long wave excesses. These infrared stars seem to belong to two classes, one group like NML Cygni (Cygnids) and the other like NML Tauri (Taurids).

Far infrared supplement: Catalog of infrared observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, D. Y.; Schmitz, M.; Mead, J. M.

1982-01-01

The development of a new generation of orbital, airborne and ground-based infrared astronomical observatory facilities, including the infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS), the cosmic background explorer (COBE), the NASA Kuiper airborne observatory, and the NASA infrared telescope facility, intensified the need for a comprehensive, machine-readable data base and catalog of current infrared astronomical observations. The Infrared Astronomical Data Base and its principal data product, this catalog, comprise a machine-readable library of infrared (1 micrometer to 1000 micrometers) astronomical observations published in the scientific literature since 1965.

Emission Features and Source Counts of Galaxies in Mid-Infrared

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, C.; Hacking, P. B.; Fang, F.; Shupe, D. L.; Lonsdale, C. J.; Lu, N. Y.; Helou, G.; Stacey, G. J.; Ashby, M. L. N.

1998-01-01

In this work we incorporate the newest ISO results on the mid-infrared spectral-energy-distributions (MIR SEDs) of galaxies into models for the number counts and redshift distributions of MIR surveys.

Mid-infrared Variability of Changing-look AGNs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sheng, Zhenfeng; Wang, Tinggui; Jiang, Ning

2017-09-01

It is known that some active galactic nuclei (AGNs) transit from Type 1 to Type 2 or vice versa. There are two explanations for the so-called changing-look AGNs: one is the dramatic change of the obscuration along the line of sight, and the other is the variation of accretion rate. In this Letter, we report the detection of large amplitude variations in the mid-infrared luminosity during the transitions in 10 changing-look AGNs using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) and newly released Near-Earth Object WISE Reactivation data. The mid-infrared light curves of 10 objects echo the variability inmore » the optical band with a time lag expected for dust reprocessing. The large variability amplitude is inconsistent with the scenario of varying obscuration, rather it supports the scheme of dramatic change in the accretion rate.« less

Effective and efficient agricultural drainage pipe mapping with UAS thermal infrared imagery: a case study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Effective and efficient methods are needed to map agricultural subsurface drainage systems. Visible (VIS), near infrared (NIR), and/or thermal infrared (TIR) imagery obtained by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) may provide a means for determining drainage pipe locations. Preliminary UAS surveys wit...

Looking Deep with Infrared Eyes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-07-01

Today, British astronomers are releasing the first data from the largest and most sensitive survey of the heavens in infrared light to the ESO user community. The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) has completed the first of seven years of data collection, studying objects that are too faint to see at visible wavelengths, such as very distant or very cool objects. New data on young galaxies is already challenging current thinking on galaxy formation, revealing galaxies that are massive at a much earlier stage of development than expected. These first science results already show how powerful the full survey will be at finding rare objects that hold vital clues to how stars and galaxies in our Universe formed. UKIDSS will make an atlas of large areas of the sky in the infrared. The data become available to the entire ESO user community immediately after they are entered into the archive [2]. Release to the world follows 18 months after each release to ESO. "Astronomers across Europe will jump on these exciting new data. We are moving into new territory - our survey is both wide and deep, so we are mapping huge volumes of space. That's how we will locate rare objects - the very nearest and smallest stars, and young galaxies at the edge of the universe," said Andy Lawrence from the University of Edinburgh, UKIDSS Principal Investigator. The UKIDSS data are collected by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope [3] situated near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii using the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) built by the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) in Edinburgh. WFCAM is the most powerful infrared imager in the world, generating enormous amounts of data - 150 gigabytes per night (equivalent to more than 200 CDs) - and approximately 10.5 Terabytes in total so far (or 15,000 CDs). Mark Casali, now at ESO, was the Project Scientist in charge of the WFCAM instrument construction at the UKATC. "WFCAM was a bold technological undertaking," said Mark Casali

Far infrared supplement: Catalog of infrared observations, second edition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, Daniel Y.; Schmitz, Marion; Mead, Jaylee M.

1988-01-01

The Far Infrared Supplement: Catalog of Infrared Observations summarizes all infrared astronomical observations at far infrared wavelengths (5 to 1000 microns) published in the scientific literature from 1965 through 1986. The Supplement list contain 25 percent of the observations in the full Catalog of Infrared Observations (CIO), and essentially eliminates most visible stars from the listings. The Supplement is thus more compact than the main catalog, and is intended for easy reference during astronomical observations. The Far Infrared Supplement (2nd Edition) includes the Index of Infrared Source Positions and the Bibliography of Infrared Astronomy for the subset of far infrared observations listed.

Far infrared supplement: Catalog of infrared observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, D. Y.; Schmitz, M.; Mead, J. M.

1984-01-01

The Far Infrared Supplement: catalog of infrared observations summarizes all infrared astronomical observations at far infrared wavelengths published in the scientific literature between 1965 and 1982. The Supplement list contains 25% of the observations in the full catalog of infrared observations (C10), and essentially eliminates most visible stars from the listings. The Supplement is more compact than the main Catalog (it does not contain the bibliography and position index of the C10), and is intended for easy reference during astronomical observations.

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Observations of Young Stellar Objects in the Lynds 1509 Dark Cloud in Auriga

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Wilson M.; Padgett, Deborah L.; Terebey, Susan; Angione, John; Rebull, Luisa M.; McCollum, Bruce; Fajardo-Acosta, Sergio; Leisawitz, David

2015-01-01

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has uncovered a striking cluster of young stellar object (YSO) candidates associated with the L1509 dark cloud in Auriga. The WISE observations, at 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 microns, show a number of objects with colors consistent with YSOs, and their spectral energy distributions suggest the presence of circumstellar dust emission, including numerous Class I, flat spectrum, and Class II objects. In general, the YSOs in L1509 are much more tightly clustered than YSOs in other dark clouds in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region, with Class I and flat spectrum objects confined to the densest aggregates, and Class II objects more sparsely distributed. We estimate a most probable distance of 485-700 pc, and possibly as far as the previously estimated distance of 2 kpc.

Objectives for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spehalski, Richard J.; Werner, Michael W.

1991-01-01

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRFT) is a one-meter-class, liquid-helium-cooled, earth-orbiting astronomical observatory that will be the infrared component of NASA's family of Great Observatories. SIRTF will investigate numerous scientific areas including formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and other solar systems; supernovae; phenomena in our own solar system; and, undoubtedly, topics that are outside today's scientific domain. SIRTF's three instruments will permit imaging at all infrared wavelengths from 1.8 to 1200 microns and spectroscopy from 2.5 to 200 microns. The observatory will operate at an altitude of 100,000 km where it will achieve a five-year lifetime and operate with better than 80 percent on-target efficiency. The scientific importance and technical and programmatic readiness of SIRTF has been recognized by the 1991 report of the National Research Council's Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee which recently identified SIRTF as the highest priority major new initiative in all of astronomy for the coming decade.

Catalog of infrared observations including: Bibliography of infrared astronomy and index of infrared source positions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gezari, D. Y.; Schmitz, M.; Mead, J. M.

1984-01-01

The Catalog of Infrared Observations and its Far Infrared Supplement summarize all infrared astronomical observations at infrared wavelengths published in the scientific literature between 1965 and 1982. The Catalog includes as appendices the Bibliography of infrared astronomy which keys observations in the Catalog with the original journal references, and the index of infrared source positions which gives source positions for alphabetically listed sources in the Catalog. The Catalog data base contains over 85,000 observations of about 10,000 infrared sources, of which about 2,000 have no known visible counterpart.

First Results from Faint Infrared Grism Survey (Figs): First Simultaneous Detection of Ly Alpha Emission and Lyman Break From a Galaxy at Z =7.51

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tilvi, V.; Pirzkal, N.; Malhotra, S.; Finkelstein, S. L.; Rhoads, J. E.; Windhorst, R.; Grogin, N. A.; Koekemoer, A.; Zakamska, N. L.; Ryan, R.;

Massive infrared clusters in the Milky Way

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chené, André-Nicolas; Ramírez Alegría, Sebastian; Borissova, Jordanka; Hervé, Anthony; Martins, Fabrice; Kuhn, Michael; Minniti, Dante; VVV Science Team

2017-11-01

Our position in the Milky Way (MW) is both a blessing and a curse. We are nearby to many star clusters, but the dust that is a product of their very existence obscures them. Also, many massive young clusters are expected to be located near, or across the Galactic Center, where the dust extinction is extreme (A V > 15 mag) and can be better penetrated by infrared photons. This paper reviews the discoveries and the study of new MW massive stars and massive clusters made possible by near infrared observations that are part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey. It discusses what the studies of their fundamental parameters have taught us.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Infrared properties of barium stars (Chen+, 2001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, P. S.

2001-04-01

We present the results of a systematic survey for IRAS associations of barium stars. A total of 155 associations were detected, and IRAS low-resolution spectra exist for 50 barium stars. We use different color-color diagrams from the visual band to 60μm, relations between these colors and the spectral type, the barium intensity, and the IRAS low-resolution spectra to discuss physical properties of barium stars in the infrared. It is confirmed that most barium stars have infrared excesses in the near infrared. However, a new result of this work is that most barium stars have no excesses in the far infrared. This fact may imply that infrared excesses of barium stars are mainly due to the re-emission of energy lost from the Bond-Neff depression. It is also shown that the spectral type and the barium intensity of barium stars are not correlated with infrared colors, but may be correlated with V-K color. (1 data file).

A "WISE BOSS": Finding The Cosmic Monsters in the Mid-Infrared Lochs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, Nicholas; Hamann, F. W.; Alexandroff, R.; Brandt, W. N.; Strauss, M. A.; Dey, A.; Richards, G. T.; Worseck, G.; Zakamska, N. L.; Eisenstein, D.; Ge, J.; Glikman, E.; Greene, J. E.; Haggard, D.; Krolik, J. H.; Myers, A. D.; Petitjean, P.; Streblyanska, A.; Schawinski, K.; Shen, Y.; Villforth, C.; McMahon, R.

2013-01-01

Mid-infrared photometry of QSOs provide an important constraint on the presence of hot dust in the vicinity of the active nucleus. However, assembling large statistical MIR samples of quasars at the height of the ``quasar epoch'' ( 2.5) has, up until now, been challenging due to either wide but relatively shallow optical quasar surveys, or deep but narrow mid-IR data. The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is the state-of-the-art in optical wide-field spectroscopy, and has over 150,000 quasars confirmed, with the majority of the quasar data at z=2.2-3.5. We combine these data with the all-sky mid-infrared coverage from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and initially concentrate on BOSS quasars with ``extreme'' colors, e.g. r-[22]>14, and those detected only in the redder WISE bands, a.k.a. "the W1W2drops". We find that these selections identify a heterogeneous sample within the BOSS quasar data, but also provide a key tool for finding interesting populations including the 2.5 Type II QSO population. We relate these very red BOSS quasars to the recent discoveries of the ``hyper-LIRG" and ``Hot Dust Obscured Galaxy'' (or Hot DOG) population.

Infra-Red Characteristics of Faint Galactic Carbon Stars from the First Byurakan Spectral Sky Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostandyan, G. R.; Gigoyan, K. S.

2017-07-01

Infra-Red (IR) astronomical databases, namely, IRAS, 2MASS, WISE, and Spitzer, are used to analyze photometric data of 126 carbon (C) stars whose spectra are visible in the First Byurakan Survey (FBS) (Markarian et al. 1989) low-resolution (lr) spectral plates. In this work several IR color-color diagrams are studied. Early and late-type C stars are separated in the JHK Near-Infra-Red (NIR) color-color plots, as well as in the WISE W3-W4 versus W1-W2 diagram. Late N-type Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are redder in W1-W2, while early-types (CH and R giants) are redder in W3-W4 as expected. Objects with W2-W3 > 1.0m show double-peaked spectral energy distribution (SED), indicating the existence of the circumstellar envelopes around them. 26 N-type stars have IRAS Point Source Catalog (PSC) associations. The reddest object among the targets is N-type C star FBS 2213+421, which belong to the group of the cold post-AGB R Coronae Borealis (R CrB) variables (Rossi et al. 2016).

A study of the large-scale infrared emission from a selected dark cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Erick T.

1993-01-01

An investigation of the infrared emission energetics and embedded population in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud is summarized. With a distance of approximately 140 pc, the rho Ophiuchi cloud is one of the closest regions of recent star formation. It is also one of the best studied such regions with numerous observations at all wavelengths. The Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) data of the cloud provided a new glimpse of the overall structure of the cloud. In particular, the interaction of radiation from the Sco-Oph OB Association on the external heating of the cloud was very evident on Skyflux and Survey CO-Add images produced by IRAS. The infrared survey also revealed a number of new embedded sources in the cloud which have subsequently been observed from the ground. In earlier study, the overall energies of the cloud using the IRAS data was explored. The main conclusions of that work were: (1) the overall luminosity of the cloud is well explained by the emission of the known B-stars, HD 147889, SR-3, and S1, along with a 15 percent contribution from the external radiation field; (2) the dust physical temperatures were significantly lower than the observed CO gas temperatures; and (3) dust grains are heated to only 10 percent to 20 percent of the total depth into the cloud. This analysis was extended by drawing on data from large-scale CO maps of Loren (1989) and from near-infrared surveys of the embedded population.

The infrared luminosity function of AKARI 90 μm galaxies in the local Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilerci Eser, Ece; Goto, Tomotsugu

2018-03-01

Local infrared (IR) luminosity functions (LFs) are necessary benchmarks for high-redshift IR galaxy evolution studies. Any accurate IR LF evolution studies require accordingly accurate local IR LFs. We present IR galaxy LFs at redshifts of z ≤ 0.3 from AKARI space telescope, which performed an all-sky survey in six IR bands (9, 18, 65, 90, 140, and 160 μm) with 10 times better sensitivity than its precursor Infrared Astronomical Satellite. Availability of 160 μm filter is critically important in accurately measuring total IR luminosity of galaxies, covering across the peak of the dust emission. By combining data from Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 13 (DR 13), six-degree Field Galaxy Survey and the 2MASS Redshift Survey, we created a sample of 15 638 local IR galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts, factor of 7 larger compared to previously studied AKARI-SDSS sample. After carefully correcting for volume effects in both IR and optical, the obtained IR LFs agree well with previous studies, but comes with much smaller errors. Measured local IR luminosity density is ΩIR = 1.19 ± 0.05 × 108L⊙ Mpc-3. The contributions from luminous IR galaxies and ultraluminous IR galaxies to ΩIR are very small, 9.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. There exists no future all-sky survey in far-IR wavelengths in the foreseeable future. The IR LFs obtained in this work will therefore remain an important benchmark for high-redshift studies for decades.

The Ĝ Infrared Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations with Large Energy Supplies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, Jason Thomas; Povich, Matthew; Griffith, Roger; Maldonado, Jessica; Sigurdsson, Steinn; Star Cartier, Kimberly

2015-08-01

The WISE and Spitzer large-area surveys of the mid-infrared sky bring a new opportunity to search for evidence of the energy supplies of very large extraterrestrial civilizations. If these energy supplies rival the output of a civilization's parent star (Kardashev Type II), or if a galaxy-spanning supercivilization's use rivals that of the total galactic luminosity (Type III), they would be detectable as anomolously mid-infrared-bright stars and galaxies, respectively. We have already performed the first search for this emission from Type III civilizations using the WISE all-sky survey, and put the first upper limits on them in the local universe, and discuss ways to improve on these limits. We also discuss some detectable forms of and limits on Type II civilizations in the Mliky Way.

Design of a multiband near-infrared sky brightness monitor using an InSb detector.

PubMed

Dong, Shu-Cheng; Wang, Jian; Tang, Qi-Jie; Jiang, Feng-Xin; Chen, Jin-Ting; Zhang, Yi-Hao; Wang, Zhi-Yue; Chen, Jie; Zhang, Hong-Fei; Jiang, Hai-Jiao; Zhu, Qing-Feng; Jiang, Peng; Ji, Tuo

2018-02-01

Infrared sky background level is an important parameter of infrared astronomy observations from the ground, particularly for a candidate site of an infrared capable observatory since low background level is required for such a site. The Chinese astronomical community is looking for a suitable site for a future 12 m telescope, which is designed for working in both optical and infrared wavelengths. However, none of the proposed sites has been tested for infrared observations. Nevertheless, infrared sky background measurements are also important during the design of infrared observing instruments. Based on the requirement, in order to supplement the current site survey data and guide the design of future infrared instruments, a multiband near-infrared sky brightness monitor (MNISBM) based on an InSb sensor is designed in this paper. The MNISBM consists of an optical system, mechanical structure and control system, detector and cooler, high gain readout electronics, and operational software. It is completed and tested in the laboratory. The results show that the sensitivity of the MNISBM meets the requirements of the measurement of near-infrared sky background level of several well-known astronomical infrared observing sites.

Design of a multiband near-infrared sky brightness monitor using an InSb detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Shu-cheng; Wang, Jian; Tang, Qi-jie; Jiang, Feng-xin; Chen, Jin-ting; Zhang, Yi-hao; Wang, Zhi-yue; Chen, Jie; Zhang, Hong-fei; Jiang, Hai-jiao; Zhu, Qing-feng; Jiang, Peng; Ji, Tuo

2018-02-01

Infrared sky background level is an important parameter of infrared astronomy observations from the ground, particularly for a candidate site of an infrared capable observatory since low background level is required for such a site. The Chinese astronomical community is looking for a suitable site for a future 12 m telescope, which is designed for working in both optical and infrared wavelengths. However, none of the proposed sites has been tested for infrared observations. Nevertheless, infrared sky background measurements are also important during the design of infrared observing instruments. Based on the requirement, in order to supplement the current site survey data and guide the design of future infrared instruments, a multiband near-infrared sky brightness monitor (MNISBM) based on an InSb sensor is designed in this paper. The MNISBM consists of an optical system, mechanical structure and control system, detector and cooler, high gain readout electronics, and operational software. It is completed and tested in the laboratory. The results show that the sensitivity of the MNISBM meets the requirements of the measurement of near-infrared sky background level of several well-known astronomical infrared observing sites.

Ambitious Survey Spots Stellar Nurseries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-08-01

Astronomers scanning the skies as part of ESO's VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey have now obtained a spectacular picture of the Tarantula Nebula in our neighbouring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This panoramic near-infrared view captures the nebula itself in great detail as well as the rich surrounding area of sky. The image was obtained at the start of a very ambitious survey of our neighbouring galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, and their environment. The leader of the survey team, Maria-Rosa Cioni (University of Hertfordshire, UK) explains: "This view is of one of the most important regions of star formation in the local Universe - the spectacular 30 Doradus star-forming region, also called the Tarantula Nebula. At its core is a large cluster of stars called RMC 136, in which some of the most massive stars known are located." ESO's VISTA telescope [1] is a new survey telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile (eso0949). VISTA is equipped with a huge camera that detects light in the near-infrared part of the spectrum, revealing a wealth of detail about astronomical objects that gives us insight into the inner workings of astronomical phenomena. Near-infrared light has a longer wavelength than visible light and so we cannot see it directly for ourselves, but it can pass through much of the dust that would normally obscure our view. This makes it particularly useful for studying objects such as young stars that are still enshrouded in the gas and dust clouds from which they formed. Another powerful aspect of VISTA is the large area of the sky that its camera can capture in each shot. This image is the latest view from the VISTA Magellanic Cloud Survey (VMC). The project will scan a vast area - 184 square degrees of the sky (corresponding to almost one thousand times the apparent area of the full Moon) including our neighbouring galaxies the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The end result will be a detailed study of the star formation history and three

WISE infrared properties of OH megamaser galaxies: Guide for future FAST OHM searching?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, JiangShui; Wang, JunZhi; Li, Di

2015-08-01

All 119 OH maser galaxies (110 out of them are megamasers, i.e., LOH > 10 Lsun) published so far were compiled and were cross-identified with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalog, to investigate the middle infrared (MIR) properties of OH maser galaxies. The WISE magnitude data at the 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 μm (W1 to W4 band) were collected for the OH maser sample and one control sample, which are non-detection sources. The color-color diagrams show that both OH megamaser (OHM) and non-OHM (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs) are far away from the single blackbody model line and many of them can follow the path described by the power-law model. The active galaxy nuclei (AGN) fraction is about 40% for both OHM and non-OHM (U)LIRGs, according to the AGN criteria W1-W2 ≥ 0.8. Among the Arecibo survey sample, OHM sources tend to have a lower luminosity at short MIR wavelengths (e.g., 3.4 μm and 4.6 μm) than that of non-OHM sources, which should come from the low OHM fraction among the survey sample with large 3.4 μm and 4.6 μm luminosity. The OHM fraction tends to increase with cooler MIR colors (larger F22 μm/F3.4 μm). In the case of the power-law model, we derived the spectral indices for our samples. For the Arecibo survey sample, OHM (U)LIRGs tend to have larger spectral index α22-12 than non-OHM sources, which agrees with previous results. One significant correlation exists between the WISE infrared luminosity at 22 μm and the color [W1]-[W4] for the Arecibo OHM hosts. In summary, these clues should provide suitable constraints on the sample selection for future OH megamaser surveys through the Five hundred aperture spherical telescope (FAST). Further potentials on FAST OH megamasers research are investigated, including detectability, sky density of OH megamasers etc.

ESA joins forces with Japan on new infrared sky surveyor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-02-01

Prof. David Southwood, ESA’s Director of Science, said: “The successful launch of ASTRO-F(Akari) is a big step. A decade ago, our Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) opened up this field of astronomy, and the Japanese took part then. It is wonderful to be cooperating again with Japan in this discipline.” “Our involvement with the Japanese in this programme responds to our long-term commitment in infrared astronomy, whose potential for discovery is huge. We are now off and rolling with ASTRO-F/Akari, but we are also working extremely hard towards the launch of the next-generation infrared telescope, ESA’s Herschel spacecraft, which will go up in the next two years”, he continued. “This will still not be the end of the story. Infrared astronomy is also a fundamental part of the future vision for ESA’s space research, as outlined in the ‘Cosmic Vision 2015-2025’ programme. The truth is, subjects such as the formation of stars and exoplanets, or the evolution of the early universe, are themes at the very core of our programme.” The mission : On 21 February, at 22:28 Central European Time, (22 February, 06:28 local time), a Japanese M-V rocket blasted off from the Uchinoura Space Centre, in the Kagoshima district of Japan, carrying the new infrared satellite into space. In about two weeks' time, ASTRO-F will be in polar orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 745 kilometres. From there, after two months of system check-outs and performance verification, it will survey the whole sky in about half a year, with much better sensitivity, spatial resolution and wider wavelength coverage than its only infrared surveyor predecessor, the Anglo-Dutch-US IRAS satellite (1983). The all-sky survey will be followed by a ten-month phase during which thousands of selected astronomical targets will be observed in detail. This will enable scientists to look at these individual objects for a longer time, and thus with increased sensitivity, to conduct their spectral

VLBI observations of Infrared-Faint Radio Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middelberg, Enno; Phillips, Chris; Norris, Ray; Tingay, Steven

2006-10-01

We propose to observe a small sample of radio sources from the ATLAS project (ATLAS = Australia Telescope Large Area Survey) with the LBA, to determine their compactness and map their structures. The sample consists of three radio sources with no counterpart in the co-located SWIRE survey (3.6 um to 160 um), carried out with the Spitzer Space Telescope. This rare class of sources, dubbed Infrared-Faint Radio Sources, or IFRS, is inconsistent with current galaxy evolution models. VLBI observations are an essential way to obtain further clues on what these objects are and why they are hidden from infrared observations: we will map their structure to test whether they resemble core-jet or double-lobed morphologies, and we will measure the flux densities on long baselines, to determine their compactness. Previous snapshot-style LBA observations of two other IFRS yielded no detections, hence we propose to use disk-based recording with 512 Mbps where possible, for highest sensitivity. With the observations proposed here, we will increase the number of VLBI-observed IFRS from two to five, soon allowing us to draw general conclusions about this intriguing new class of objects.

Community Plan for Far-Infrared/Submillimeter Space Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ade, Peter; Akeson, Rachel; Ali, Shafinaz; Amato, Michael; Arendt, Richard; Baker, Charles; Benford, Dominic; Blain, Andrew; Bock, James; Borne, Kirk

2004-01-01

This paper represents the consensus view of the 124 participants in the Second Workshop on New Concepts for Far-Infrared/Submillimeter Space Astronomy.We recommend that NASA pursue the vision for far-IR astronomy outlined in the NAS Decadal Survey, which said: A rational coordinated program for space optical and infrared astronomy would build on the experience gained with NGST1 to construct [a JWST-scale filled-aperture far-IR telescope SAFIR, and then ultimately, in the decade 2010 to 2020, build on the SAFIR, TPF, and SIM experience to assemble a space-based, far-infrared interferometer. SAFIR will study star formation in the young universe, the buildup of elements heavier than hydrogen over cosmic history, the process of galaxy formation, and the early phases of star formation, which occur behind a veil of dust that precludes detection at mid IR and shorter wavelengths. The far-infrared interferometer will resolve distant galaxies to study protogalaxy interactions and mergers and the processes that led to enhanced star formation activity and the formation of Active Galactic Nuclei, and will resolve protostars and debris disks in our Galaxy to study how stars and planetary systems form.

Galaxy Zoo: Infrared and Optical Morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carla Shanahan, Jesse; Lintott, Chris; Zoo, Galaxy

2018-01-01

We present the detailed, visual morphologies of approximately 60,000 galaxies observed by the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and then classified by participants in the Galaxy Zoo project. Our sample is composed entirely of nearby objects with redshifts of z ≤ 0.3, which enables us to robustly analyze their morphological characteristics including smoothness, bulge properties, spiral structure, and evidence of bars or rings. The determination of these features is made via a consensus-based analysis of the Galaxy Zoo project data in which inconsistent and outlying classifications are statistically down-weighted. We then compare these classifications of infrared morphology to the objects’ optical classifications in the Galaxy Zoo 2 release (Willett et al. 2013). It is already known that morphology is an effective tool for uncovering a galaxy’s dynamical past, and previous studies have shown significant correlations with physical characteristics such as stellar mass distribution and star formation history. We show that majority of the sample has agreement or expected differences between the optical and infrared classifications, but also present a preliminary analysis of a subsample of objects with striking discrepancies.

Infrared Investigations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lascours, Jean; Albe, Virginie

2001-01-01

Describes a series of simple and nontraditional experiments that enable students to discover the properties of infrared radiation by studying the propagation, reflection, diffusion, and refraction of infrared. The experiments rely on two modules, an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver. (SAH)

Drill hole logging with infrared spectroscopy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Calvin, W.M.; Solum, J.G.

2005-01-01

Infrared spectroscopy has been used to identify rocks and minerals for over 40 years. The technique is sensitive to primary silicates as well as alteration products. Minerals can be uniquely identified based on multiple absorption features at wavelengths from the visible to the thermal infrared. We are currently establishing methods and protocols in order to use the technique for rapid assessment of downhole lithology on samples obtained during drilling operations. Initial work performed includes spectral analysis of chip cuttings and core sections from drill sites around Desert Peak, NV. In this paper, we report on a survey of 10,000 feet of drill cuttings, at 100 foot intervals, from the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Data from Blue Mountain geothermal wells will also be acquired. We will describe the utility of the technique for rapid assessment of lithologic and mineralogic discrimination.

The Chandra Xbootes Survey - IV: Mid-Infrared and Submillimeter Counterparts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Arianna; Mitchell-Wynne, Ketron; Cooray, Asantha R.; Nayyeri, Hooshang

2016-06-01

In this work, we use a Bayesian technique to identify mid-IR and submillimeter counterparts for 3,213 X-ray point sources detected in the Chandra XBoötes Survey so as to characterize the relationship between black hole activity and star formation in the XBoötes region. The Chandra XBoötes Survey is a 5-ks X-ray survey of the 9.3 square degree Boötes Field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey (NDWFS), a survey imaged from the optical to the near-IR. We use a likelihood ratio analysis on Spitzer-IRAC data taken from The Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS) to determine mid-IR counterparts, and a similar method on Herschel-SPIRE sources detected at 250µm from The Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey to determine the submillimeter counterparts. The likelihood ratio analysis (LRA) provides the probability that a(n) IRAC or SPIRE point source is the true counterpart to a Chandra source. The analysis is comprised of three parts: the normalized magnitude distributions of counterparts and background sources, and the radial probability distribution of the separation distance between the IRAC or SPIRE source and the Chandra source. Many Chandra sources have multiple prospective counterparts in each band, so additional analysis is performed to determine the identification reliability of the candidates. Identification reliability values lie between 0 and 1, and sources with identification reliability values ≥0.8 are chosen to be the true counterparts. With these results, we will consider the statistical implications of the sample's redshifts, mid-IR and submillimeter luminosities, and star formation rates.

CANDELS: The Cosmic Assembly Near-Infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grogin, Norman A.; Koekemoer, anton M.; Faber, S. M.; Ferguson, Henry C.; Kocevski, Dale D.; Riess, Adam G.; Acquaviva, Viviana; Alexander, David M.; Almaini, Omar; Ashby, Matthew L. N.;

Infrared interferometric observations of nearby exozodiacal disks: current status and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Defrère, D.; Absil, O.; di Folco, E.; Coudé du Foresto, V.; Mérand, A.; Augereau, J.-C.

2010-10-01

Directly detecting exozodiacal dust in the inner part of extrasolar planetary systems is nowadays feasible thanks to the advance of high-precision near-infrared interferometry. Investigating this region around nearby stars provides unique information to understand the global architecture of planetary systems and to define the population of stars suitable for future exo-Earth characterization missions. Over the last few years, a survey of nearby main-sequence stars has been ongoing at the CHARA array using the FLUOR beam combiner. The goal of this survey is to directly probe the inner part of circumstellar disks in order to detect the signature of hot dust accounting for about 1% of the near-infrared stellar flux. In this paper, we present the status of this survey and provide the first statistical results about the occurrence of bright exozodiacal disks around nearby main-sequence stars. We also report on the first H-band interferometric observations of the exozodiacal disk around Vega which have been obtained with IOTA/IONIC, and discuss the implications on the disk properties.

Applications of machine-learning algorithms for infrared colour selection of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morello, Giuseppe; Morris, P. W.; Van Dyk, S. D.; Marston, A. P.; Mauerhan, J. C.

2018-01-01

We have investigated and applied machine-learning algorithms for infrared colour selection of Galactic Wolf-Rayet (WR) candidates. Objects taken from the Spitzer Galactic Legacy Infrared Midplane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) catalogue of the infrared objects in the Galactic plane can be classified into different stellar populations based on the colours inferred from their broad-band photometric magnitudes [J, H and Ks from 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and the four Spitzer/IRAC bands]. The algorithms tested in this pilot study are variants of the k-nearest neighbours approach, which is ideal for exploratory studies of classification problems where interrelations between variables and classes are complicated. The aims of this study are (1) to provide an automated tool to select reliable WR candidates and potentially other classes of objects, (2) to measure the efficiency of infrared colour selection at performing these tasks and (3) to lay the groundwork for statistically inferring the total number of WR stars in our Galaxy. We report the performance results obtained over a set of known objects and selected candidates for which we have carried out follow-up spectroscopic observations, and confirm the discovery of four new WR stars.

High frequency coaxial pulse tube cryocoolers for cooling infrared focal plane arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dang, Haizheng

2010-11-01

A survey is made about the development of high frequency coaxial PTCs. The coolers cover from 30 K to 200 K and the cooling power levels from hundreds of milliwatts to 10's W. Tests suggest that they have the potential to provide appropriate cooling for HgCdTe-based infrared focal plane arrays from near visible down to very long wave infrared region. The paper also discusses the efforts to realize space qualified cryocooler technologies.

UCAC4 Nearby Star Survey: A Search for Our Stellar Neighbors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

AAVSO) Photometric All Sky Survey (APASS) and infrared photometry from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey ( 2MASS ). With the addition of the APASS...110 million have 2MASS JHKs. We used a 3 arcsecond match radius in the development of the UCAC4 catalog for inclusion of the 2MASS and APASS...a new set of 16 photometric color–MKs relations using (a) BVgri optical photometry from APASS, (b) JHKs near-infrared photometry from 2MASS , (c

Mapping montane vegetation in Southern California from color infrared imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minnich, R. A.; Bowden, L. W.; Pease, R. W.

1969-01-01

Mapping a large area in California like the San Bernardino Mountains, demonstrated that color infrared photography is suitable for detailed mapping and offers potential for quantitative mapping. The level of information presented is comparable or superior to the most detailed mapping by ground survey.

The Optical Green Valley Versus Mid-infrared Canyon in Compact Groups

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Lisa May; Butterfield, Natalie; Johnson, Kelsey; Zucker, Catherine; Gallagher, Sarah; Konstantopoulos, Iraklis; Zabludoff, Ann; Hornschemeier, Ann E.; Tzanavaris, Panayiotis; Charlton, Jane C.

2013-01-01

Compact groups of galaxies provide conditions similar to those experienced by galaxies in the earlier universe. Recent work on compact groups has led to the discovery of a dearth of mid-infrared transition galaxies (MIRTGs) in Infrared Array Camera (3.6-8.0 micrometers) color space as well as at intermediate specific star formation rates. However, we find that in compact groups these MIRTGs have already transitioned to the optical ([g-r]) red sequence. We investigate the optical color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of 99 compact groups containing 348 galaxies and compare the optical CMD with mid-infrared (mid-IR) color space for compact group galaxies. Utilizing redshifts available from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we identified new galaxy members for four groups. By combining optical and mid-IR data, we obtain information on both the dust and the stellar populations in compact group galaxies. We also compare with more isolated galaxies and galaxies in the Coma Cluster, which reveals that, similar to clusters, compact groups are dominated by optically red galaxies. While we find that compact group transition galaxies lie on the optical red sequence, LVL (Local Volume Legacy) + (plus) SINGS (Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey) mid-IR (infrared) transition galaxies span the range of optical colors. The dearth of mid-IR transition galaxies in compact groups may be due to a lack of moderately star-forming low mass galaxies; the relative lack of these galaxies could be due to their relatively small gravitational potential wells. This makes them more susceptible to this dynamic environment, thus causing them to more easily lose gas or be accreted by larger members.

Infrared Emission from the Smallest Active Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, Aaron; Greene, Jenny; Ho, Luis

2006-05-01

Virtually all of our current knowledge of black hole demographics, both in nearby inactive galaxies and in AGNs, comes from observations of black holes with masses between a few million and a few billion solar masses in host galaxies with stellar velocity dispersions between about 70 and 400 km/sec. Searching for smaller black holes in low-mass galaxies can yield important clues to the origin and early evolution of supermassive black holes, and AGN surveys are the best available way to identify such objects. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have identified 19 Seyfert 1 galaxies with black hole mass below 10^6 solar masses (Greene & Ho 2004), and 20 Seyfert 2 galaxies having stellar velocity dispersions smaller than 70 km/sec as determined by new Keck observations. These AGN samples offer a unique opportunity to study the very early growth stages of black holes and their host galaxies. Spitzer observations of mid-infrared emission will be the best available calorimeter of the energetics of these tiny AGNs. Our primary goal is to determine the infrared contribution to the bolometric luminosities, which will be a key to understanding the black hole accretion rates. From the infrared spectral shapes we will constrain the dust temperatures and search for silicate features in emission or absorption that may indicate the presence of an obscuring torus, and which will help to determine whether the Type 1 and Type 2 objects differ primarily as a result of our viewing angle, as in classic AGN unified models. PAH features and narrow emission lines will be used to diagnose the relative contributions of AGN and star formation to the infrared luminosity. To accomplish these goals, we request IRS staring-mode spectroscopy in the SL2, SL1, LL2, and LL1 settings for our Sloan-selected sample of 19 Seyfert 1s and 20 Seyfert 2s, as well as NGC 4395 and POX 52, which are the prototypical nearby examples of Seyfert nuclei in dwarf host galaxies.

Infrared observations of anonymous IRC sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strecker, D. W.; Ney, E. P.

1974-01-01

Infrared (0.9 to 18 microns) observations of 232 anonymous 2-micron Sky survey (IRC) sources are reported. Most of the objects appear to be late-type stars with little or no long-wave excess. About ten percent exhibit large excesses. Thirty-one of the brightest 11-micron sources have been remeasured to determine variability. These brighter objects appear to fall into two groups; one group resembles NML Tauri, while the other is like NML Cygni.

Next-generation mid-infrared sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, D.; Bank, S.; Lee, M. L.; Wasserman, D.

2017-12-01

The mid-infrared (mid-IR) is a wavelength range with a variety of technologically vital applications in molecular sensing, security and defense, energy conservation, and potentially in free-space communication. The recent development and rapid commercialization of new coherent mid-infrared sources have spurred significant interest in the development of mid-infrared optical systems for the above applications. However, optical systems designers still do not have the extensive optical infrastructure available to them that exists at shorter wavelengths (for instance, in the visible and near-IR/telecom wavelengths). Even in the field of optoelectronic sources, which has largely driven the growing interest in the mid-infrared, the inherent limitations of state-of-the-art sources and the gaps in spectral coverage offer opportunities for the development of new classes of lasers, light emitting diodes and emitters for a range of potential applications. In this topical review, we will first present an overview of the current state-of-the-art mid-IR sources, in particular thermal emitters, which have long been utilized, and the relatively new quantum- and interband-cascade lasers, as well as the applications served by these sources. Subsequently, we will discuss potential mid-infrared applications and wavelength ranges which are poorly served by the current stable of mid-IR sources, with an emphasis on understanding the fundamental limitations of the current source technology. The bulk of the manuscript will then explore both past and recent developments in mid-infrared source technology, including narrow bandgap quantum well lasers, type-I and type-II quantum dot materials, type-II superlattices, highly mismatched alloys, lead-salts and transition-metal-doped II-VI materials. We will discuss both the advantages and limitations of each of the above material systems, as well as the potential new applications which they might serve. All in all, this topical review does not aim

A SUBTLE INFRARED EXCESS ASSOCIATED WITH A YOUNG WHITE DWARF IN THE EDINBURGH-CAPE BLUE OBJECT SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dennihy, E.; Dunlap, B. H.; Clemens, J. C.

We report the discovery of a subtle infrared excess associated with the young white dwarf EC 05365–4749 at 3.35 and 4.6 μ m. Follow-up spectroscopic observations are consistent with a hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf of effective temperature 22,800 K and log [ g (cm s{sup −2})] = 8.19. High-resolution spectroscopy reveals atmospheric metal pollution with logarithmic abundances of [Mg/H] = −5.36 and [Ca/H] = −5.75, confirming the white dwarf is actively accreting from a metal-rich source with an intriguing abundance pattern. We find that the infrared excess is well modeled by a flat, opaque debris disk, though disk parameters aremore » not well constrained by the small number of infrared excess points. We further demonstrate that relaxing the assumption of a circular dusty debris disk to include elliptical disks expands the widths of acceptable disks, adding an alternative interpretation to the subtle infrared excesses commonly observed around young white dwarfs.« less

A Synthesis Of Cosmic X-ray And Infrared Background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yong; Helou, G.; Armus, L.; Stierwalt, S.

2012-01-01

We present a synthesis model of cosmic IR and X-ray background, with the goal to derive a complete census of cosmic evolution of star formation (SF) and black-hole (BH) growth by complementing advantages of X-ray and IR surveys to each other. By assuming that individual galaxies are experiencing both SF and BH accretion, our model decomposes the total IR LF into SF and BH components while taking into account the luminosity-dependent SED and its dispersion of the SF component, and the extinction-dependent SED of the BH component. The best-fit parameters are derived by fitting to the number counts and redshift distributions at X-ray including both hard and soft bands, and mid-IR to submm bands including IRAS, Spitzer, Herschel, SCUBA, Aztec and MAMBO. Based on the fit result, our models provide a series of predictions on galaxy evolution and black-hole growth. For evolution of infrared galaxies, the model predicts that the total infrared luminosity function is best described through evolution in both luminosity and density. For evolution of AGN populations, the model predicts that the evolution of X-ray LF also shows luminosity and density dependent, that the type-1/type-2 AGN fraction is a function of both luminosity and redshift, and that the Compton-thick AGN number density evolves strongly with redshift, contributing about 20% to the total cosmic BH growth. For BH growth in IR galaxies, the model predicts that the majority of BH growth at z>1 occurs in infrared luminous galaxies and the AGN fraction as a function of IR survey is a strong function of the survey depth, ranging from >50% at bright end to below 10% at faint end. We also evaluates various AGN selection techniques at X-ray and IR wavelengths and offer predictions for future missions at X-ray and IR.

Modeling an Optical and Infrared Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Survey with Exoplanet Direct Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vides, Christina; Macintosh, Bruce; Ruffio, Jean-Baptiste; Nielsen, Eric; Povich, Matthew Samuel

2018-01-01

Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is a direct high contrast imaging instrument coupled to the Gemini South Telescope. Its purpose is to image extrasolar planets around young (~<100Myr) and relatively close (=< 100 pc) stars in the near infrared. Using a combination of adaptive optics (AO) and image processing techniques, the signal of a planet can be differentiated from diffraction in the images. A coronagraph is vital to achieving high contrast images at small angular separations (=<0.2 arcseconds).With the emergence of OIRSETI (Optical and Infrared Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), we modeled GPI’s capabilities to detect an extraterrestrial continuous wave (CW) laser broadcasted within the H-band have been modeled. By using sensitivity evaluated for actual GPI observations of young target stars, we produced models of the CW laser power as a function of distance from the star that could be detected if GPI were to observe nearby (~ 3-5 pc) planet-hosting G-type stars. We took a variety of transmitters into consideration in producing these modeled values. GPI is known to be sensitive to both pulsed and CW coherent electromagnetic radiation. The results were compared to similar studies and it was found that these values are competitive to other optical and infrared observations.

A SPITZER SURVEY OF MID-INFRARED MOLECULAR EMISSION FROM PROTOPLANETARY DISKS. I. DETECTION RATES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pontoppidan, Klaus M.; Blake, Geoffrey A.; Meijerink, Rowin

2010-09-01

We present a Spitzer InfraRed Spectrometer search for 10-36 {mu}m molecular emission from a large sample of protoplanetary disks, including lines from H{sub 2}O, OH, C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, HCN, and CO{sub 2}. This paper describes the sample and data processing and derives the detection rate of mid-infrared molecular emission as a function of stellar mass. The sample covers a range of spectral type from early M to A, and is supplemented by archival spectra of disks around A and B stars. It is drawn from a variety of nearby star-forming regions, including Ophiuchus, Lupus, and Chamaeleon. Spectra showing strong emissionmore » lines are used to identify which lines are the best tracers of various physical and chemical conditions within the disks. In total, we identify 22 T Tauri stars with strong mid-infrared H{sub 2}O emission. Integrated water line luminosities, where water vapor is detected, range from 5 x 10{sup -4} to 9 x 10{sup -3} L{sub sun}, likely making water the dominant line coolant of inner disk surfaces in classical T Tauri stars. None of the five transitional disks in the sample show detectable gaseous molecular emission with Spitzer upper limits at the 1% level in terms of line-to-continuum ratios (apart from H{sub 2}), but the sample is too small to conclude whether this is a general property of transitional disks. We find a strong dependence on detection rate with spectral type; no disks around our sample of 25 A and B stars were found to exhibit water emission, down to 1%-2% line-to-continuum ratios, in the mid-infrared, while more than half of disks around late-type stars (M-G) show sufficiently intense water emission to be detected by Spitzer, with a detection rate approaching 2/3 for disks around K stars. Some Herbig Ae/Be stars show tentative H{sub 2}O/OH emission features beyond 20 {mu}m at the 1%-2% level, however, and one of them shows CO{sub 2} in emission. We argue that the observed differences between T Tauri disks and Herbig Ae/Be disks are

The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey: A High-Resolution Spectroscopy Anthology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dale, Daniel A.; SINGS Team

2009-05-01

Results from high resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy are presented for 155 nuclear and extranuclear regions from SINGS. The SINGS sample shows a wide range in the ratio of [SIII]18.71/[SIII]33.48, but the average ratio of the ensemble indicates a typical interstellar electron density of 300--400 cm-3 on 23"x15" scales and 500--600 cm-3 using 11"x9" apertures, independent of whether the region probed is a star-forming nuclear, a star-forming extranuclear, or an AGN environment. Evidence is provided that variations in gas-phase metallicity play an important role in driving variations in radiation field hardness, as indicated by [NeIII]15.56/[NeII]12.81, for regions powered by star formation. Conversely, the radiation hardness for galaxy nuclei powered by accretion around a massive black hole is independent of metal abundance. Furthermore, for metal-rich environments AGN are distinguishable from star-forming regions by significantly larger [NeIII]15.56/[NeII]12.81 ratios. Finally, [FeII]25.99/[NeII]12.81 versus [SiII]34.82/[SIII]33.48 also provides an empirical method for discerning AGN from normal star-forming sources. However, similar to [NeIII]15.56/[NeII]12.81, these mid-infrared line ratios lose their AGN/star-formation diagnostic powers for very low metallicity star-forming systems with hard radiation fields.

Detection of leaks in buried rural water pipelines using thermal infrared images

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eidenshink, Jeffery C.

1985-01-01

Leakage is a major problem in many pipelines. Minor leaks called 'seeper leaks', which generally range from 2 to 10 m3 per day, are common and are difficult to detect using conventional ground surveys. The objective of this research was to determine whether airborne thermal-infrared remote sensing could be used in detecting leaks and monitoring rural water pipelines. This study indicates that such leaks can be detected using low-altitude 8.7- to 11.5. micrometer wavelength, thermal infrared images collected under proper conditions.

The second Herschel-ATLAS Data Release - III. Optical and near-infrared counterparts in the North Galactic Plane field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furlanetto, C.; Dye, S.; Bourne, N.; Maddox, S.; Dunne, L.; Eales, S.; Valiante, E.; Smith, M. W.; Smith, D. J. B.; Ivison, R. J.; Ibar, E.

2018-05-01

This paper forms part of the second major public data release of the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS). In this work, we describe the identification of optical and near-infrared counterparts to the submillimetre detected sources in the 177 deg2 North Galactic Plane (NGP) field. We used the likelihood ratio method to identify counterparts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and in the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope Imaging Deep Sky Survey within a search radius of 10 arcsec of the H-ATLAS sources with a 4σ detection at 250 μm. We obtained reliable (R ≥ 0.8) optical counterparts with r < 22.4 for 42 429 H-ATLAS sources (37.8 per cent), with an estimated completeness of 71.7 per cent and a false identification rate of 4.7 per cent. We also identified counterparts in the near-infrared using deeper K-band data which covers a smaller ˜25 deg2. We found reliable near-infrared counterparts to 61.8 per cent of the 250-μm-selected sources within that area. We assessed the performance of the likelihood ratio method to identify optical and near-infrared counterparts taking into account the depth and area of both input catalogues. Using catalogues with the same surface density of objects in the overlapping ˜25 deg2 area, we obtained that the reliable fraction in the near-infrared (54.8 per cent) is significantly higher than in the optical (36.4 per cent). Finally, using deep radio data which covers a small region of the NGP field, we found that 80-90 per cent of our reliable identifications are correct.

Towards an Imaging Mid-Infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hewagama, T.; Aslam, S.; Jones, H.; Kostiuk, T.; Villanueva, G.; Roman, P.; Shaw, G. B.; Livengood, T.; Allen, J. E.

2012-01-01

We are developing a concept for a compact, low-mass, low-power, mid-infrared (MIR; 5- 12 microns) imaging heterodyne spectrometer that incorporates fiber optic coupling, Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) local oscillator, photomixer array, and Radio Frequency Software Defined Readout (RFSDR) for spectral analysis. Planetary Decadal Surveys have highlighted the need for miniaturized, robust, low-mass, and minimal power remote sensing technologies for flight missions. The drive for miniaturization of remote sensing spectroscopy and radiometry techniques has been a continuing process. The advent of MIR fibers, and MEMS techniques for producing waveguides has proven to be an important recent advancement for miniaturization of infrared spectrometers. In conjunction with well-established photonics techniques, the miniaturization of spectrometers is transitioning from classic free space optical systems to waveguide/fiber-based structures for light transport and producing interference effects. By their very nature, these new devices are compact and lightweight. Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) and Quantum Well Infrared Photodiodes (QWIP) arrays for heterodyne applications are also being developed. Bulky electronics is another barrier that precluded the extension of heterodyne systems into imaging applications, and our RFSDR will address this aspect.

AMICA (Antarctic Multiband Infrared CAmera) project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolci, Mauro; Straniero, Oscar; Valentini, Gaetano; Di Rico, Gianluca; Ragni, Maurizio; Pelusi, Danilo; Di Varano, Igor; Giuliani, Croce; Di Cianno, Amico; Valentini, Angelo; Corcione, Leonardo; Bortoletto, Favio; D'Alessandro, Maurizio; Bonoli, Carlotta; Giro, Enrico; Fantinel, Daniela; Magrin, Demetrio; Zerbi, Filippo M.; Riva, Alberto; Molinari, Emilio; Conconi, Paolo; De Caprio, Vincenzo; Busso, Maurizio; Tosti, Gino; Nucciarelli, Giuliano; Roncella, Fabio; Abia, Carlos

2006-06-01

The Antarctic Plateau offers unique opportunities for ground-based Infrared Astronomy. AMICA (Antarctic Multiband Infrared CAmera) is an instrument designed to perform astronomical imaging from Dome-C in the near- (1 - 5 μm) and mid- (5 - 27 μm) infrared wavelength regions. The camera consists of two channels, equipped with a Raytheon InSb 256 array detector and a DRS MF-128 Si:As IBC array detector, cryocooled at 35 and 7 K respectively. Cryogenic devices will move a filter wheel and a sliding mirror, used to feed alternatively the two detectors. Fast control and readout, synchronized with the chopping secondary mirror of the telescope, will be required because of the large background expected at these wavelengths, especially beyond 10 μm. An environmental control system is needed to ensure the correct start-up, shut-down and housekeeping of the camera. The main technical challenge is represented by the extreme environmental conditions of Dome C (T about -90 °C, p around 640 mbar) and the need for a complete automatization of the overall system. AMICA will be mounted at the Nasmyth focus of the 80 cm IRAIT telescope and will perform survey-mode automatic observations of selected regions of the Southern sky. The first goal will be a direct estimate of the observational quality of this new highly promising site for Infrared Astronomy. In addition, IRAIT, equipped with AMICA, is expected to provide a significant improvement in the knowledge of fundamental astrophysical processes, such as the late stages of stellar evolution (especially AGB and post-AGB stars) and the star formation.

The Southern H ii Region Discovery Survey (SHRDS): Pilot Survey

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, C.; Dickey, John M.; Jordan, C.

The Southern H ii Region Discovery Survey is a survey of the third and fourth quadrants of the Galactic plane that will detect radio recombination line (RRL) and continuum emission at cm-wavelengths from several hundred H ii region candidates using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The targets for this survey come from the WISE Catalog of Galactic H ii Regions and were identified based on mid-infrared and radio continuum emission. In this pilot project, two different configurations of the Compact Array Broad Band receiver and spectrometer system were used for short test observations. The pilot surveys detected RRL emission frommore » 36 of 53 H ii region candidates, as well as seven known H ii regions that were included for calibration. These 36 recombination line detections confirm that the candidates are true H ii regions and allow us to estimate their distances.« less

A New Photometric Study of Ap and Am Stars in the Infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, P. S.; Liu, J. Y.; Shan, H. G.

2017-05-01

In this paper, 426 well known confirmed Ap and Am stars are photometrically studied in the infrared. The 2MASS, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and IRAS data are employed to make analyses. The results in this paper have shown that in the 1-3 μm region over 90% Ap and Am stars have no or little infrared excesses, and infrared radiations in the near-infrared from these stars are probably dominated by the free-free emissions. It is also shown that in the 3-12 μm region, the majority of Ap stars and Am stars have very similar behavior, I.e., in the W1-W2 (3.4-4.6 μm) region, over half of Ap and Am stars have clear infrared excesses, which are possibly due to the binarity, the multiplicity, and/or the debris disk, but in the W2-W3 (4.6-12 μm) region they have no or little infrared excess. In addition, in the 12-22 μm region, some of Ap stars and Am stars show the infrared excesses and infrared radiations for these Ap and Am stars are probably due to the free-free emissions. In addition, it is seen that the probability of being the binarity, the multiplicity and/or the debris disk for Am stars is much higher than that for Ap stars. Furthermore, it can be seen that, in general, no relations can be found between infrared colors and spectral types either for Ap stars or for Am stars.

Infrared imaging of WENSS radio sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villani, D.; di Serego Alighieri, S.

1999-03-01

We have performed deep imaging in the IR J- and K- bands for three sub-samples of radio sources extracted from the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey, a large low-frequency radio survey containing Ultra Steep Spectrum (USS), Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) and Flat Spectrum (FS) sources. We present the results of these IR observations, carried out with the ARcetri Near Infrared CAmera (ARNICA) at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), providing photometric and morphologic information on high redshift radio galaxies and quasars. We find that the radio galaxies contained in our sample do not show the pronounced radio/IR alignment claimed for 3CR sources. IR photometric measurements of the gravitational lens system 1600+434 are also presented. % This paper is based on data obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma (Canary Islands).

Massive Infrared-Quiet Dense Cores: Unveiling the Initial Conditions of High-Mass Star Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motte, F.; Bontemps, S.; Schneider, N.; Schilke, P.; Menten, K. M.

2008-05-01

As Th. Henning said at the conference, cold precursors of high-mass stars are now ``hot topics''. We here propose some observational criteria to identify massive infrared-quiet dense cores which can host the high-mass analogs of Class~0 protostars and pre-stellar condensations. We also show how far-infrared to millimeter imaging surveys of entire complexes forming OB stars are starting to unveil the initial conditions of high-mass star formation.

Luminous Infrared Sources in the Local Group: Identifying the Missing Links in Massive Star Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britavskiy, N.; Bonanos, A. Z.; Mehner, A.

2015-01-01

We present the first systematic survey of dusty massive stars (RSGs, LBVs, sgB[e]) in nearby galaxies, with the goal of understanding their importance in massive star evolution. Using the fact that these stars are bright in mid-infrared colors due to dust, we provide a technique for selecting and identifying dusty evolved stars based on the results of Bonanos et al. (2009, 2010), Britavskiy et al. (2014), and archival Spitzer/IRAC photometry. We present the results of our spectroscopic follow-up of luminous infrared sources in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies: Pegasus, Phoenix, Sextans A and WLM. The survey aims to complete the census of dusty massive stars in the Local Group.

The Contribution of TP-AGB Stars to the Mid-infrared Colors of Nearby Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chisari, Nora E.; Kelson, Daniel D.

2012-07-01

We study the mid-infrared color space of 30 galaxies from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) survey for which Sloan Digital Sky Survey data are also available. We construct two-color maps for each galaxy and compare them to results obtained from combining Maraston evolutionary synthesis models, galactic thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) colors, and smooth star formation histories. For most of the SINGS sample, the spatially extended mid-IR emission seen by Spitzer in normal galaxies is consistent with our simple model in which circumstellar dust from TP-AGB stars dominates at 8 and 24 μm. There is a handful of exceptions that we identify as galaxies that have high star formation rates presumably with star formation histories that cannot be assumed to be smooth, or anemic galaxies, which were depleted of their H I at some point during their evolution and have very low ongoing star formation rates.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF TP-AGB STARS TO THE MID-INFRARED COLORS OF NEARBY GALAXIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chisari, Nora E.; Kelson, Daniel D., E-mail: nchisari@astro.princeton.edu

2012-07-10

We study the mid-infrared color space of 30 galaxies from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) survey for which Sloan Digital Sky Survey data are also available. We construct two-color maps for each galaxy and compare them to results obtained from combining Maraston evolutionary synthesis models, galactic thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) colors, and smooth star formation histories. For most of the SINGS sample, the spatially extended mid-IR emission seen by Spitzer in normal galaxies is consistent with our simple model in which circumstellar dust from TP-AGB stars dominates at 8 and 24 {mu}m. There is a handfulmore » of exceptions that we identify as galaxies that have high star formation rates presumably with star formation histories that cannot be assumed to be smooth, or anemic galaxies, which were depleted of their H I at some point during their evolution and have very low ongoing star formation rates.« less

VizieR Online Data Catalog: UKIDSS-DR7 Large Area Survey (Lawrence+ 2011)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

UKIDSS Consortium

2012-03-01

The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) is a large-scale near-IR survey which aim is to cover 7500 square degrees of the Northern sky. The survey is carried out using the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM), with a field of view of 0.21 square degrees, mounted on the 3.8m United Kingdom Infra-red Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii. The Large Area Survey (LAS) covers an area of 4000 square degrees in high Galactic latitudes (extragalactic) in the four bands Y(1.0um) J(1.2um) H(1.6um) and K(2.2um) to a depth of K = 18.4. Details of the survey can be found in the in the paper by Lawrence et al. (2007MNRAS.379.1599L) (1 data file).

A Deep Near-Infrared Survey of the N 49 Region around the Soft Gamma-Ray Repeater 0526-66

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klose, S.; Henden, A. A.; Geppert, U.; Greiner, J.; Guetter, H. H.; Hartmann, D. H.; Kouveliotou, C.; Luginbuhl, C. B.; Stecklurn, B.; Vrba, F. J.

2004-01-01

We report the results of a deep near-infrared survey of the vicinity of supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which contains the soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) 0526-66. Two of the four confirmed SGRs are potentially associated with compact stellar clusters. We thus searched for a similar association of SGR0526-66, and find the unexplored young stellar cluster SL 463 at a projected distance of approx. 30 pc from the SGR. This constitutes the third cluster-SGR link, and lends support to scenarios in which SGR progenitors originate in young, embedded clusters. If real, the cluster-SGR association constrains the age and thus the initial mass of these stars. In addition, our high-resolution images of the super- nova remnant N49 reveal an area of excess K-band flux in the southeastern part of the SNR. This feature coincides with the maximum flux area at 8.28 microns as detected by the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX satellite), which we identify with IRAS 052594607.

Spectrophotometric Redshifts in the Faint Infrared Grism Survey: Finding Overdensities of Faint Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pharo, John; Malhotra, Sangeeta; Rhoads, James; Ryan, Russell; Tilvi, Vithal; Pirzkal, Norbert; Finkelstein, Steven; Windhorst, Rogier; Grogin, Norman; Koekemoer, Anton; Zheng, Zhenya; Hathi, Nimish; Kim, Keunho; Joshi, Bhavin; Yang, Huan; Christensen, Lise; Cimatti, Andrea; Gardner, Jonathan P.; Zakamska, Nadia; Ferreras, Ignacio; Hibon, Pascale; Pasquali, Anna

2018-04-01

We improve the accuracy of photometric redshifts by including low-resolution spectral data from the G102 grism on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which assists in redshift determination by further constraining the shape of the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) and identifying spectral features. The photometry used in the redshift fits includes near-infrared photometry from FIGS+CANDELS, as well as optical data from ground-based surveys and HST ACS, and mid-IR data from Spitzer. We calculated the redshifts through the comparison of measured photometry with template galaxy models, using the EAZY photometric redshift code. For objects with F105W < 26.5 AB mag with a redshift range of 0 < z < 6, we find a typical error of Δz = 0.03 ∗ (1 + z) for the purely photometric redshifts; with the addition of FIGS spectra, these become Δz = 0.02 ∗ (1 + z), an improvement of 50%. Addition of grism data also reduces the outlier rate from 8% to 7% across all fields. With the more accurate spectrophotometric redshifts (SPZs), we searched the FIGS fields for galaxy overdensities. We identified 24 overdensities across the four fields. The strongest overdensity, matching a spectroscopically identified cluster at z = 0.85, has 28 potential member galaxies, of which eight have previous spectroscopic confirmation, and features a corresponding X-ray signal. Another corresponding to a cluster at z = 1.84 has 22 members, 18 of which are spectroscopically confirmed. Additionally, we find four overdensities that are detected at an equal or higher significance in at least one metric to the two confirmed clusters.

Morphology and astrometry of Infrared-Faint Radio Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middelberg, Enno; Norris, Ray; Randall, Kate; Mao, Minnie; Hales, Christopher

2008-10-01

Infrared-Faint Radio Sources, or IFRS, are an unexpected class of object discovered in the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey, ATLAS. They are compact 1.4GHz radio sources with no visible counterparts in co-located (relatively shallow) Spitzer infrared and optical images. We have detected two of these objects with VLBI, indicating the presence of an AGN. These observations and our ATLAS data indicate that IFRS are extended on scales of arcseconds, and we wish to image their morphologies to obtain clues about their nature. These observations will also help us to select optical counterparts from very deep, and hence crowded, optical images which we have proposed. With these data in hand, we will be able to compare IFRS to known object types and to apply for spectroscopy to obtain their redshifts.

Infrared Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grygar, J.

2018-04-01

Although infrared radiation was described by W. Herschel already in 1800, technical problems delayed its use in astronomy for 160 years. After the invention of a sensitive bolometer and semiconducting CCD arrays for very wide infrared window the progress in the field accelerated. Many high-altitude observatories started their work in the last three decades of XXth century and since 1983 space observatories became most important due to the fact that infrared radiation penetrates through opaque cold shells. Moreover, cosmological expansion of the Universe shifts the maximum of spectral energy of distant hot objects from ultraviolet to near infrared region. Infrared astronomy is also essential for improving our knowledge of the cold universe, particularly for studies about the birth of stars, planetary systems and galaxies.

HIGH-SPEED IMAGING AND WAVEFRONT SENSING WITH AN INFRARED AVALANCHE PHOTODIODE ARRAY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baranec, Christoph; Atkinson, Dani; Hall, Donald

2015-08-10

Infrared avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays represent a panacea for many branches of astronomy by enabling extremely low-noise, high-speed, and even photon-counting measurements at near-infrared wavelengths. We recently demonstrated the use of an early engineering-grade infrared APD array that achieves a correlated double sampling read noise of 0.73 e{sup −} in the lab, and a total noise of 2.52 e{sup −} on sky, and supports simultaneous high-speed imaging and tip-tilt wavefront sensing with the Robo-AO visible-light laser adaptive optics (AO) system at the Palomar Observatory 1.5 m telescope. Here we report on the improved image quality simultaneously achieved at visible andmore » infrared wavelengths by using the array as part of an image stabilization control loop with AO-sharpened guide stars. We also discuss a newly enabled survey of nearby late M-dwarf multiplicity, as well as future uses of this technology in other AO and high-contrast imaging applications.« less

Adaptive Optics Imaging Survey of Luminous Infrared Galaxies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Laag, E A; Canalizo, G; van Breugel, W

2006-03-13

We present high resolution imaging observations of a sample of previously unidentified far-infrared galaxies at z < 0.3. The objects were selected by cross-correlating the IRAS Faint Source Catalog with the VLA FIRST catalog and the HST Guide Star Catalog to allow for adaptive optics observations. We found two new ULIGs (with L{sub FIR} {ge} 10{sup 12} L{sub {circle_dot}}) and 19 new LIGs (with L{sub FIR} {ge} 10{sup 11} L{sub {circle_dot}}). Twenty of the galaxies in the sample were imaged with either the Lick or Keck adaptive optics systems in H or K{prime}. Galaxy morphologies were determined using the twomore » dimensional fitting program GALFIT and the residuals examined to look for interesting structure. The morphologies reveal that at least 30% are involved in tidal interactions, with 20% being clear mergers. An additional 50% show signs of possible interaction. Line ratios were used to determine powering mechanism; of the 17 objects in the sample showing clear emission lines--four are active galactic nuclei and seven are starburst galaxies. The rest exhibit a combination of both phenomena.« less

A near-infrared imaging survey of interacting galaxies - The disk-disk merger candidates subset

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanford, S. A.; Bushouse, H. A.

1991-01-01

Near-infrared imaging obtained for systems believed to be advanced disk-disk mergers are presented and discussed. These systems were chosen from a sample of approximately 170 objects from the Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies which have been imaged in the JHK bands as part of an investigation into the stellar component of interacting galaxies. Of the eight remnants which show optical signs of a disk-disk merger, the near-infrared surface brightness profiles are well-fitted by an r exp 1/4 law over all measured radii in four systems, and out to radii of about 3 kpc in three systems. These K band profiles indicate that most of the remnants in the sample either have finished or are in the process of relaxing into a mass distribution like that of normal elliptical galaxies.

A New Photometric Study of Ap and Am Stars in the Infrared

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, P. S.; Liu, J. Y.; Shan, H. G., E-mail: chenps@ynao.ac.cn

In this paper, 426 well known confirmed Ap and Am stars are photometrically studied in the infrared. The 2MASS, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ), and IRAS data are employed to make analyses. The results in this paper have shown that in the 1–3 μ m region over 90% Ap and Am stars have no or little infrared excesses, and infrared radiations in the near-infrared from these stars are probably dominated by the free–free emissions. It is also shown that in the 3–12 μ m region, the majority of Ap stars and Am stars have very similar behavior, i.e.,more » in the W 1– W 2 (3.4–4.6 μ m) region, over half of Ap and Am stars have clear infrared excesses, which are possibly due to the binarity, the multiplicity, and/or the debris disk, but in the W 2– W 3 (4.6–12 μ m) region they have no or little infrared excess. In addition, in the 12–22 μ m region, some of Ap stars and Am stars show the infrared excesses and infrared radiations for these Ap and Am stars are probably due to the free–free emissions. In addition, it is seen that the probability of being the binarity, the multiplicity and/or the debris disk for Am stars is much higher than that for Ap stars. Furthermore, it can be seen that, in general, no relations can be found between infrared colors and spectral types either for Ap stars or for Am stars.« less

Deep Extragalactic X-Ray Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandt, W. N.; Hasinger, G.

2005-09-01

Deep surveys of the cosmic X-ray background are reviewed in the context of observational progress enabled by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission-Newton. The sources found by deep surveys are described along with their redshift and luminosity distributions, and the effectiveness of such surveys at selecting active galactic nuclei (AGN) is assessed. Some key results from deep surveys are highlighted, including (a) measurements of AGN evolution and the growth of supermassive black holes, (b) constraints on the demography and physics of high-redshift AGN, (c) the X-ray AGN content of infrared and submillimeter galaxies, and (d) X-ray emission from distant starburst and normal galaxies. We also describe some outstanding problems and future prospects for deep extragalactic X-ray surveys.

Survey of Non-Destructive Tire Inspection Techniques

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-07-01

The status of several promising methods for non-destructive tire inspection is surveyed with the conclusion that radiographic, infrared, holographic and ultrasonic techniques warrant further evaluation. A program plan is outlined to correlate non-des...

A near-infrared SETI experiment: commissioning, data analysis, and performance results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maire, Jérôme; Wright, Shelley A.; Dorval, Patrick; Drake, Frank D.; Duenas, Andres; Isaacson, Howard; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Siemion, Andrew; Stone, Remington P. S.; Tallis, Melisa; Treffers, Richard R.; Werthimer, Dan

2016-08-01

Over the last two decades, Optical Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence experiments have been conducted to search for either continuous or pulsed visible-light laser beacons that could be used for interstellar communication or energy transmission. Near-infrared offers a compelling window for signal transmission since there is a decrease in interstellar extinction and Galactic background compared to optical wavelengths. An innovative Near-InfraRed and Optical SETI (NIROSETI) instrument has been designed and constructed to take advantage of a new generation of fast (> 1 Ghz) low-noise near-infrared avalanche photodiodes to search for nanosecond pulsed near-infrared (850 - 1650 nm) pulses. The instrument was successfully installed and commissioned at the Nickel (1m) telescope at Lick Observatory in March 2015. We will describe the overall design of the instrument with a focus on methods developed for data acquisition and reduction for near-infrared SETI. Time and height analyses of the pulses produced by the detectors are performed to search for periodicity and coincidences in the signals. We will further discuss our NIROSETI survey plans.

Fifty-four Years of Adventures in Infrared Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becklin, Eric Eric

2018-01-01

My adventures in infrared astronomy started when I was a grad student in 1965 with the discovery of an infrared-bright object (now known as the Becklin-Neugebauer Object) in the Orion Nebula. In 1966, I made the first measurements of the infrared radiation from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. I was fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of the 2.2 micron sky survey carried out by Neugebauer and Leighton (1969), which produced many remarkable discoveries, the most spectacular being the heavily dust-embedded carbon star IRC+10216, thebrightest object in the sky at 5 microns outside the solar system. In the 1970’s there was a growth in Infrared astronomy with the availability of many new facilities such as the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, (KAO) which I used extensively with Mike Werner and Ian Gatley for many unique observations. In 1977, I moved to Hawaii to work on the NASA IRTF 3- meter telescope. Many discoveries were made, including the first direct measurements of the rings of Jupiter at 2.2 microns (with Gareth Wynn-Williams) and the discovery of the first L dwarf star around a white dwarf (with Ben Zuckerman). In the 1980’s the introduction of large format arrays changed the way we did infrared astronomy. With Ian McLean, I moved to UCLA in 1990 to start the IR lab and get involved in Keck development and science. In 1995, Andrea, Ghez, Mark Morris and I started looking for evidence of a possible massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center. Spectacular observations using the Keck10 meter telescopes with large format near-infrared arrays and adaptive optics led to the confirmation of the presence of such a black hole and an estimate of its mass (4xE6 M (Sun)). In 1996, I began working on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and I will finish my talk by discussing SOFIA observations of the ring of dust and gas orbiting the massive black hole in the center

First Results from the ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, Deborah A.; Lonsdale, Carol J.; Hurt, Robert L.; Smith, Harding E.; Helou, George; Beichman, Charles; Cesarsky, Catherine; Elbaz, David; Klaas, Ulrich; Laureijs, Rene; Lemke, Detrich; Lord, Steven; McMahon, Richard; Moshir, Mehrdad; Neugebauer, Gerry; Soifer, B. T.; Van Buren, Dave; Wehrle, Ann; Wolstencroft, Ray

1998-09-01

We present the first results from the ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey (IIFGS), a program designed to obtain ISO observations of the most distant and luminous galaxies in the IRAS Faint Source Survey by filling short gaps in the ISO observing schedule with pairs of 12 μm ISOCAM and 90 μm ISOPHOT observations. As of 1997 October, over 500 sources have been observed, with an ISOCAM detection rate over 80%, covering over 1.25 deg2 of sky to an 11.5 μm point-source completeness limit of approximately 1.0 mJy (corresponding to a ~10 σ detection sensitivity). Observations are presented for nine sources detected by ISOPHOT and ISOCAM early in the survey for which we have ground-based G- and I-band images and optical spectroscopy. The ground-based data confirm that the IIFGS strategy efficiently detects moderate-redshift (z = 0.11-0.38 for this small sample) strong emission line galaxies with L60 μm >~ 1011 L⊙ one of our sample has L60 μm > 1012 L⊙ (H0 = 75 km s-1 Mpc-1, Ω = 1). The infrared-optical spectral energy distributions are comparable to those of nearby luminous infrared galaxies, which span the range from pure starburst (e.g., Arp 220) to infrared QSO (Mrk 231). Two of the systems show signs of strong interaction, and four show active galactic nucleus (AGN)-like excitation; one of the AGNs, F15390+6038, which shows a high excitation Seyfert 2 spectrum, has an unusually warm far- to mid-infrared color and may be an obscured QSO. The IIFGS sample is one of the largest and deepest samples of infrared-luminous galaxies available, promising to be a rich sample for studying infrared-luminous galaxies up to z ~ 1 and for understanding the evolution of infrared galaxies and the star formation rate in the universe. ISO is an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA member states (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.

Roof Moisture Surveys: Current State Of The Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobiasson, Wayne

1983-03-01

Moisture is the big enemy of compact roofing systems. Non-destructive nuclear, capacitance and infrared methods can all find wet insulation in such roofs but a few core samples are needed for verification. Nuclear and capacitance surveys generate quantitative results at grid points but examine only a small portion of the roof. Quantitative results are not usually provided by infrared scanners but they can rapidly examine every square inch of the roof. Being able to find wet areas when they are small is an important advantage. Prices vary with the scope of the investigation. For a particular scope, the three techniques are often cost-competitive. The limitations of each technique are related to the people involved as well as the equipment. When the right people are involved, non-destructive surveys are a very effective method for improving the long-term performance and reducing the life-cycle costs of roofing systems. Plans for the maintenance, repair or replacement of a roof should include a roof moisture survey.

Merging Features and Optical-Near Infrared Color Gradients of Early-type Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Duho; Im, M.

2012-01-01

It has been suggested that merging plays an important role in the formation and the evolution of early-type galaxies (ETGs). Optical-NIR color gradients of ETGs in high density environments are found to be less steep than those of ETGs in low density environments, hinting frequent merger activities in ETGs in high density environments. In order to examine if the flat color gradients are the result of dry mergers, we studied the relations between merging features, color gradient, and environments of 198 low redshift ETGs selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe82. Near Infrared (NIR) images are taken from UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS). Color(r-K) gradients of ETGs with tidal features are a little flatter than relaxed ETGs, but not significant. We found that massive (>1011.3 M⊙) relaxed ETGs have 2.5 times less scattered color gradients than less massive ETGs. The less scattered color gradients of massive ETGs could be evidence of dry merger processes in the evolution of massive ETGs. We found no relation between color gradients of ETGs and their environments.

The potential of mid- and near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for determining major- and trace-element concentrations in soils from a geochemical survey of North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reeves, J. B.; Smith, D.B.

2009-01-01

In 2004, soils were collected at 220 sites along two transects across the USA and Canada as a pilot study for a planned soil geochemical survey of North America (North American Soil Geochemical Landscapes Project). The objective of the current study was to examine the potential of diffuse reflectance (DR) Fourier Transform (FT) mid-infrared (mid-IR) and near-infrared (NIRS) spectroscopy to reduce the need for conventional analysis for the determination of major and trace elements in such continental-scale surveys. Soil samples (n = 720) were collected from two transects (east-west across the USA, and north-south from Manitoba, Canada to El Paso, Texas (USA), n = 453 and 267, respectively). The samples came from 19 USA states and the province of Manitoba in Canada. They represented 31 types of land use (e.g., national forest, rangeland, etc.), and 123 different land covers (e.g., soybeans, oak forest, etc.). The samples represented a combination of depth-based sampling (0-5 cm) and horizon-based sampling (O, A and C horizons) with 123 different depths identified. The set was very diverse with few samples similar in land use, land cover, etc. All samples were analyzed by conventional means for the near-total concentration of 49 analytes (Ctotal, Ccarbonate and Corganic, and 46 major and trace elements). Spectra were obtained using dried, ground samples using a Digilab FTS-7000 FT spectrometer in the mid- (4000-400 cm-1) and near-infrared (10,000-4000 cm-1) at 4 cm-1 resolution (64 co-added scans per spectrum) using a Pike AutoDIFF DR autosampler. Partial least squares calibrations were develop using: (1) all samples as a calibration set; (2) samples evenly divided into calibration and validation sets based on spectral diversity; and (3) samples divided to have matching analyte concentrations in calibration and validation sets. In general, results supported the conclusion that neither mid-IR nor NIRS would be particularly useful in reducing the need for conventional

Investigation Development Plan for Reflight of the Small Helium-cooled Infrared Telescope Experiment. Volume 1: Investigation and Technical/management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The Infrared Telescope (IRT) is designed to survey extended celestial sources of infrared radiation between 4 and 120 micrometers wavelength. It will provide data regarding Space Shuttle induced environmental contamination and the zodical light. And, it will provide experience in the management of large volumes of superfluid helium in the space environment.

IUE/IRAS studies of metal abundances and infrared cirrus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vansteenberg, M. E.; Shull, J. M.

1986-01-01

A survey is reported of interstellar densities, abundances, and cloud structure in the Galaxy, using the IUE and IRAS satellites. Heavy element depletions are discussed along with their correlations with mean density, reddening, and galactic location. Interesting correlations between the Fe/Si abundance ratio and the infrared diffuse cirrus is also reported, which may provide information on the history and formation of grains in the galactic halo.

Clustering of very luminous infrared galaxies and their environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gao, YU

1993-01-01

The IRAS survey reveals a class of ultraluminous infrared (IR) galaxies (ULIRG's) with IR luminosities comparable to the bolometric luminosities of quasars. The nature, origin, and evolution of ULIRG's are attracting more and more attention recently. Since galaxy morphology is certainly a function of environment, morphological observations show that ULIRG's are interacting/merging galaxies, and some ULIRG's might be the dust-enshrouded quasars (S88) or giant ellipticals, the study of ULIRG's environment and large scale clustering effects should be worthwhile. ULIRG's and very luminous IR galaxies have been selected from the 2Jy IRAS redshift survey. Meanwhile, a catalog of IRAS groups of galaxies has been constructed using a percolation-like algorithm. Therefore, whether ULIRG's and/or VLIRG's have a group environment can be checked immediately. Other aspects of the survey are discussed.

Mid-infrared integrated photonics on silicon: a perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Hongtao; Luo, Zhengqian; Gu, Tian; Kimerling, Lionel C.; Wada, Kazumi; Agarwal, Anu; Hu, Juejun

2017-12-01

The emergence of silicon photonics over the past two decades has established silicon as a preferred substrate platform for photonic integration. While most silicon-based photonic components have so far been realized in the near-infrared (near-IR) telecommunication bands, the mid-infrared (mid-IR, 2-20-μm wavelength) band presents a significant growth opportunity for integrated photonics. In this review, we offer our perspective on the burgeoning field of mid-IR integrated photonics on silicon. A comprehensive survey on the state-of-the-art of key photonic devices such as waveguides, light sources, modulators, and detectors is presented. Furthermore, on-chip spectroscopic chemical sensing is quantitatively analyzed as an example of mid-IR photonic system integration based on these basic building blocks, and the constituent component choices are discussed and contrasted in the context of system performance and integration technologies.

Salinity surveys using an airborne microwave radiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paris, J. F.; Droppleman, J. D.; Evans, D. E.

1972-01-01

The Barnes PRT-5 infrared radiometer and L-band channel of the multifrequency microwave radiometer are used to survey the distribution of surface water temperature and salinity. These remote sensors were flown repetitively in November 1971 over the outflow of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. Data reduction parameters were determined through the use of flight data obtained over a known water area. With these parameters, the measured infrared and microwave radiances were analyzed in terms of the surface temperature and salinity.

The HETDEX pilot survey. V. The physical origin of Lyα emitters probed by near-infrared spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song, Mimi; Finkelstein, Steven L.; Gebhardt, Karl

2014-08-10

We present the results from a Very Large Telescope/SINFONI and Keck/NIRSPEC near-infrared spectroscopic survey of 16 Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z = 2.1-2.5 in the COSMOS and GOODS-N fields discovered from the Hobby Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment Pilot Survey. We detect rest-frame optical nebular lines (Hα and/or [O III] λ5007) for 10 of the LAEs and measure physical properties, including the star formation rate (SFR), gas-phase metallicity, gas mass fraction, and Lyα velocity offset. We find that LAEs may lie below the mass-metallicity relation for continuum-selected star-forming galaxies at the same redshift. The LAEs all show velocity shifts ofmore » Lyα relative to the systemic redshift ranging between +85 and +296 km s{sup –1} with a mean of +180 km s{sup –1}. This value is smaller than measured for continuum-selected star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts. The Lyα velocity offsets show a moderate correlation with the measured SFR (2.5σ), but no significant correlations are seen with the SFR surface density, specific SFR, stellar mass, or dynamical mass (≲1.5σ). Exploring the role of dust, kinematics of the interstellar medium (ISM), and geometry on the escape of Lyα photons, we find no signature of selective quenching of resonantly scattered Lyα photons. However, we also find no evidence that a clumpy ISM is enhancing the Lyα equivalent width. Our results suggest that the low metallicity in LAEs may be responsible for yielding an environment with a low neutral hydrogen column density and less dust, easing the escape of Lyα photons over that in continuum-selected star-forming galaxies.« less

Strategy for the IRAS all-sky survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lundy, S. A.

1984-01-01

IRAS (the Infrared Astronomical Satellite) was launched on January 25, 1983 (January 26 GMT) with the primary purpose of performing an infrared survey of the entire celestial sphere. To ensure completeness and reliability, every point of sky was to be covered by a minimum of four separate scans of the telescope field-of-view, and as much as possible with six, with certain added timing constraints on the elapsed interval between scans. These strong requirements for sky coverage, combined with a restricted, rotating viewing-window, made extensive planning for the survey strategy, both pre-launch and during operations, a necessity. The result was that on November 21 (November 22 GMT), when the liquid helium required for cooling was depleted, 96 percent of the sky was covered to the minimum depth of four and 71 percent was coverd to depth six or more.

An infrared search for extraterrestrial laser signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Betz, A.

1986-01-01

The focus of project SETI is on microwave frequencies, where receivers fundamentally have the best sensitivity for the detection of narrow band signals. Such receivers, when coupled to existing radio telescopes, form an optimum system for broad area searches over the sky. Detection of narrow band infrared signals is best done with a laser heterodyne reciever similar in function to a microwave spectral line receiver. A receiver was built for astrophysical observations at 30 THz (10 microns) and the spectrometer is being adapted for SETI work. The receiver uses a small CO2 laser as the local oscillator, a HgCdTe diode as the photomixer, and a multichannel intermediate frequency (IF) filterbank. An advanced multichannel IF processor is now being built to detect infrared line radiation in 1000 spectral channels each 1 MHz wide. When completed this processor will be used with a ground based telescope next year for a survey of several hundred selected stars for narrow band CO2 laser signals at 30 THz.

Degradation sequence of young lunar craters from orbital infrared survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wieczorek, M. A.; Mendell, W. W.

1993-01-01

Using new software, nighttime thermal maps of the lunar surface have been generated from data obtained by the Apollo 17 Infrared Scanning Radiometer (ISR) in lunar orbit. Most of the thermal anomalies observed in the maps correspond to fresh lunar craters because blocks on the lunar surface maintain a thermal contrast relative to surrounding soil during the lunar night. Craters of Erastosthenian age and older - relatively young by lunar standards - have developed soil covers that make them almost indistinguishable from their surroundings in the thermal data. Thermal images of Copernican age craters show various stages of a degradation process, allowing the craters to be ranked by age. The ISR data should yield insights into lunar surface evolution as well as a more detailed understanding of the bombardment history after formation of the great mare basins.

Integration of infrared thermography and high-frequency electromagnetic methods in archaeological surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlomagno, Giovanni Maria; Di Maio, Rosa; Fedi, Maurizio; Meola, Carosena

2011-09-01

This work is focused on the integration of infrared thermography and ground penetrating radar for the inspection of architectonic structures. First, laboratory tests were carried out with both techniques by considering an ad hoc specimen made of concrete and with the insertion of anomalies of a different nature and at different depths. Such tests provided helpful information for ongoing inspections in situ, which were later performed in two important Italian archaeological sites, namely Pompeii (Naples) and Nora (Cagliari). In the first site, the exploration was devoted to the analysis of the wall paintings of Villa Imperiale with the aim of evaluating the state of conservation of frescoes as well of the underneath masonry structure. As main findings, the applied techniques allowed outlining some areas, which were damaged by ingression in-depth of moisture and/or by disaggregation of the constituent materials, and also for recognition of previous restoration. In the archaeological area of Nora, instead, the attention was driven towards the evaluation of the state of degradation of the theatre remnants. Our prospections show that the front side of the theatre, being more strongly affected by degradation, needs a massive restoration work. As a general result, we demonstrated that a joint interpretation of infrared thermography and ground penetrating radar data supplies detailed 3D information from near-surface to deep layers, which may assist in restoration planning.

A feasibility study: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection utilization of infrared technologies for wildland fire suppression and management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nichols, J. D.; Britten, R. A.; Parks, G. S.; Voss, J. M.

1990-01-01

NASA's JPL has completed a feasibility study using infrared technologies for wildland fire suppression and management. The study surveyed user needs, examined available technologies, matched the user needs with technologies, and defined an integrated infrared wildland fire mapping concept system configuration. System component trade-offs were presented for evaluation in the concept system configuration. The economic benefits of using infrared technologies in fire suppression and management were examined. Follow-on concept system configuration development and implementation were proposed.

Searching For Infrared Excesses Around White Dwarf Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deeb Wilson, Elin; Rebull, Luisa M.; Debes, John H.; Stark, Chris

2017-01-01

Many WDs have been found to be “polluted,” meaning they contain heavier elements in their atmospheres. Either an active process that counters gravitational settling is taking place, or an external mechanism is the cause. One proposed external mechanism for atmospheric pollution of WDs is the disintegration and accretion of rocky bodies, which would result in a circumstellar (CS) disk. As CS disks are heated, they emit excess infrared (IR) emission. WDs with IR excesses indicative of a CS disk are known as dusty WDs. Statistical studies are still needed to determine how numerous dusty, polluted WDs are, along with trends and correlations regarding rate of planetary accretion, the lifetimes of CS disks, and the structure and evolution of CS disks. These findings will allow for a better understanding of the fates of planets along with potential habitability of surviving planets.In this work, we are trying to confirm IR excesses around a sample of 69 WD stars selected as part of the WISE InfraRed Excesses around Degenerates (WIRED) Survey (Debes et al. 2011). We have archival data from WISE, Spitzer, 2MASS, DENIS, and SDSS. The targets were initially selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and identified as containing IR excesses based on WISE data. We also have data from the Four Star Infrared Camera array, which is part of Carnegie Institution’s Magellan 6.5 meter Baade Telescope located at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. These Four Star data are much higher spatial resolution than the WISE data that were used to determine if each WD has an IR excess. There are often not many bands delineating the IR excess portion of the SED; therefore, we are using the Four Star data to check if there is another source in the WISE beam affecting the IR excess.

Identification of Luminous Infrared Galaxies at 1 <~ z <~ 2.51,2,3,4,

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Floc'h, E.; Pérez-González, P. G.; Rieke, G. H.; Papovich, C.; Huang, J.-S.; Barmby, P.; Dole, H.; Egami, E.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; Wilson, G.; Miyazaki, S.; Rigby, J. R.; Bei, L.; Blaylock, M.; Engelbracht, C. W.; Fazio, G. G.; Frayer, D. T.; Gordon, K. D.; Hines, D. C.; Misselt, K. A.; Morrison, J. E.; Muzerolle, J.; Rieke, M. J.; Rigopoulou, D.; Su, K. Y. L.; Willner, S. P.; Young, E. T.

2004-09-01

We present preliminary results on 24 μm detections of luminous infrared galaxies at z>~1 with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). Observations were performed in the Lockman Hole and the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) and were supplemented by data obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) between 3 and 9 μm. The positional accuracy of <~2" for most MIPS/IRAC detections provides unambiguous identifications of their optical counterparts. Using spectroscopic redshifts from the Deep Extragalactic Evolutionary Probe survey, we identify 24 μm sources at z>~1 in the EGS, while the combination of the MIPS/IRAC observations with BVRIJHK ancillary data in the Lockman Hole also shows very clear cases of galaxies with photometric redshifts at 1<~z<~2.5. The observed 24 μm fluxes indicate infrared luminosities greater than 1011 Lsolar, while the data at shorter wavelengths reveal rather red and probably massive (M>~M*) galaxy counterparts. It is the first time that this population of luminous objects is detected up to z~2.5 in the infrared. Our work demonstrates the ability of the MIPS instrument to probe the dusty universe at very high redshift and illustrates how the forthcoming Spitzer deep surveys will offer a unique opportunity to illuminate a dark side of cosmic history not explored by previous infrared experiments. Based on observations collected at the German-Spanish Astronomical Center, Calar Alto, operated jointly by Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie and Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucia (CSIC). Based on observations made with the Isaac Newton Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

A search for AGN activity in Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenc, Emil; Middelberg, Enno; Norris, Ray; Mao, Minnie

2009-04-01

We propose to observe a large sample of radio sources from the ATLAS (Australia Telescope Large Area Survey) source catalogue with the LBA, to determine their compactness. The sample consists of 36 sources with no counterpart in the co-located SWIRE survey (3.6 um to 160 um), carried out with the Spitzer Space Telescope. This rare class of sources, dubber Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRS), is inconsistent with current galaxy evolution models. VLBI observations are an essential way to obtain further clues on what these objects are and why they are hidden from infrared observations. We will measure the flux densities on long baselines to determine their compactness. Only five IFRS have been previously targeted with VLBI observations (resulting in two detections). We propose using single baseline (Parkes-ATCA) eVLBI observations with the LBA at 1 Gbps to maximise sensitivity. With the observations proposed here we will increase the number of VLBI-observed IFRS from 5 to 36, allowing us to draw statistical conclusions about this intriguing new class of objects.

A search for AGN activity in Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenc, Emil; Middelberg, Enno; Norris, Ray; Mao, Minnie

2010-04-01

We propose to observe a large sample of radio sources from the ATLAS (Australia Telescope Large Area Survey) source catalogue with the LBA, to determine their compactness. The sample consists of 36 sources with no counterpart in the co-located SWIRE survey (3.6 um to 160 um), carried out with the Spitzer Space Telescope. This rare class of sources, dubber Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRS), is inconsistent with current galaxy evolution models. VLBI observations are an essential way to obtain further clues on what these objects are and why they are hidden from infrared observations. We will measure the flux densities on long baselines to determine their compactness. Only five IFRS have been previously targeted with VLBI observations (resulting in two detections). We propose using single baseline (Parkes-ATCA) eVLBI observations with the LBA at 1 Gbps to maximise sensitivity. With the observations proposed here we will increase the number of VLBI-observed IFRS from 5 to 36, allowing us to draw statistical conclusions about this intriguing new class of objects.

Radio variability in the Phoenix Deep Survey at 1.4 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hancock, P. J.; Drury, J. A.; Bell, M. E.; Murphy, T.; Gaensler, B. M.

2016-09-01

We use archival data from the Phoenix Deep Survey to investigate the variable radio source population above 1 mJy beam-1 at 1.4 GHz. Given the similarity of this survey to other such surveys we take the opportunity to investigate the conflicting results which have appeared in the literature. Two previous surveys for variability conducted with the Very Large Array (VLA) achieved a sensitivity of 1 mJy beam-1. However, one survey found an areal density of radio variables on time-scales of decades that is a factor of ˜4 times greater than a second survey which was conducted on time-scales of less than a few years. In the Phoenix deep field we measure the density of variable radio sources to be ρ = 0.98 deg-2 on time-scales of 6 months to 8 yr. We make use of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared cross-ids, and identify all variable sources as an active galactic nucleus of some description. We suggest that the discrepancy between previous VLA results is due to the different time-scales probed by each of the surveys, and that radio variability at 1.4 GHz is greatest on time-scales of 2-5 yr.

Recent use of medical infrared thermography in skin neoplasms.

PubMed

Magalhaes, C; Vardasca, R; Mendes, J

2018-03-25

Infrared thermal imaging captures the infrared radiation emitted by the skin surface. The thermograms contain valuable information, since the temperature distribution can be used to characterize physiological anomalies. Thus, the use of infrared thermal imaging (IRT) has been studied as a possible medical tool to aid in the diagnosis of skin oncological lesions. The aim of this review is to assess the current state of the applications of IRT in skin neoplasm identification and characterization. A literature survey was conducted using the reference bibliographic databases: Scopus, PubMed and ISI Web of Science. Keywords (thermography, infrared imaging, thermal imaging and skin cancer) were combined and its presence was verified at the title and abstract of the article or as a main topic. Only articles published after 2013 were considered during this search. In total, 55 articles were encountered, resulting in 14 publications for revision after applying the exclusion criteria. It was denoted that IRT have been used to characterize and distinguish between malignant and benign neoplasms and different skin cancer types. IRT has also been successfully applied in the treatment evaluation of these types of lesions. Trends and future challenges have been established to improve the application of IRT in this field, disclosing that dynamic thermography is a promising tool for early identification of oncological skin conditions. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becklin, Eric E.; Horn, Jochen M. M.

The joint US and German SOFIA project to develop and operate a 2.5 - meter infrared airborne telescope in a Boeing 747-SP is now well into development. Work on the aircraft and the telescope has started. First science flights will begin in 2003 with 20% of the observing time assigned to German investigators. The observatory is expected to operate for over 20 years. The sensitivity, characteristics and science instrument complement are discussed. SOFIA will have instrumentation that will allow astronomical surveys that were not possible on the KAO. A future SOFIA project related to astrochemistry is discussed.

PRIMitive Asteroids Spectroscopic Survey - PRIMASS: First Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Leon, Julia; Pinilla-Alonso, Noemi; Campins, Humberto; Lorenzi, Vania; Licandro, Javier; Morate, David; Tanga, Paolo; Cellino, Alberto; Delbo, Marco

2015-11-01

NASA OSIRIS-REx and JAXA Hayabusa 2 sample-return missions have targeted two near-Earth asteroids: (101955) Bennu and (162173) 1999 JU3, respectively. These are primitive asteroids that are believed to originate in the inner belt, where five distinct sources have been identified: four primitive collisional families (Polana, Erigone, Sulamitis, and Clarissa), and a population of low-albedo and low-inclination background asteroids. Identifying and characterizing the populations from which these two NEAs might originate will enchance the science return of the two missions.With this main objective in mind, we initiated in 2010 a spectroscopic survey in the visible and the near-infrared to characterize the primitive collisional families in the inner belt and the low-albedo background population. This is the PRIMitive Asteroids Spectroscopic Survey - PRIMASS. So far we have obtained more than 200 spectra using telescopes located at different observatories. PRIMASS uses a variety of ground based facilities. Most of the spectra have been obtained using the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), and the 3.6m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG), both located at the El Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Spain), and the 3.0m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea (Hawai, USA).We present the first results from our on-going survey (de Leon et al. 2015; Pinilla-Alonso et al. 2015; Morate et al. 2015), focused on the Polana and the Erigone primitive families, with visible and near-infrared spectra of more than 200 objects, most of them with no previous spectroscopic data. Our survey is already the largest database of primitive asteroids spectra, and we keep obtaining data on the Sulamitis and the Clarissa families, as well as on the background low-albedo population.

Stellar Variability in the VVV Survey: An Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catelan, M.; Dekany, I.; Hempel, M.; Minniti, D.

The Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) ESO Public Survey consists in a near-infrared time-series survey of the Galactic bulge and inner disk; covering 562 square degrees of the sky; over a total timespan of more than 5 years. In this paper; we provide an updated account of the current status of the survey; especially in the context of stellar variability studies. In this sense; we give a first description of our efforts towards the construction of the VVV Variable Star Catalog (VVV-VSC).

Three new cool brown dwarfs discovered with the wide-field infrared survey explorer (WISE) and an improved spectrum of the Y0 dwarf wise J041022.71+150248.4

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cushing, Michael C.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gelino, Christopher R.

2014-05-01

As part of a larger search of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data for cool brown dwarfs with effective temperatures less than 1000 K, we present the discovery of three new cool brown dwarfs with spectral types later than T7. Using low-resolution, near-infrared spectra obtained with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the Hubble Space Telescope, we derive spectral types of T9.5 for WISE J094305.98+360723.5, T8 for WISE J200050.19+362950.1, and Y0: for WISE J220905.73+271143.9. The identification of WISE J220905.73+271143.9 as a Y dwarf brings the total number of spectroscopically confirmed Y dwarfs to 17. In addition, we present an improvedmore » spectrum (i.e., higher signal-to-noise ratio) of the Y0 dwarf WISE J041022.71+150248.4 that confirms the Cushing et al. classification of Y0. Spectrophotometric distance estimates place all three new brown dwarfs at distances less than 12 pc, with WISE J200050.19+362950.1 lying at a distance of only 3.9-8.0 pc. Finally, we note that brown dwarfs like WISE J200050.19+362950.1 that lie in or near the Galactic plane offer an exciting opportunity to directly measure the mass of a brown dwarf via astrometric microlensing.« less

Variation in detection among passive infrared triggered-cameras used in wildlife research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Damm, Philip E.; Grand, James B.; Barnett, Steven W.

2010-01-01

Precise and accurate estimates of demographics such as age structure, productivity, and density are necessary in determining habitat and harvest management strategies for wildlife populations. Surveys using automated cameras are becoming an increasingly popular tool for estimating these parameters. However, most camera studies fail to incorporate detection probabilities, leading to parameter underestimation. The objective of this study was to determine the sources of heterogeneity in detection for trail cameras that incorporate a passive infrared (PIR) triggering system sensitive to heat and motion. Images were collected at four baited sites within the Conecuh National Forest, Alabama, using three cameras at each site operating continuously over the same seven-day period. Detection was estimated for four groups of animals based on taxonomic group and body size. Our hypotheses of detection considered variation among bait sites and cameras. The best model (w=0.99) estimated different rates of detection for each camera in addition to different detection rates for four animal groupings. Factors that explain this variability might include poor manufacturing tolerances, variation in PIR sensitivity, animal behavior, and species-specific infrared radiation. Population surveys using trail cameras with PIR systems must incorporate detection rates for individual cameras. Incorporating time-lapse triggering systems into survey designs should eliminate issues associated with PIR systems.

The Near-Earth Object Camera: A Next-Generation Minor Planet Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mainzer, Amy K.; Wright, Edward L.; Bauer, James; Grav, Tommy; Cutri, Roc M.; Masiero, Joseph; Nugent, Carolyn R.

2015-11-01

The Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) is a next-generation asteroid and comet survey designed to discover, characterize, and track large numbers of minor planets using a 50 cm infrared telescope located at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point. Proposed to NASA's Discovery program, NEOCam is designed to carry out a comprehensive inventory of the small bodies in the inner regions of our solar system. It address three themes: 1) quantify the potential hazard that near-Earth objects may pose to Earth; 2) study the origins and evolution of our solar system as revealed by its small body populations; and 3) identify the best destinations for future robotic and human exploration. With a dual channel infrared imager that observes at 4-5 and 6-10 micron bands simultaneously through the use of a beamsplitter, NEOCam enables measurements of asteroid diameters and thermal inertia. NEOCam complements existing and planned visible light surveys in terms of orbital element phase space and wavelengths, since albedos can be determined for objects with both visible and infrared flux measurements. NEOCam was awarded technology development funding in 2011 to mature the necessary megapixel infrared detectors.

Infrared instrument support for HyspIRI-TIR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, William R.; Hook, Simon J.; Foote, Marc; Eng, Bjorn T.; Jau, Bruno

2012-10-01

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is currently developing an end-to-end instrument which will provide a proof of concept prototype vehicle for a high data rate, multi-channel, thermal instrument in support of the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI)-Thermal Infrared (TIR) space mission. HyspIRI mission was recommended by the National Research Council Decadal Survey (DS). The HyspIRI mission includes a visible shortwave infrared (SWIR) pushboom spectrometer and a multispectral whiskbroom thermal infrared (TIR) imager. The prototype testbed instrument addressed in this effort will only support the TIR. Data from the HyspIRI mission will be used to address key science questions related to the Solid Earth and Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems focus areas of the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Current designs for the HyspIRI-TIR space borne imager utilize eight spectral bands delineated with filters. The system will have 60m ground resolution, 200mK NEDT, 0.5C absolute temperature resolution with a 5-day repeat from LEO orbit. The prototype instrument will use mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) technology at the focal plane array in time delay integration mode. A custom read out integrated circuit (ROIC) will provide the high speed readout hence high data rates needed for the 5 day repeat. The current HyspIRI requirements dictate a ground knowledge measurement of 30m, so the prototype instrument will tackle this problem with a newly developed interferometeric metrology system. This will provide an absolute measurement of the scanning mirror to an order of magnitude better than conventional optical encoders. This will minimize the reliance on ground control points hence minimizing post-processing (e.g. geo-rectification computations).

Integration of infrared thermography and high-frequency electromagnetic methods in archaeological surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Maio, Rosa; Meola, Carosena; Fedi, Maurizio; Carlomagno, Giovanni Maria

2010-05-01

An integration of high-resolution non-destructive techniques is presented for the inspection and evaluation of ancient architectonic structures. Infrared thermography (IRT) represents a valuable tool for nondestructive evaluation of architectonic structures and artworks because it is capable of giving indications about most of the degradation sources of artworks and buildings of both historical interest and civil use. In particular, it is possible to detect cracks, disbondings, alteration of material consistency, etc. Indeed, by choosing the most adequate thermographic technique, it is possible to monitor the conservation state of artworks in time and to detect the presence of many types of defects (e.g., voids, cracks, disbondings, etc.) in different types of materials (e.g., concrete, masonry structures, bronze, etc.). The main advantages of infrared thermography when dealing with precious artworks may be summarized with three words: non-contact, non-invasive, and two-dimensionality. It is possible to inspect either a large surface such as the facade of a palace, or a very small surface of only few square millimetres. Conversely, the inspection depth is quite small; generally, of the order of centimetres. However, as demonstrated in previous work, IRT well matches with electric-and electromagnetic-type geophysical methods to characterize the overlapping zone from low-to-high depth in masonry structures. In particular, the use of high-frequency electromagnetic techniques, such as the ground penetrating radar (GPR), permits to reach investigation depths of some ten of centimetres by choosing appropriate frequencies of the transmitted electromagnetic signal. In the last decade a large utilisation of the GPR methodology to non-destructive analysis of engineering and architectural materials and structures has been experienced. This includes diverse features, such as definition of layer thickness, characterisation of different constructive materials, identification of

AFM-IR: Technology and Applications in Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemical Imaging.

PubMed

Dazzi, Alexandre; Prater, Craig B

2016-12-13

Atomic force microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) is a rapidly emerging technique that provides chemical analysis and compositional mapping with spatial resolution far below conventional optical diffraction limits. AFM-IR works by using the tip of an AFM probe to locally detect thermal expansion in a sample resulting from absorption of infrared radiation. AFM-IR thus can provide the spatial resolution of AFM in combination with the chemical analysis and compositional imaging capabilities of infrared spectroscopy. This article briefly reviews the development and underlying technology of AFM-IR, including recent advances, and then surveys a wide range of applications and investigations using AFM-IR. AFM-IR applications that will be discussed include those in polymers, life sciences, photonics, solar cells, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and cultural heritage. In the Supporting Information , the authors provide a theoretical section that reviews the physics underlying the AFM-IR measurement and detection mechanisms.

Supernova Remnants in the UWIFE and UWISH2 Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yong-Hyun; Koo, Bon-Chul; Lee, Jae-Joon

2016-06-01

We have searched for near-infrared [Fe II] (1.644 µm) and H2 1-0 S(1) (2.122 µm) emission features associated with Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) using the narrow-band imaging surveys UWIFE/ UWISH2 (UKIRT Widefield Infrared Survey for [Fe II] / H2). Both surveys cover about 180 square degrees of the first Galactic quadrant (7° < l < 62°; -1.5° < b < +1.5°), and a total of 79 SNRs are falling in the survey area among the currently known 294 Galactic SNRs. The images show diffuse structures as deep as the surface brightness limit of 10-19 W m-2 arcsec-2 which is comparable with a 5σ detection limit of point sources of 18 mag. In order to inspect the narrow-band features, we subtracted H and K-band continuum images obtained from the UKIDSS GPS (UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey of the Galactic Plane) from the [Fe II] and H2 narrow-band images, respectively. By this time, we have found 19 [Fe II]- and 18 H2-emitting SNRs, and these are likely to increase in future as we inspect the images in more detail. Some of the SNRs show bright, complex, and interesting structures that have never been reported in previous studies. Since [Fe II] and H2 lines trace dense atomic and molecular gases associated with SNR shocks, our results can help us understand the environment and evolution of individual SNRs. Among the SNRs showing both [Fe II] and H2 emission lines, some SNRs show the “[Fe II]-H2 reversal” phenomenon, i.e., the H2 emission features are detected outside the [Fe II] emission boundary. This is opposite to the standard picture: If the shocks are driven by the same blast wave, we expect the H2 filaments to be closer to the explosion center than the [Fe II] filaments. In this presentation, we show several examples of such SNRs detected in our study, and present high resolution (R ˜ 40,000) H and K-band spectra of H2 emission features obtained by using IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph).

Supernova Remnants in the UWIFE and UWISH2 Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yong-Hyun

2016-06-01

We have searched for near-infrared [Fe II] (1.644 μm) and H2 1-0 S(1) (2.122 μm) emission features associated with Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) using the narrow-band imaging surveys UWIFE/ UWISH2 (UKIRT Widefield Infrared Survey for [Fe II] / H2 ). Both surveys cover about 180 square degrees of the first Galactic quadrant (7 {circ} < l < 62 {circ} ; -1.5 {circ} < b < +1.5 {circ} ), and a total of 79 SNRs are falling in the survey area among the currently known 294 Galactic SNRs. The images show diffuse structures as deep as the surface brightness limit of 10^(-19) W m^(-2) arcsec^(-2) which is comparable with a 5σ detection limit of point sources of 18 mag. In order to inspect the narrow-band features, we subtracted H and K-band continuum images obtained from the UKIDSS GPS (UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey of the Galactic Plane) from the [Fe II] and H2 narrow-band images, respectively. By this time, we have found 19 [Fe II]- and 18 H2 -emitting SNRs, and these are likely to increase in future as we inspect the images in more detail. Some of the SNRs show bright, complex, and interesting structures that have never been reported in previous studies. Since [Fe II] and H2 lines trace dense atomic and molecular gases associated with SNR shocks, our results can help us understand the environment and evolution of individual SNRs. Among the SNRs showing both [Fe II] and H2 emission lines, some SNRs show the “[Fe II]-H2 reversal” phenomenon, i.e., the H2 emission features are detected outside the [Fe II] emission boundary. This is opposite to the standard picture: If the shocks are driven by the same blast wave, we expect the H2 filaments to be closer to the explosion center than the [Fe II] filaments. In this presentation, we show several examples of such SNRs detected in our study, and present high resolution (R 40,000) H and K-band spectra of H2 emission features obtained by using IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph).

WIRED for EC: New White Dwarfs with WISE Infrared Excesses and New Classification Schemes from the Edinburgh–Cape Blue Object Survey

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dennihy, E.; Clemens, J. C.; Dunlap, B. H.

We present a simple method for identifying candidate white dwarf systems with dusty exoplanetary debris based on a single temperature blackbody model fit to the infrared excess. We apply this technique to a sample of Southern Hemisphere white dwarfs from the recently completed Edinburgh–Cape Blue Object Survey and identify four new promising dusty debris disk candidates. We demonstrate the efficacy of our selection method by recovering three of the four Spitzer confirmed dusty debris disk systems in our sample. Further investigation using archival high-resolution imaging shows that Spitzer data of the unrecovered fourth object is likely contaminated by a line-of-sightmore » object that either led to a misclassification as a dusty disk in the literature or is confounding our method. Finally, in our diagnostic plot, we show that dusty white dwarfs, which also host gaseous debris, lie along a boundary of our dusty debris disk region, providing clues to the origin and evolution of these especially interesting systems.« less

Detecting aircraft with a low-resolution infrared sensor.

PubMed

Jakubowicz, Jérémie; Lefebvre, Sidonie; Maire, Florian; Moulines, Eric

2012-06-01

Existing computer simulations of aircraft infrared signature (IRS) do not account for dispersion induced by uncertainty on input data, such as aircraft aspect angles and meteorological conditions. As a result, they are of little use to estimate the detection performance of IR optronic systems; in this case, the scenario encompasses a lot of possible situations that must be indeed addressed, but cannot be singly simulated. In this paper, we focus on low-resolution infrared sensors and we propose a methodological approach for predicting simulated IRS dispersion of poorly known aircraft and performing aircraft detection on the resulting set of low-resolution infrared images. It is based on a sensitivity analysis, which identifies inputs that have negligible influence on the computed IRS and can be set at a constant value, on a quasi-Monte Carlo survey of the code output dispersion, and on a new detection test taking advantage of level sets estimation. This method is illustrated in a typical scenario, i.e., a daylight air-to-ground full-frontal attack by a generic combat aircraft flying at low altitude, over a database of 90,000 simulated aircraft images. Assuming a white noise or a fractional Brownian background model, detection performances are very promising.

The UKIRT Hemisphere Survey: definition and J-band data release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dye, S.; Lawrence, A.; Read, M. A.; Fan, X.; Kerr, T.; Varricatt, W.; Furnell, K. E.; Edge, A. C.; Irwin, M.; Hambly, N.; Lucas, P.; Almaini, O.; Chambers, K.; Green, R.; Hewett, P.; Liu, M. C.; McGreer, I.; Best, W.; Zhang, Z.; Sutorius, E.; Froebrich, D.; Magnier, E.; Hasinger, G.; Lederer, S. M.; Bold, M.; Tedds, J. A.

2018-02-01

This paper defines the UK Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) Hemisphere Survey (UHS) and release of the remaining ∼12 700 deg2 of J-band survey data products. The UHS will provide continuous J- and K-band coverage in the Northern hemisphere from a declination of 0° to 60° by combining the existing Large Area Survey, Galactic Plane Survey and Galactic Clusters Survey conducted under the UKIRT Infra-red Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) programme with this new additional area not covered by UKIDSS. The released data include J-band imaging and source catalogues over the new area, which, together with UKIDSS, completes the J-band UHS coverage over the full ∼17 900 deg2 area. 98 per cent of the data in this release have passed quality control criteria. The remaining 2 per cent have been scheduled for re-observation. The median 5σ point source sensitivity of the released data is 19.6 mag (Vega). The median full width at half-maximum of the point spread function across the data set is 0.75 arcsec. In this paper, we outline the survey management, data acquisition, processing and calibration, quality control and archiving as well as summarizing the characteristics of the released data products. The data are initially available to a limited consortium with a world-wide release scheduled for 2018 August.

Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - VII. The merger-luminous infrared galaxy connection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellison, Sara L.; Mendel, J. Trevor; Scudder, Jillian M.; Patton, David R.; Palmer, Michael J. D.

2013-04-01

We use a sample of 9397 low-redshift (z ≤ 0.1) galaxies with a close companion to investigate the connection between mergers and luminous infrared (IR) galaxies (LIRGs). The pairs are selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and have projected separations rp ≤ 80 h{^{- 1}_{70}} kpc, relative velocities ΔV ≤ 300 km s-1 and stellar mass ratios within a factor of 1:10. A control sample consisting of four galaxies per pair galaxy is constructed by simultaneously matching in stellar mass, redshift and environment to galaxies with no close companion. The IR luminosities (LIR) of galaxies in the pair and control samples are determined from the SDSS - Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) matched catalogue of Hwang et al. Over the redshift range of our pairs sample, the IRAS matches are complete to LIRG luminosities (LIR ≥ 1011 L⊙), allowing us to investigate the connection between mergers and luminous IR galaxies. We find a trend for increasing LIRG fraction towards smaller pair separations, peaking at a factor of ˜5-10 above the median control fraction at the smallest separations (rp < 20 h{^{- 1}_{70}} kpc), but remaining elevated by a factor ˜2-3 even out to 80 h{^{- 1}_{70}} kpc (the widest separations in our sample). LIRG pairs predominantly have high star formation rates (SFRs), high extinction and are found in relatively low-density environments, relative to the full pairs sample. We also find that LIRGs are most likely to be found in high-mass galaxies which have an approximately equal-mass companion. We confirm the results of previous studies that both the active galactic nucleus (AGN) fraction and merger fraction increase strongly as a function of IR luminosity. About 7 per cent of LIRGs are associated with major mergers, as defined within the criteria and mass completion of our sample. Finally, we quantify an SFR offset (ΔSFR) as the enhancement (or decrement) relative to star-forming galaxies of the same mass and redshift. We

Joint US-Japan Observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO): Deep Surveys and Observations of High-Z Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, David B.

1997-01-01

Several important milestones were passed during the past year of our ISO observing program: (1) Our first ISO data were successfully obtained. ISOCAM data were taken for our primary deep field target in the 'Lockman Hole'. Thirteen hours of integration (taken over 4 contiguous orbits) were obtained in the LW2 filter of a 3 ft x 3 ft region centered on the position of minimum HI column density in the Lockman Hole. The data were obtained in microscanning mode. This is the deepest integration attempted to date (by almost a factor of 4 in time) with ISOCAM. (2) The deep survey data obtained for the Lockman Hole were received by the Japanese P.I. (Yoshi Taniguchi) in early December, 1996 (following release of the improved pipeline formatted data from Vilspa), and a copy was forwarded to Hawaii shortly thereafter. These data were processed independently by the Japan and Hawaii groups during the latter part of December 1996, and early January, 1997. The Hawaii group made use of the U.S. ISO data center at IPAC/Caltech in Pasadena to carry out their data reduction, while the Japanese group used a copy of the ISOCAM data analysis package made available to them through an agreement with the head of the ISOCAM team, Catherine Cesarsky. (3) Results of our LW2 Deep Survey in the Lockman Hole were first reported at the ISO Workshop "Taking ISO to the Limits: Exploring the Faintest Sources in the Infrared" held at the ISO Science Operations Center in Villafranca, Spain (VILSPA) on 3-4 February, 1997. Yoshi Taniguchi gave an invited presentation summarizing the results of the U.S.-Japan team, and Dave Sanders gave an invited talk summarizing the results of the Workshop at the conclusion of the two day meeting. The text of the talks by Taniguchi and Sanders are included in the printed Workshop Proceedings, and are published in full on the Web. By several independent accounts, the U.S.-Japan Deep Survey results were one of the highlights of the Workshop; these data showed

Near-Infrared high resolution spectral survey of comets with GIANO/TNG: The CN red-system at 1.1 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faggi, Sara; Villanueva, Geronimo Luis; Mumma, Michael J.; Tozzi, Gian-Paolo; Brucato, John Robert

2016-10-01

High-resolution spectroscopy in the near-infrared spectral range is a powerful tool to investigate chemical composition and isotopic fractionation.Comets are the best preserved relic of the enfant stages of the solar system. By targeting biologically relevant species in cometary comae and retrieving isotopic (e.g. D/H) and spin isomeric (e.g., ortho- and para- water) ratios, we can study the formation and evolution of solar system matter, address the origin of Earth's oceans and characterize the delivery of organic matter that was essential for the appearance of life on early Earth. We initiated the first high resolution spectral survey of comets ever conducted in the 0.9-2.5 μm range, targeting C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy), C/2013 US10 (Catalina) and C/2013 X1 (Panstarrs) with GIANO - the near-IR high resolution spectrograph on Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). In comet Lovejoy, we detected eight ro-vibrational bands of H2O (Faggi et al., 2016, ApJ in press), emission from the red-system of CN, and many other emission lines whose precursors are now being identified. In this talk we will present a new quantum mechanical solar fluorescence model for the CN red system and the retrievals obtained with it from our cometary spectra. These observations open new pathways for cometary science in the near-infrared spectral range (0.9-2.5 μm) and establish the feasibility of astrobiology-related scientific investigations with future high resolution IR spectrographs on 30-m class telescopes, e.g., the HIRES spectrograph on the E-ELT telescope. This work is part of Sara Faggi's Ph.D. thesis project. NASA's Planetary Astronomy Program supported GLV and MJM through funding awarded under proposal 11-PAST11-0045 (M. J. Mumma, PI ).

A Multi-Band Far-Infrared Survey with a Balloon-Borne Telescope. Final Report, 20 Nov. 1972 - 19 Feb. 1978. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobson, M. R.; Harwit, M.; Frederick, C.; Ward, D. B.; Melnick, G.; Stasavage, G.

1978-01-01

Nine additional radiation sources, above a 3-sigma confidence level of 1300 Jy, were identified at 100 microns by far infrared photometry of the galactic plane using a 0.4 meter aperture, liquid helium cooled, multichannel far infrared balloon-borne telescope. The instrument is described, including its electronics, pointing and suspension systems, and ground support equipment. Testing procedures and flight staging are discussed along with the reduction and analysis of the data acquired. The history of infrared astronomy is reviewed. General infrared techniques and the concerns of balloon astronomers are explored.

The UK Infrared Telescope M33 monitoring project - I. Variable red giant stars in the central square kiloparsec

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javadi, Atefeh; van Loon, Jacco Th.; Mirtorabi, Mohammad Taghi

2011-02-01

We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 (Triangulum). The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the luminosity is more directly related to the birth mass than the more numerous less-evolved giant stars that continue to increase in luminosity. The most extensive data set was obtained in the K band with the UIST instrument for the central 4 × 4 arcmin2 (1 kpc2) - this contains the nuclear star cluster and inner disc. These data, taken during the period 2003-2007, were complemented by J- and H-band images. Photometry was obtained for 18 398 stars in this region; of these, 812 stars were found to be variable, most of which are asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Our data were matched to optical catalogues of variable stars and carbon stars and to mid-infrared photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope. In this first of a series of papers, we present the methodology of the variability survey and the photometric catalogue - which is made publicly available at the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg - and discuss the properties of the variable stars. The most dusty AGB stars had not been previously identified in optical variability surveys, and our survey is also more complete for these types of stars than the Spitzer survey.

Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becklin, E. E.; Davidson, J. A.; Horn, J. M. M.

1999-08-01

The joint US and German SOFIA project to develop and operate a 2.5 - meter infrared airborne telescope in a Boeing 747-SP is now in its second year of development. Work on the aircraft and the primary mirror has started. First science flights will begin in 2002 with 20% of the observing time assigned to German investigators. The observatory is expected to operate for over 20 years. The sensitivity, characteristics and science instrument complement are discussed. SOFIA will have facility instrumentation that will allow astronomical surveys that were not possible on the KAO. Two future SOFIA projects related to cosmology and astrochemistry are discussed.

Broadband infrared beam splitter for spaceborne interferometric infrared sounder.

PubMed

Yu, Tianyan; Liu, Dingquan; Qin, Yang

2014-10-01

A broadband infrared beam splitter (BS) on ZnSe substrate used for the spaceborne interferometric infrared sounder (SIIRS) is studied in the spectral range of 4.44-15 μm. Both broadband antireflection coating and broadband beam-splitter coating in this BS are designed and tested. To optimize the optical properties and the stability of the BS, suitable infrared materials were selected, and improved deposition techniques were applied. The designed structures matched experimental data well, and the properties of the BS met the application specification of SIIRS.

A 6.7 GHz Methanol Maser Survey at High Galactic Latitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Kai; Chen, Xi; Shen, Zhi-Qiang; Li, Xiao-Qiong; Wang, Jun-Zhi; Jiang, Dong-Rong; Li, Juan; Dong, Jian; Wu, Ya-Jun; Qiao, Hai-Hua; Ren, Zhiyuan

2017-09-01

We performed a systematic 6.7 GHz Class II methanol maser survey using the Shanghai Tianma Radio Telescope toward targets selected from the all-sky Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) point catalog. In this paper, we report the results from the survey of those at high Galactic latitudes, I.e., | b| > 2°. Of 1473 selected WISE point sources at high latitude, 17 point positions that were actually associated with 12 sources were detected with maser emission, reflecting the rarity (1%-2%) of methanol masers in the region away from the Galactic plane. Out of the 12 sources, 3 are detected for the first time. The spectral energy distribution at infrared bands shows that these new detected masers occur in the massive star-forming regions. Compared to previous detections, the methanol maser changes significantly in both spectral profiles and flux densities. The infrared WISE images show that almost all of these masers are located in the positions of the bright WISE point sources. Compared to the methanol masers at the Galactic plane, these high-latitude methanol masers provide good tracers for investigating the physics and kinematics around massive young stellar objects, because they are believed to be less affected by the surrounding cluster environment.

Direct Imaging of Shale Gas Leaks Using Passive Thermal Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcotte, F.; Chamberland, M.; Morton, V.; Gagnon, M. A.

2017-12-01

Natural gas is an energy resource in great demand worldwide. There are many types of gas fields including shale formations which are common especially in the St-Lawrence Valley (Qc). Regardless of its origin, methane (CH4) is the major component of natural gas. Methane gas is odorless, colorless and highly flammable. It is also an important greenhouse gas. Therefore, dealing efficiently with methane emanations and/or leaks is an important and challenging issue for both safety and environmental considerations. In this regard, passive remote sensing represents an interesting approach since it allows characterization of large areas from a safe location. The high propensity of methane contributing to global warming is mainly because it is a highly infrared-active molecule. For this reason, thermal infrared remote sensing represents one of the best approaches for methane investigations. In order to illustrate the potential of passive thermal infrared hyperspectral imaging for research on natural gas, imaging was carried out on a shale gas leak that unexpectedly happen during a geological survey near Hospital Enfant-Jésus (Québec City) in December 2014. Methane was selectively identified in the scene by its unique infrared signature. The estimated gas column density near the leak source was on the order of 65 000 ppm×m. It was estimated that the methane content in the shale gas is on the order of 6-7 %, which is in good agreement with previous geological surveys carried out in this area. Such leaks represent a very serious situation because such a methane concentration lies within the methane lower/upper explosion limits (LEL-UEL, 5-15 %). The results show how this novel technique could be used for research work dealing with methane gas.

The WFIRST Galaxy Survey Exposure Time Calculator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirata, Christopher M.; Gehrels, Neil; Kneib, Jean-Paul; Kruk, Jeffrey; Rhodes, Jason; Wang, Yun; Zoubian, Julien

2013-01-01

This document describes the exposure time calculator for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) high-latitude survey. The calculator works in both imaging and spectroscopic modes. In addition to the standard ETC functions (e.g. background and SN determination), the calculator integrates over the galaxy population and forecasts the density and redshift distribution of galaxy shapes usable for weak lensing (in imaging mode) and the detected emission lines (in spectroscopic mode). The source code is made available for public use.

The WIRED Survey. IV. New Dust Disks from the McCook & Sion White Dwarf Catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoard, D.W.; Debes, John H.; Wachter, Stefanie; Leisawitz, David T.; Cohen, Martin

2013-01-01

We have compiled photometric data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer All Sky Survey and other archival sources for the more than 2200 objects in the original McCook & Sion Catalog of Spectroscopically Identified White Dwarfs. We applied color-selection criteria to identify 28 targets whose infrared spectral energy distributions depart from the expectation for the white dwarf photosphere alone. Seven of these are previously known white dwarfs with circumstellar dust disks, five are known central stars of planetary nebulae, and six were excluded for being known binaries or having possible contamination of their infrared photometry. We fit white dwarf models to the spectral energy distributions of the remaining ten targets, and find seven new candidates with infrared excess suggesting the presence of a circumstellar dust disk. We compare the model dust disk properties for these new candidates with a comprehensive compilation of previously published parameters for known white dwarfs with dust disks. It is possible that the current census of white dwarfs with dust disks that produce an excess detectable at K-band and shorter wavelengths is close to complete for the entire sample of known WDs to the detection limits of existing near-IR all-sky surveys. The white dwarf dust disk candidates now being found using longer wavelength infrared data are drawn from a previously underrepresented region of parameter space, in which the dust disks are overall cooler, narrower in radial extent, and/or contain fewer emitting grains.

Identifying nearby field T dwarfs in the UKIDSS Galactic Clusters Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lodieu, N.; Burningham, B.; Hambly, N. C.; Pinfield, D. J.

2009-07-01

We present the discovery of two new late-T dwarfs identified in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Galactic Clusters Survey (GCS) Data Release 2 (DR2). These T dwarfs are nearby old T dwarfs along the line of sight to star-forming regions and open clusters targeted by the UKIDSS GCS. They are found towards the αPer cluster and Orion complex, respectively, from a search in 54deg2 surveyed in five filters. Photometric candidates were picked up in two-colour diagrams, in a very similar manner to candidates extracted from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey (LAS) but taking advantage of the Z filter employed by the GCS. Both candidates exhibit near-infrared J-band spectra with strong methane and water absorption bands characteristic of late-T dwarfs. We derive spectral types of T6.5 +/- 0.5 and T7 +/- 1 and estimate photometric distances less than 50 pc for UGCS J030013.86+490142.5 and UGCS J053022.52-052447.4, respectively. The space density of T dwarfs found in the GCS seems consistent with discoveries in the larger areal coverage of the UKIDSS LAS, indicating one T dwarf in 6-11deg2. The final area surveyed by the GCS, 1000deg2 in five passbands, will allow expansion of the LAS search area by 25 per cent, increase the probability of finding ultracool brown dwarfs, and provide optimal estimates of contamination by old field brown dwarfs in deep surveys to identify such objects in open clusters and star-forming regions. Based on observations made with the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre on behalf of the U.K. Science Technology and Facility Council. E-mail: nlodieu@iac.es

The Chandra Deep Field-North Survey and the cosmic X-ray background.

PubMed

Brandt, W Nielsen; Alexander, David M; Bauer, Franz E; Hornschemeier, Ann E

2002-09-15

Chandra has performed a 1.4 Ms survey centred on the Hubble Deep Field-North (HDF-N), probing the X-ray Universe 55-550 times deeper than was possible with pre-Chandra missions. We describe the detected point and extended X-ray sources and discuss their overall multi-wavelength (optical, infrared, submillimetre and radio) properties. Special attention is paid to the HDF-N X-ray sources, luminous infrared starburst galaxies, optically faint X-ray sources and high-to-extreme redshift active galactic nuclei. We also describe how stacking analyses have been used to probe the average X-ray-emission properties of normal and starburst galaxies at cosmologically interesting distances. Finally, we discuss plans to extend the survey and argue that a 5-10 Ms Chandra survey would lay key groundwork for future missions such as XEUS and Generation-X.

Hydrolysis of Baltic amber during thermal ageing--an infrared spectroscopic approach.

PubMed

Pastorelli, Gianluca; Shashoua, Yvonne; Richter, Jane

2013-04-01

To enable conservation of amber in museums, understanding of chemical changes is crucial. While oxidation has been investigated particularly well for this natural polymer, further degradation phenomena in relation to humidity and pollutants are poorly studied or still unknown. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was explored with regard to Baltic amber. A systematic spectroscopic survey of a wide range of thermally aged model amber samples, exposed to different microclimatic conditions, showed significant changes in their spectra. Samples aged in a humid and acidic environment or exposed to a humid and alkaline atmosphere generally exhibited a higher absorbance intensity of carbonyl groups at frequencies assigned to acids than unaged samples, samples aged in drier conditions and samples immersed in an alkaline solution. Baltic amber comprises succinate ester, which may be hydrolysed into communol and succinic acid. The survey thus provided evidence about the progress of hydrolytic reactions during degradation of Baltic amber. Infrared spectroscopy was shown to have significant potential for providing qualitative and quantitative chemical information on hydrolysis of amber, which will be of interest for the development of preventive conservation techniques for museum collections of amber objects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Near-Infrared [Fe II] and H2 Study of the Galactic Supernova Remnants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yong-Hyun; Koo, Bon-Chul; Lee, Jae-Joon; Jaffe, Daniel T.; Burton, Michael G.; Ryder, Stuart D.

2018-01-01

We have searched for near-infrared (NIR) [Fe II] (1.644 μm) and H2 1-0 S(1) (2.122 μm) emission features associated with Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) using the narrow-band imaging surveys UWIFE / UWISH2 (UKIRT Widefield Infrared Survey for [Fe II] / H2). Both surveys cover about 180 square degrees of the first Galactic quadrant (7° < l < 65° -1.3° < b < +1.3°), and a total of 79 SNRs are falling in the survey area. We have found 19 [Fe II]- and 19 H2-emitting SNRs, giving a detection rate of 24%. Eleven SNRs show both emission features. Some of the SNRs show bright, complex, and interesting structures that have never been reported in previous studies. The brightest SNR in the both emission is W49B, contributing ~70% of the total [Fe II] luminosity of the detected SNRs. The total [Fe II] luminosity, however, is considerably less than what we would expect from the SN rate of our Galaxy.Among the SNRs showing both [Fe II] and H2 emission lines, some SNRs show the “[Fe II]-H2 reversal” phenomenon, i.e., the H2 emission features are detected outside the [Fe II] emission boundary. We carried out high resolution (R~40,000) NIR H- and K-band spectroscopy of the five SNRs showing the [Fe II]-H2 reversal (G11.2-0.3, KES 73, W44, 3C 396, W49B) using IGRINS (Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph). Various ro-vibrational H2 lines have been detected, which are used to derive the kinematic distances to the SNRs and to investigate the origin of the H2 emission. The detected H2 lines show broad line width (> 10 km s-1) and line flux ratios of thermal excitation. We discuss the origin of the extended H2 emission features beyond the the [Fe II] emission boundary.

MALS–NOT: Identifying Radio-bright Quasars for the MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krogager, J.-K.; Gupta, N.; Noterdaeme, P.; Ranjan, A.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Srianand, R.; Petitjean, P.; Combes, F.; Mahabal, A.

2018-03-01

We present a preparatory spectroscopic survey to identify radio-bright, high-redshift quasars for the MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey. The candidates have been selected on the basis of a single flux density limit at 1.4 GHz (>200 mJy), together with mid-infrared color criteria from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Through spectroscopic observations using the Nordic Optical Telescope, we identify 72 quasars out of 99 candidates targeted. We measure the spectroscopic redshifts based on characteristic, broad emission lines present in the spectra. Of these 72 quasars, 64 and 48 objects are at sufficiently high redshift (z > 0.6 and z > 1.4) to be used for the L-band and UHF-band spectroscopic follow-up with the Square Kilometre Array precursor in South Africa: the MeerKAT.

Development of the first infrared satellite observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, G. M.; Squibb, G. F.

1984-01-01

A development history is given for the Infrared Astronomical Satelite (IRAS), whose primary mission objective is an unbiased, all-sky survey in the 8-120 micron wavelength range. A point source catalog of more than 200,000 IR sources, to be published later this year, represents the accomplishment of this objective. IRAS has also conducted 10,000 pointed observations of specific objects. Attention is given to the cost increases and schedule slips which resulted from the substantial technical challenges of IRAS hardware and software development, and to the management techniques which had to be employed in this major international project.

Cosmic Infrared Background Fluctuations and Zodiacal Light

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arendt, Richard G.; Kashlinsky, A.; Moseley, S. H.; Mather, J.

2017-01-01

We performed a specific observational test to measure the effect that the zodiacal light can have on measurements of the spatial fluctuations of the near-IR (near-infrared)background. Previous estimates of possible fluctuations caused by zodiacal light have often been extrapolated from observations of the thermal emission at longer wavelengths and low angular resolution or from IRAC (Infrared Array Camera) observations of high-latitude fields where zodiacal light is faint and not strongly varying with time. The new observations analyzed here target the COSMOS (Cosmic Evolution Survey) field at low ecliptic latitude where the zodiacal light intensity varies by factors of approximately 2 over the range of solar elongations at which the field can be observed. We find that the white-noise component of the spatial power spectrum of the background is correlated with the modeled zodiacal light intensity. Roughly half of the measured white noise is correlated with the zodiacal light, but a more detailed interpretation of the white noise is hampered by systematic uncertainties that are evident in the zodiacal light model. At large angular scales (greater than or approximately equal to 100 arcseconds) where excess power above the white noise is observed, we find no correlation of the power with the modeled intensity of the zodiacal light. This test clearly indicates that the large-scale power in the infrared background is not being caused by the zodiacal light.

Study of optical techniques for the Ames unitary wind tunnel. Part 5: Infrared imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, George

1992-01-01

A survey of infrared thermography for aerodynamics was made. Particular attention was paid to boundary layer transition detection. IR thermography flow visualization of 2-D and 3-D separation was surveyed. Heat transfer measurements and surface temperature measurements were also covered. Comparisons of several commercial IR cameras were made. The use of a recently purchased IR camera in the Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnels was studied. Optical access for these facilities and the methods to scan typical models was investigated.

Planetary Nebulae in the UWISH2 survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gledhill, T. M.; Froebrich, D.; Campbell-White, J.; Jones, A. M.

2018-06-01

Near-infrared imaging in the 1 - 0 S(1) emission line of molecular hydrogen is able to detect planetary nebulae (PNe) that are hidden from optical emission line surveys. We present images of 307 objects from the UWISH2 survey of the northern Galactic Plane, and with the aid of mid-infrared colour diagnostics draw up a list of 291 PN candidates. The majority, 183, are new detections and 85 per cent of these are not present in H α surveys of the region. We find that more than half (54 per cent) of objects have a bipolar morphology and that some objects previously considered as elliptical or point-source in H α imaging, appear bipolar in UWISH2 images. By considering a small subset of objects for which physical radii are available from the H α surface brightness-radius relation, we find evidence that the H2 surface brightness remains roughly constant over a factor 20 range of radii from 0.03 to 0.6 pc, encompassing most of the visible lifetime of a PN. This leads to the H α surface brightness becoming comparable to that of H2 at large radius (>0.5 pc). By combining the number of UWISH2 PNe without H α detection with an estimate of the PN detection efficiency in H2 emission, we estimate that PN numbers from H α surveys may underestimate the true PN number by a factor between 1.5 and 2.5 within the UWISH2 survey area.

Deep Near-Infrared Surveys and Young Brown Dwarf Populations in Star-Forming Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamura, M.; Naoi, T.; Oasa, Y.; Nakajima, Y.; Nagashima, C.; Nagayama, T.; Baba, D.; Nagata, T.; Sato, S.; Kato, D.; Kurita, M.; Sugitani, K.; Itoh, Y.; Nakaya, H.; Pickles, A.

2003-06-01

We are currently conducting three kinds of IR surveys of star forming regions (SFRs) in order to seek for very low-mass young stellar populations. First is a deep JHKs-bands (simultaneous) survey with the SIRIUS camera on the IRSF 1.4m or the UH 2.2m telescopes. Second is a very deep JHKs survey with the CISCO IR camera on the Subaru 8.2m telescope. Third is a high resolution companion search around nearby YSOs with the CIAO adaptive optics coronagraph IR camera on the Subaru. In this contribution, we describe our SIRIUS camera and present preliminary results of the ongoing surveys with this new instrument.

Galactic interstellar abundance surveys with IUE and IRAS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Steenberg, M.E.

1987-01-01

This thesis is a survey of interstellar densities, abundances, and cloud structure in the Galaxy, using two NASA satellites: the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) and Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). From IUE high-resolution spectra, the author measured equivalent widths of 18 ultraviolet resonance transitions and derived column densities for Si/sup +/, Mn/sup +/, Fe/sup +/, S/sup +/, and Zn/sup +/ toward 261 early-type stars. From the IRAS all-sky survey he also measured the infrared cirrus flux. He examined the variations of the measured parameters with spectral type, E(B-V), galactic longitude and latitude, distance from the Sun, and mean density. The hydrogen-columnmore » densities, metal-column densities, and gas-to-dust ratio are in good agreement with Copernicus surveys. The derived interstellar abundances yield mean logarithmic depletions. These depletions correlate with mean density but not with the physical density derived from Copernicus H/sub 2/ rotational states. Abundance ratios indicate a larger Fe halo abundance compared to Si, Mn, S, or Zn, which may result from selective grain processing in shocks or from Type I supernovae.« less

Identifying OH Imposters in the ALFALFA HI Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suess, Katherine; Darling, Jeremiah K.; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo

2015-01-01

OH megamasers (OHMs) are rare, luminous molecular masers that are typically observed in (ultra) luminous infrared galaxies and serve as markers of major galaxy mergers. In blind emission line surveys such as the ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-Band Feed Array) survey for neutral hydrogen (HI) in the local universe, OHMs at z~0.2 can mimic z~0.05 HI lines. We present the results of optical spectroscopy of ambiguous HI detections in the ALFALFA 40% data release [1] detected by WISE but with uncertain optical counterparts. The optical redshifts, obtained from observations at the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m telescope, identified 127 HI optical counterparts and discovered five new OHMs. Fifty-six candidates remain ambiguous. The new OHMs are the first detected in a blind spectral line survey.The number of OHMs in ALFALFA matches predictions based on the OH luminosity function [2]. Additionally, the OHMs found in a blind survey do not seem to differ from those found in previous targeted surveys. This provides validation of the methods used in previous IR-selected OHM surveys and indicates there is no previously unknown OHM-producing population at z~0.2. We also provide a method for future surveys to separate OH and HI lines without expensive spectral observations. This method utilizes infrared colors and magnitudes, such as WISE mid-IR data. Since the fraction of OHMs found in flux-limited HI surveys is expected to increase with the redshift of the survey [3], this analysis can be applied to future flux-limited high-redshift hydrogen surveys.We thank the ALFALFA team for observing and producing the survey dataset. The ALFALFA team at Cornell is supported by NSF AST-1107390 and the Brinson Foundation.[1] Haynes, M. P., R. Giovanelli, A. M. Martin, K. M. Hess, A. Saintonge, et al. 2011, Astron J, 142, 142[2] Darling, J. & R. Giovanelli 2002, Astrophys J, 572, 810[3] Briggs, F. H. 1998, A&A, 336, 815

Long Hole Film Cooling Dataset for CFD Development . Part 1; Infrared Thermography and Thermocouple Surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shyam, Vikram; Thurman, Douglas; Poinsatte, Phillip; Ameri, Ali; Eichele, Peter; Knight, James

2013-01-01

An experiment investigating flow and heat transfer of long (length to diameter ratio of 18) cylindrical film cooling holes has been completed. In this paper, the thermal field in the flow and on the surface of the film cooled flat plate is presented for nominal freestream turbulence intensities of 1.5 and 8 percent. The holes are inclined at 30deg above the downstream direction, injecting chilled air of density ratio 1.0 onto the surface of a flat plate. The diameter of the hole is 0.75 in. (0.01905 m) with center to center spacing (pitch) of 3 hole diameters. Coolant was injected into the mainstream flow at nominal blowing ratios of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. The Reynolds number of the freestream was approximately 11,000 based on hole diameter. Thermocouple surveys were used to characterize the thermal field. Infrared thermography was used to determine the adiabatic film effectiveness on the plate. Hotwire anemometry was used to provide flowfield physics and turbulence measurements. The results are compared to existing data in the literature. The aim of this work is to produce a benchmark dataset for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) development to eliminate the effects of hole length to diameter ratio and to improve resolution in the near-hole region. In this report, a Time-Filtered Navier Stokes (TFNS), also known as Partially Resolved Navier Stokes (PRNS), method that was implemented in the Glenn-HT code is used to model coolant-mainstream interaction. This method is a high fidelity unsteady method that aims to represent large scale flow features and mixing more accurately.

Infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vollmer, M.

2013-11-01

'Infrared' is a very wide field in physics and the natural sciences which has evolved enormously in recent decades. It all started in 1800 with Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel's discovery of infrared (IR) radiation within the spectrum of the Sun. Thereafter a few important milestones towards widespread use of IR were the quantitative description of the laws of blackbody radiation by Max Planck in 1900; the application of quantum mechanics to understand the rotational-vibrational spectra of molecules starting in the first half of the 20th century; and the revolution in source and detector technologies due to micro-technological breakthroughs towards the end of the 20th century. This has led to much high-quality and sophisticated equipment in terms of detectors, sources and instruments in the IR spectral range, with a multitude of different applications in science and technology. This special issue tries to focus on a few aspects of the astonishing variety of different disciplines, techniques and applications concerning the general topic of infrared radiation. Part of the content is based upon an interdisciplinary international conference on the topic held in 2012 in Bad Honnef, Germany. It is hoped that the information provided here may be useful for teaching the general topic of electromagnetic radiation in the IR spectral range in advanced university courses for postgraduate students. In the most general terms, the infrared spectral range is defined to extend from wavelengths of 780 nm (upper range of the VIS spectral range) up to wavelengths of 1 mm (lower end of the microwave range). Various definitions of near, middle and far infrared or thermal infrared, and lately terahertz frequencies, are used, which all fall in this range. These special definitions often depend on the scientific field of research. Unfortunately, many of these fields seem to have developed independently from neighbouring disciplines, although they deal with very similar topics in respect of the

Near--Infrared Imaging of the Starburst Ring in UGC12815

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, D. A.; Herter, T.; Haynes, M. P.; Neff, S. G.

1995-05-01

Starburst galaxies define an enigmatic class of objects undergoing a brief, intense episode of star formation. In order to investigate the nature of nearby starbursts, we have analyzed the 20 starburst galaxies with the highest 4.85 GHz luminosities from the survey of Condon, Frayer, & Broderick (1991, AJ, 101, 362) at infrared and optical wavelengths. As part of our study, we recently used the Cassegrain Infrared Camera at the Hale 5 m telescope to obtain high spatial resolution near--infrared images of the cores of 17 of these galaxies in order to better understand the starburst triggering mechanism. We find that one galaxy, UGC12815 (NGC7771), possesses a nucleus surrounded by a bright starburst ring. We present 1.25, 1.65, and 2.2 microns (J, H, and K band) images of the nuclear region of UGC12815 and a preliminary analysis of the properties of the starburst ring. The resolution of our K band image is 0.6('') FWHM. The ring is ~ 1.6 kpc (6('') ) in diameter assuming H_0=75 km/s/Mpc; several knots are detected in the ring at 2.2 microns. The spatial distribution of these knots is compared to that observed at 6 cm. The luminosities of the ring and nucleus, as mapped in the near--infrared and radio, are also discussed. Color maps (H-K and J-H) constructed from the near--infrared images trace the relative roles of extinction, and emission from evolved red stars, blue stars, thermal gas, and hot dust in the nucleus and starburst ring. A comparison between UGC12815 and other systems with circumnuclear starbursts is also made.

Infrared Astronomy Professional Development for K-12 Educators: WISE Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borders, Kareen; Mendez, B. M.

2010-01-01

K-12 educators need effective and relevant astronomy professional development. WISE Telescope (Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer) and Spitzer Space Telescope Education programs provided an immersive teacher professional development workshop at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico during the summer of 2009. As many common misconceptions involve scale and distance, teachers worked with Moon/Earth scale, solar system scale, and distance of objects in the universe. Teachers built and used basic telescopes, learned about the history of telescopes, explored ground and satellite based telescopes, and explored and worked on models of WISE Telescope. An in-depth explanation of WISE and Spitzer telescopes gave participants background knowledge for infrared astronomy observations. We taught the electromagnetic spectrum through interactive stations. The stations included an overview via lecture and power point, the use of ultraviolet beads to determine ultraviolet exposure, the study of WISE lenticulars and diagramming of infrared data, listening to light by using speakers hooked up to photoreceptor cells, looking at visible light through diffraction glasses and diagramming the data, protocols for using astronomy based research in the classroom, and infrared thermometers to compare environmental conditions around the observatory. An overview of LIDAR physics was followed up by a simulated LIDAR mapping of the topography of Mars. We will outline specific steps for K-12 infrared astronomy professional development, provide data demonstrating the impact of the above professional development on educator understanding and classroom use, and detail future plans for additional K-12 professional development. Funding was provided by WISE Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Starbucks, Arecibo Observatory, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Washington Space Grant Consortium.

A very deep IRAS survey. III - VLA observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hacking, Perry; Condon, J. J.; Houck, J. R.; Beichman, C. A.

1989-04-01

The 60-micron fluxes and positions of sources (primarily starburst galaxies) found in a deep IRAS survey by Hacking and Houck (1987) are compared with 1.49 HGz maps made by the Very Large Array. The radio results are consistent with radio measurements of brighter IRAS galaxies and provide evidence that infrared cirrus does not contaminate the 60-micron sample. The flux-independent ratio of infrared to radio flux densities implies that the 1.4 GHz luminosity function for spiral galaxies is evolving at less than (1 + z) to the power of 4 relative to the 60-micron luminosity function.

The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. High-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of 324 survey stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiners, A.; Zechmeister, M.; Caballero, J. A.; Ribas, I.; Morales, J. C.; Jeffers, S. V.; Schöfer, P.; Tal-Or, L.; Quirrenbach, A.; Amado, P. J.; Kaminski, A.; Seifert, W.; Abril, M.; Aceituno, J.; Alonso-Floriano, F. J.; Ammler-von Eiff, M.; Antona, R.; Anglada-Escudé, G.; Anwand-Heerwart, H.; Arroyo-Torres, B.; Azzaro, M.; Baroch, D.; Barrado, D.; Bauer, F. F.; Becerril, S.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Benítez, D.; Berdinas˜, Z. M.; Bergond, G.; Blümcke, M.; Brinkmöller, M.; del Burgo, C.; Cano, J.; Cárdenas Vázquez, M. C.; Casal, E.; Cifuentes, C.; Claret, A.; Colomé, J.; Cortés-Contreras, M.; Czesla, S.; Díez-Alonso, E.; Dreizler, S.; Feiz, C.; Fernández, M.; Ferro, I. M.; Fuhrmeister, B.; Galadí-Enríquez, D.; Garcia-Piquer, A.; García Vargas, M. L.; Gesa, L.; Galera, V. Gómez; González Hernández, J. I.; González-Peinado, R.; Grözinger, U.; Grohnert, S.; Guàrdia, J.; Guenther, E. W.; Guijarro, A.; Guindos, E. de; Gutiérrez-Soto, J.; Hagen, H.-J.; Hatzes, A. P.; Hauschildt, P. H.; Hedrosa, R. P.; Helmling, J.; Henning, Th.; Hermelo, I.; Hernández Arabí, R.; Hernández Castaño, L.; Hernández Hernando, F.; Herrero, E.; Huber, A.; Huke, P.; Johnson, E. N.; Juan, E. de; Kim, M.; Klein, R.; Klüter, J.; Klutsch, A.; Kürster, M.; Lafarga, M.; Lamert, A.; Lampón, M.; Lara, L. M.; Laun, W.; Lemke, U.; Lenzen, R.; Launhardt, R.; López del Fresno, M.; López-González, J.; López-Puertas, M.; López Salas, J. F.; López-Santiago, J.; Luque, R.; Magán Madinabeitia, H.; Mall, U.; Mancini, L.; Mandel, H.; Marfil, E.; Marín Molina, J. A.; Maroto Fernández, D.; Martín, E. L.; Martín-Ruiz, S.; Marvin, C. J.; Mathar, R. J.; Mirabet, E.; Montes, D.; Moreno-Raya, M. E.; Moya, A.; Mundt, R.; Nagel, E.; Naranjo, V.; Nortmann, L.; Nowak, G.; Ofir, A.; Oreiro, R.; Pallé, E.; Panduro, J.; Pascual, J.; Passegger, V. M.; Pavlov, A.; Pedraz, S.; Pérez-Calpena, A.; Medialdea, D. Pérez; Perger, M.; Perryman, M. A. C.; Pluto, M.; Rabaza, O.; Ramón, A.; Rebolo, R.; Redondo, P.; Reffert, S.; Reinhart, S.; Rhode, P.; Rix, H.-W.; Rodler, F.; Rodríguez, E.; Rodríguez-López, C.; Rodríguez Trinidad, A.; Rohloff, R.-R.; Rosich, A.; Sadegi, S.; Sánchez-Blanco, E.; Sánchez Carrasco, M. A.; Sánchez-López, A.; Sanz-Forcada, J.; Sarkis, P.; Sarmiento, L. F.; Schäfer, S.; Schmitt, J. H. M. M.; Schiller, J.; Schweitzer, A.; Solano, E.; Stahl, O.; Strachan, J. B. P.; Stürmer, J.; Suárez, J. C.; Tabernero, H. M.; Tala, M.; Trifonov, T.; Tulloch, S. M.; Ulbrich, R. G.; Veredas, G.; Vico Linares, J. I.; Vilardell, F.; Wagner, K.; Winkler, J.; Wolthoff, V.; Xu, W.; Yan, F.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.

2018-04-01

The CARMENES radial velocity (RV) survey is observing 324 M dwarfs to search for any orbiting planets. In this paper, we present the survey sample by publishing one CARMENES spectrum for each M dwarf. These spectra cover the wavelength range 520-1710 nm at a resolution of at least R >80 000, and we measure its RV, Hα emission, and projected rotation velocity. We present an atlas of high-resolution M-dwarf spectra and compare the spectra to atmospheric models. To quantify the RV precision that can be achieved in low-mass stars over the CARMENES wavelength range, we analyze our empirical information on the RV precision from more than 6500 observations. We compare our high-resolution M-dwarf spectra to atmospheric models where we determine the spectroscopic RV information content, Q, and signal-to-noise ratio. We find that for all M-type dwarfs, the highest RV precision can be reached in the wavelength range 700-900 nm. Observations at longer wavelengths are equally precise only at the very latest spectral types (M8 and M9). We demonstrate that in this spectroscopic range, the large amount of absorption features compensates for the intrinsic faintness of an M7 star. To reach an RV precision of 1 m s-1 in very low mass M dwarfs at longer wavelengths likely requires the use of a 10 m class telescope. For spectral types M6 and earlier, the combination of a red visual and a near-infrared spectrograph is ideal to search for low-mass planets and to distinguish between planets and stellar variability. At a 4 m class telescope, an instrument like CARMENES has the potential to push the RV precision well below the typical jitter level of 3-4 m s-1.

Near-infrared reflectance spectra-applications to problems in asteroid-meteorite relationships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcfadden, Lucy A.; Chamberlin, Alan; Vilas, Faith

1991-01-01

Near-infrared spectral reflectance data were collected at the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) at Mauna Kea Observatories in 1985 and 1986 for the purpose of searching the region near the 3:1 Kirkwood gap for asteroids with the spectral signatures of ordinary chondrite parent bodies. Twelve reflectance spectra are observed. The presence of ordinary chondrite parent bodies among this specific set of observed asteroids is not obvious, though the sample is biased towards the larger asteroids in the region due to limitations imposed by detector sensitivity. The data set, which was acquired with the same instrumentation used for the 52-color asteroid survey (Bell et al., 1987), also presents some additional findings. The range of spectral characteristics that exist among asteroids of the same taxonomic type is noted. Conclusions based on the findings are discussed.

The Geminga pulsar wind nebula in the mid-infrared and submillimetre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greaves, J. S.; Holland, W. S.

2017-10-01

The nearby middle-aged Geminga pulsar has crossed the Galactic plane within the last ∼0.1 Myr. We present archival data from Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and from SCUBA and SCUBA-2 on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to assess whether any mid-infrared and submillimetre emission arises from interaction of the pulsar wind nebula with the interstellar medium. A candidate shell and bow shock are reported. Given the low pulsar velocity and local density, dust grains appear able to penetrate into the nebula. A compact source seen towards the pulsar is fitted with a dust spectrum. If confirmed as a real association at higher resolution, this could be a circum-pulsar disc of at least a few Earth-masses, in which future planets could form.

Compensated infrared absorption sensor for carbon dioxide and other infrared absorbing gases

DOEpatents

Owen, Thomas E.

2005-11-29

A gas sensor, whose chamber uses filters and choppers in either a semicircular geometry or annular geometry, and incorporates separate infrared radiation filters and optical choppers. This configuration facilitates the use of a single infrared radiation source and a single detector for infrared measurements at two wavelengths, such that measurement errors may be compensated.

THE WISE DETECTION OF AN INFRARED ECHO IN TIDAL DISRUPTION EVENT ASASSN-14li

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Ning; Dou, Liming; Wang, Tinggui

We report the detection of a significant infrared variability of the nearest tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-14li using Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and newly released Near-Earth Object WISE Reactivation data. In comparison with the quiescent state, the infrared flux is brightened by 0.12 and 0.16 mag in the W1 (3.4 μ m) and W2 (4.6 μ m) bands at 36 days after the optical discovery (or ∼110 days after the peak disruption date). The flux excess is still detectable ∼170 days later. Assuming that the flare-like infrared emission is from the dust around the black hole, its blackbody temperature ismore » estimated to be ∼2.1 × 10{sup 3} K, slightly higher than the dust sublimation temperature, indicating that the dust is likely located close to the dust sublimation radius. The equilibrium between the heating and radiation of the dust claims a bolometric luminosity of ∼10{sup 43}–10{sup 45} erg s{sup −1}, comparable with the observed peak luminosity. This result has for the first time confirmed the detection of infrared emission from the dust echoes of TDEs.« less

The Y-type Brown Dwarfs: Estimates of Mass and Age from New Astrometry, Homogenized Photometry, and Near-infrared Spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leggett, S. K.; Tremblin, P.; Esplin, T. L.

The survey of the mid-infrared sky by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) led to the discovery of extremely cold, low-mass brown dwarfs, classified as Y dwarfs, which extend the T class to lower temperatures. Twenty-four Y dwarfs are known at the time of writing. Here we present improved parallaxes for four of these, determined using Spitzer images. We give new photometry for four late-type T and three Y dwarfs and new spectra of three Y dwarfs, obtained at Gemini Observatory. We also present previously unpublished photometry taken from HST , ESO, Spitzer , and WISE archives ofmore » 11 late-type T and 9 Y dwarfs. The near-infrared data are put onto the same photometric system, forming a homogeneous data set for the coolest brown dwarfs. We compare recent models to our photometric and spectroscopic data set. We confirm that nonequilibrium atmospheric chemistry is important for these objects. Nonequilibrium cloud-free models reproduce well the near-infrared spectra and mid-infrared photometry for the warmer Y dwarfs with 425 ≤ T {sub eff} (K) ≤ 450. A small amount of cloud cover may improve the model fits in the near-infrared for the Y dwarfs with 325 ≤ T {sub eff} (K) ≤ 375. Neither cloudy nor cloud-free models reproduce the near-infrared photometry for the T {sub eff} = 250 K Y dwarf W0855. We use the mid-infrared region, where most of the flux originates, to constrain our models of W0855. We find that W0855 likely has a mass of 1.5–8 Jupiter masses and an age of 0.3–6 Gyr. The Y dwarfs with measured parallaxes are within 20 pc of the Sun and have tangential velocities typical of the thin disk. The metallicities and ages we derive for the sample are generally solar-like. We estimate that the known Y dwarfs are 3 to 20 Jupiter-mass objects with ages of 0.6–8.5 Gyr.« less

New Galactic star clusters discovered in the VVV survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borissova, J.; Bonatto, C.; Kurtev, R.; Clarke, J. R. A.; Peñaloza, F.; Sale, S. E.; Minniti, D.; Alonso-García, J.; Artigau, E.; Barbá, R.; Bica, E.; Baume, G. L.; Catelan, M.; Chenè, A. N.; Dias, B.; Folkes, S. L.; Froebrich, D.; Geisler, D.; de Grijs, R.; Hanson, M. M.; Hempel, M.; Ivanov, V. D.; Kumar, M. S. N.; Lucas, P.; Mauro, F.; Moni Bidin, C.; Rejkuba, M.; Saito, R. K.; Tamura, M.; Toledo, I.

2011-08-01

Context. VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) is one of the six ESO Public Surveys operating on the new 4-m Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). VVV is scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the disk, where star formation activity is high. One of the principal goals of the VVV Survey is to find new star clusters of differentages. Aims: In order to trace the early epochs of star cluster formation we concentrated our search in the directions to those of known star formation regions, masers, radio, and infrared sources. Methods: The disk area covered by VVV was visually inspected using the pipeline processed and calibrated KS-band tile images for stellar overdensities. Subsequently, we examined the composite JHKS and ZJKS color images of each candidate. PSF photometry of 15 × 15 arcmin fields centered on the candidates was then performed on the Cambridge Astronomy Survey Unit reduced images. After statistical field-star decontamination, color-magnitude and color-color diagrams were constructed and analyzed. Results: We report the discovery of 96 new infrared open clusters and stellar groups. Most of the new cluster candidates are faint and compact (with small angular sizes), highly reddened, and younger than 5 Myr. For relatively well populated cluster candidates we derived their fundamental parameters such as reddening, distance, and age by fitting the solar-metallicity Padova isochrones to the color-magnitude diagrams. Based on observations gathered with VIRCAM, VISTA of the ESO as part of observing programs 172.B-2002Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgTable 1 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/532/A131

The UK Infrared Telescope M33 monitoring project - IV. Variable red giant stars across the galactic disc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javadi, Atefeh; Saberi, Maryam; van Loon, Jacco Th.; Khosroshahi, Habib; Golabatooni, Najmeh; Mirtorabi, Mohammad Taghi

2015-03-01

We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK InfraRed Telescope, of the Local Group spiral galaxy M33 (Triangulum). The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the luminosity is more directly related to the birth mass than the more numerous less-evolved giant stars that continue to increase in luminosity. In this fourth paper of the series, we present a search for variable red giant stars in an almost square degree region comprising most of the galaxy's disc, carried out with the WFCAM (Wide Field CAMera) instrument in the K band. These data, taken during the period 2005-2007, were complemented by J- and H-band images. Photometry was obtained for 403 734 stars in this region; of these, 4643 stars were found to be variable, most of which are asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The variable stars are concentrated towards the centre of M33, more so than low-mass, less-evolved red giants. Our data were matched to optical catalogues of variable stars and carbon stars and to mid-infrared photometry from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Most dusty AGB stars had not been previously identified in optical variability surveys, and our survey is also more complete for these types of stars than the Spitzer survey. The photometric catalogue is made publicly available at the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg.

Do the enigmatic ``Infrared-Faint Radio Sources'' include pulsars?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hobbs, George; Middelberg, Enno; Norris, Ray; Keith, Michael; Mao, Minnie; Champion, David

2009-04-01

The Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) team have surveyed seven square degrees of sky at 1.4GHz. During processing some unexpected infrared-faint radio sources (IFRS sources) were discovered. The nature of these sources is not understood, but it is possible that some of these sources may be pulsars within our own galaxy. We propose to observe the IFRS sources with steep spectral indices using standard search techniques to determine whether or not they are pulsars. A pulsar detection would 1) remove a subset of the IFRS sources from the ATLAS sample so they would not need to be observed with large optical/IR telescopes to find their hosts and 2) be intrinsically interesting as the pulsar would be a millisecond pulsar and/or have an extreme spatial velocity.

NEAR-INFRARED CIRCULAR AND LINEAR POLARIMETRY OF MONOCEROS R2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwon, Jungmi; Tamura, Motohide; Hough, James H.

We have conducted simultaneous JHK{sub s}-band imaging circular and linear polarimetry of the Monoceros R2 (Mon R2) cluster. We present results from deep and wide near-infrared linear polarimetry of the Mon R2 region. Prominent and extended polarized nebulosities over the Mon R2 field are revisited, and an infrared reflection nebula associated with the Mon R2 cluster and two local reflection nebulae, vdB 67 and vdB 69, is detected. We also present results from deep imaging circular polarimetry in the same region. For the first time, the observations show relatively high degrees of circular polarization (CP) in Mon R2, with asmore » much as approximately 10% in the K{sub s} band. The maximum CP extent of a ring-like nebula around the Mon R2 cluster is approximately 0.60 pc, while that of a western nebula, around vdB 67, is approximately 0.24 pc. The extended size of the CP is larger than those seen in the Orion region around IRc2, while the maximum degree of CP of ∼10% is smaller than those of ∼17% seen in the Orion region. Nonetheless, both the CP size and degree of this region are among the largest in our infrared CP survey of star-forming regions. We have also investigated the time variability of the degree of the polarization of several infrared sources and found possible variations in three sources.« less

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 7: The small scale structure catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helou, George (Editor); Walker, D. W. (Editor)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched January 26, 1983. During its 300-day mission, it surveyed over 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. Volume 1 describes the instrument, the mission, and the data reduction process. Volumes 2 through 6 present the observations of the approximately 245,000 individual point sources detected by IRAS; each volume gives sources within a specified range of declination. Volume 7 gives the observations of the approximately 16,000 sources spatially resolved by IRAS and smaller than 8'. This is Volume 7, The Small Scale Structure Catalog.

Infrared Fiber Optic Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Successive years of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from Langley Research Center to Sensiv Inc., a joint venture between Foster-Miller Inc. and Isorad, Ltd., assisted in the creation of remote fiber optic sensing systems. NASA's SBIR interest in infrared, fiber optic sensor technology was geared to monitoring the curing cycles of advanced composite materials. These funds helped in the fabrication of an infrared, fiber optic sensor to track the molecular vibrational characteristics of a composite part while it is being cured. Foster-Miller ingenuity allowed infrared transmitting optical fibers to combine with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy to enable remote sensing. Sensiv probes operate in the mid-infrared range of the spectrum, although modifications to the instrument also permits its use in the near-infrared region. The Sensiv needle-probe is built to be placed in a liquid or powder and analyze the chemicals in the mixture. Other applications of the probe system include food processing control; combustion control in furnaces; and maintenance problem solving.

TRANSITIONAL DISKS AND THEIR ORIGINS: AN INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY OF ORION A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, K. H.; Watson, Dan M.; Manoj, P.

Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks around young stars, with inner holes or gaps which are surrounded by optically thick outer, and often inner, disks. Here we present observations of 62 new transitional disks in the Orion A star-forming region. These were identified using the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Spectrograph and followed up with determinations of stellar and accretion parameters using the Infrared Telescope Facility's SpeX. We combine these new observations with our previous results on transitional disks in Taurus, Chamaeleon I, Ophiuchus, and Perseus, and with archival X-ray observations. This produces a sample of 105 transitional disks of ''cluster'' agemore » 3 Myr or less, by far the largest hitherto assembled. We use this sample to search for trends between the radial structure in the disks and many other system properties, in order to place constraints on the possible origins of transitional disks. We see a clear progression of host-star accretion rate and the different disk morphologies. We confirm that transitional disks with complete central clearings have median accretion rates an order of magnitude smaller than radially continuous disks of the same population. Pre-transitional disks-those objects with gaps that separate inner and outer disks-have median accretion rates intermediate between the two. Our results from the search for statistically significant trends, especially related to M-dot , strongly support that in both cases the gaps are far more likely to be due to the gravitational influence of Jovian planets or brown dwarfs orbiting within the gaps, than to any of the photoevaporative, turbulent, or grain-growth processes that can lead to disk dissipation. We also find that the fraction of Class II YSOs which are transitional disks is large, 0.1-0.2, especially in the youngest associations.« less

[Ultra] luminous infrared galaxies selected at 90 μm in the AKARI deep field: a study of AGN types contributing to their infrared emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Małek, K.; Bankowicz, M.; Pollo, A.; Buat, V.; Takeuchi, T. T.; Burgarella, D.; Goto, T.; Malkan, M.; Matsuhara, H.

2017-02-01

Aims: The aim of this work is to characterize physical properties of ultra luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) and luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) detected in the far-infrared (FIR) 90 μm band in the AKARI Deep Field-South (ADF-S) survey. In particular, we want to estimate the active galactic nucleus (AGN) contribution to the LIRGs and ULIRGs' infrared emission and which types of AGNs are related to their activity. Methods: We examined 69 galaxies at redshift ≥0.05 detected at 90 μm by the AKARI satellite in the ADF-S, with optical counterparts and spectral coverage from the ultraviolet to the FIR. We used two independent spectral energy distribution fitting codes: one fitting the SED from FIR to FUV (CIGALE) (we use the results from CIGALE as a reference) and gray-body + power spectrum fit for the infrared part of the spectra (CMCIRSED) in order to identify a subsample of ULIRGs and LIRGs, and to estimate their properties. Results: Based on the CIGALE SED fitting, we have found that LIRGs and ULIRGs selected at the 90 μm AKARI band compose 56% of our sample (we found 17 ULIRGs and 22 LIRGs, spanning over the redshift range 0.06 infrared wavelengths. We have detected a significant AGN contribution to the mid-infrared luminosity for 63% of LIRGs and ULIRGs. Our LIRGs contain Type 1, Type 2, and intermediate types of AGN, whereas for ULIRGs, a majority (more than 50%) of AGN emission originates from Type 2 AGNs. The temperature-luminosity and temperature-mass relations for the dust component of ADF-S LIRGs and ULIRGs indicate that these relations are shaped by the dust mass and not by the increased dust heating. Conclusions: We conclude that LIRGs contain Type 1, Type 2, and intermediate types of AGNs, with an AGN contribution to the mid infrared emission at the median level of 13 ± 3

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 2: The point source catalog declination range 90 deg greater than delta greater than 30 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched January 26, 1983. During its 300-day mission, IRAS surveyed 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. This is Volume 2, The Point Source Catalog Declination Range 90 deg greater than delta greater than 30 deg.

VISION - Vienna survey in Orion. I. VISTA Orion A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meingast, Stefan; Alves, João; Mardones, Diego; Teixeira, Paula Stella; Lombardi, Marco; Großschedl, Josefa; Ascenso, Joana; Bouy, Herve; Forbrich, Jan; Goodman, Alyssa; Hacar, Alvaro; Hasenberger, Birgit; Kainulainen, Jouni; Kubiak, Karolina; Lada, Charles; Lada, Elizabeth; Moitinho, André; Petr-Gotzens, Monika; Rodrigues, Lara; Román-Zúñiga, Carlos G.

2016-03-01

Context. Orion A hosts the nearest massive star factory, thus offering a unique opportunity to resolve the processes connected with the formation of both low- and high-mass stars. Here we present the most detailed and sensitive near-infrared (NIR) observations of the entire molecular cloud to date. Aims: With the unique combination of high image quality, survey coverage, and sensitivity, our NIR survey of Orion A aims at establishing a solid empirical foundation for further studies of this important cloud. In this first paper we present the observations, data reduction, and source catalog generation. To demonstrate the data quality, we present a first application of our catalog to estimate the number of stars currently forming inside Orion A and to verify the existence of a more evolved young foreground population. Methods: We used the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) to survey the entire Orion A molecular cloud in the NIR J,H, and KS bands, covering a total of ~18.3 deg2. We implemented all data reduction recipes independently of the ESO pipeline. Estimates of the young populations toward Orion A are derived via the KS-band luminosity function. Results: Our catalog (799 995 sources) increases the source counts compared to the Two Micron All Sky Survey by about an order of magnitude. The 90% completeness limits are 20.4, 19.9, and 19.0 mag in J,H, and KS, respectively. The reduced images have 20% better resolution on average compared to pipeline products. We find between 2300 and 3000 embedded objects in Orion A and confirm that there is an extended foreground population above the Galactic field, in agreement with previous work. Conclusions: The Orion A VISTA catalog represents the most detailed NIR view of the nearest massive star-forming region and provides a fundamental basis for future studies of star formation processes toward Orion. Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla

Passive thermal infrared hyperspectral imaging for quantitative imaging of shale gas leaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagnon, Marc-André; Tremblay, Pierre; Savary, Simon; Farley, Vincent; Guyot, Éric; Lagueux, Philippe; Morton, Vince; Giroux, Jean; Chamberland, Martin

2017-10-01

There are many types of natural gas fields including shale formations that are common especially in the St-Lawrence Valley (Canada). Since methane (CH4), the major component of shale gas, is odorless, colorless and highly flammable, in addition to being a greenhouse gas, methane emanations and/or leaks are important to consider for both safety and environmental reasons. Telops recently launched on the market the Hyper-Cam Methane, a field-deployable thermal infrared hyperspectral camera specially tuned for detecting methane infrared spectral features under ambient conditions and over large distances. In order to illustrate the benefits of this novel research instrument for natural gas imaging, the instrument was brought on a site where shale gas leaks unexpectedly happened during a geological survey near the Enfant-Jesus hospital in Quebec City, Canada, during December 2014. Quantitative methane imaging was carried out based on methane's unique infrared spectral signature. Optical flow analysis was also carried out on the data to estimate the methane mass flow rate. The results show how this novel technique could be used for advanced research on shale gases.

Serendipitous discovery of an infrared bow shock near PSR J1549–4848 with Spitzer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Zhongxiang; Kaplan, David L.; Slane, Patrick

2013-06-01

We report on the discovery of an infrared cometary nebula around PSR J1549–4848 in our Spitzer survey of a few middle-aged radio pulsars. Following the discovery, multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic observations of the nebula were carried out. We detected the nebula in Spitzer Infrared Array Camera 8.0, Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer 24 and 70 μm imaging, and in Spitzer IRS 7.5-14.4 μm spectroscopic observations, and also in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer all-sky survey at 12 and 22 μm. These data were analyzed in detail, and we find that the nebula can be described with a standard bow shockmore » shape, and that its spectrum contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and H{sub 2} emission features. However, it is not certain which object drives the nebula. We analyze the field stars and conclude that none of them can be the associated object because stars with a strong wind or mass ejection that usually produce bow shocks are much brighter than the field stars. The pulsar is approximately 15'' away from the region in which the associated object is expected to be located. In order to resolve the discrepancy, we suggest that a highly collimated wind could be emitted from the pulsar and produce the bow shock. X-ray imaging to detect the interaction of the wind with the ambient medium- and high-spatial resolution radio imaging to determine the proper motion of the pulsar should be carried out, which will help verify the association of the pulsar with the bow shock nebula.« less

Composite Spectral Energy Distributions and Infrared-Optical Colors of Type 1 and Type 2 Quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hickox, Ryan C.; Myers, Adam D.; Greene, Jenny E.; Hainline, Kevin N.; Zakamska, Nadia L.; DiPompeo, Michael A.

2017-11-01

We present observed mid-infrared and optical colors and composite spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of type 1 (broad-line) and 2 (narrow-line) quasars selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopy. A significant fraction of powerful quasars are obscured by dust and are difficult to detect in optical photometric or spectroscopic surveys. However, these may be more easily identified on the basis of mid-infrared (MIR) colors and SEDs. Using samples of SDSS type 1 and 2 matched in redshift and [O III] luminosity, we produce composite rest-frame 0.2-15 μm SEDs based on SDSS, UKIDSS, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer photometry and perform model fits using simple galaxy and quasar SED templates. The SEDs of type 1 and 2 quasars are remarkably similar, with the differences explained primarily by the extinction of the quasar component in the type 2 systems. For both types of quasar, the flux of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) relative to the host galaxy increases with AGN luminosity ({L}[{{O}{{III}}]}) and redder observed MIR color, but we find only weak dependencies of the composite SEDs on mechanical jet power as determined through radio luminosity. We conclude that luminous quasars can be effectively selected using simple MIR color criteria similar to those identified previously ({{W}}1{--}{{W}}2> 0.7; Vega), although these criteria miss many heavily obscured objects. Obscured quasars can be further identified based on optical-IR colors (for example, (u{--}{{W}}3 [{AB}])> 1.4({{W}}1{--}{{W}}2 [{Vega}])+3.2). These results illustrate the power of large statistical studies of obscured quasars selected on the basis of MIR and optical photometry.

Uncooled infrared photon detector and multicolor infrared detection using microoptomechanical sensors

DOEpatents

Datskos, Panagiotis G.; Rajic, Solobodan; Datskou, Irene C.

1999-01-01

Systems and methods for infrared detection are described. An optomechanical photon detector includes a semiconductor material and is based on measurement of a photoinduced lattice strain. A multicolor infrared sensor includes a stack of frequency specific optomechanical detectors. The stack can include one, or more, of the optomechanical photon detectors that function based on the measurement of photoinduced lattice strain. The systems and methods provide advantages in that rapid, sensitive multicolor infrared imaging can be performed without the need for a cooling subsystem.

Detecting denning polar bears with Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) imagery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amstrup, Steven C.; York, G.; McDonald, T.L.; Nielson, R.; Simac, K.

2004-01-01

Polar bears give birth in snow dens in midwinter and remain in dens until early spring. The survival and development of cubs is dependent on a stable environment within the maternal den. To mitigate potential disruption of polar bear denning by existing and proposed petroleum activities, we used forward-looking infrared (FLIR) viewing to try to detect heat rising from dens.We flew transects over dens of radio-collared females with FLIR imager-equipped aircraft, recorded weather conditions at each observation, and noted whether the den was detected.We surveyed 23 dens on 67 occasions (1 to 7 times each). Nine dens were always detected, and 10 dens visited more than once were detected on some flights but not on others. Four dens were never detected (17 percent), but three of those were visited only under marginal conditions. The odds of detecting a den were 4.8 times greater when airborne moisture (snow, blowing snow, fog, etc.) was absent than when it was present, and they increased 3-fold for every 1?C increase in temperature-dew point spread. The estimated probability of detecting dens in sunlight was 0. Data suggested that FLIR surveys conducted during optimal conditions for detection can produce detection rates approaching 90 percent and thus can be an important management and mitigation tool. polar bear, infrared imagery, maternal denning, human impacts, management

The spectral energy distributions of the entire Herschel Reference Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciesla, Laure

2012-08-01

We present the spectral energy distributions (SED) of the 323 galaxies of the Herschel Reference Survey. In order to provide templates for nearby galaxies calibrated on physical parameters, we computed mean SEDs per bin of morphological types and stellar masses. They will be very useful to study more distant galaxies and their evolution with redshift. This preliminary work aims to study how the most commonly used libraries (Chary & Elbaz 2001, Dale & Helou 2002 and Draine & Li 2007) reproduce the far-infrared emission of galaxies. First results show that they reproduce well the far-infrared part of mean SEDs. For single galaxies the Draine & Li (2007) models seem to reproduce very well the far-infrared emission, as does the Dale & Helou (2002).

The Infrared Hunter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Figure 1Figure 2

This image composite compares infrared and visible views of the famous Orion nebula and its surrounding cloud, an industrious star-making region located near the hunter constellation's sword. The infrared picture is from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and the visible image is from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, headquartered in Tucson, Ariz.

In addition to Orion, two other nebulas can be seen in both pictures. The Orion nebula, or M42, is the largest and takes up the lower half of the images; the small nebula to the upper left of Orion is called M43; and the medium-sized nebula at the top is NGC 1977. Each nebula is marked by a ring of dust that stands out in the infrared view. These rings make up the walls of cavities that are being excavated by radiation and winds from massive stars. The visible view of the nebulas shows gas heated by ultraviolet radiation from the massive stars.

Above the Orion nebula, where the massive stars have not yet ejected much of the obscuring dust, the visible image appears dark with only a faint glow. In contrast, the infrared view penetrates the dark lanes of dust, revealing bright swirling clouds and numerous developing stars that have shot out jets of gas (green). This is because infrared light can travel through dust, whereas visible light is stopped short by it.

The infrared image shows light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns (red and orange) comes mainly from dust that has been heated by starlight. Light of 4.5 microns (green) shows hot gas and dust; and light of 3.6 microns (blue) is from starlight.

The Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey: Survey Description and Data Reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguirre, James E.; Ginsburg, Adam G.; Dunham, Miranda K.; Drosback, Meredith M.; Bally, John; Battersby, Cara; Bradley, Eric Todd; Cyganowski, Claudia; Dowell, Darren; Evans, Neal J., II; Glenn, Jason; Harvey, Paul; Rosolowsky, Erik; Stringfellow, Guy S.; Walawender, Josh; Williams, Jonathan P.

2011-01-01

% is 3farcm8. Comparison with other millimeter-wave data sets implies a possible systematic offset in flux calibration, for which no cause has been discovered. This presentation serves as a companion and guide to the public data release (http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/Missions/bolocam.html) through NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). New data releases will be provided through IPAC-IRSA with any future improvements in the reduction. The BGPS provides a complementary long-wavelength spectral band for the ongoing ATLASGAL and Herschel-SPIRE surveys, and an important database and context for imminent observations with SCUBA-2 and ALMA.

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 4: The point source catalog declination range 0 deg greater than delta greater than -30 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched 26 January 1983. During its 300-day mission, it surveyed over 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. This is Volume 4, The Point Source Catalog Declination Range 0 deg greater than delta greater than -30 deg.

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 3: The point source catalog declination range 30 deg greater than delta greater than 0 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched January 26, 1983. During its 300-day mission, IRAS surveyed over 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. This is Volume 3, The Point Source Catalog Declination Range 30 deg greater than delta greater than 0 deg.

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 6: The point source catalog declination range -50 deg greater than delta greater than -90 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched January 26, 1983. During its 300-day mission, it surveyed over 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. This is Volume 6, The Point Source Catalog Declination Range -50 deg greater than delta greater than -90 deg.

Infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS) catalogs and atlases. Volume 5: The point source catalog declination range -30 deg greater than delta greater than -50 deg

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched January 26, 1983. During its 300-day mission, IRAS surveyed over 96 pct of the celestial sphere at four infrared wavelengths, centered approximately at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns. This is Volume 5, The Point Source Catalog Declination Range -30 deg greater than delta greater than -50 deg.

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey. I. Description of the Survey and Analysis Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oemler Jr., Augustus; Dressler, Alan; Gladders, Michael G.; Rigby, Jane R.; Bai, Lei; Kelson, Daniel; Villanueva, Edward; Fritz, Jacopo; Rieke, George; Poggianti, Bianca M.;

Hyperspectral infrared nanoimaging of organic samples based on Fourier transform infrared nanospectroscopy

PubMed Central

Amenabar, Iban; Poly, Simon; Goikoetxea, Monika; Nuansing, Wiwat; Lasch, Peter; Hillenbrand, Rainer

2017-01-01

Infrared nanospectroscopy enables novel possibilities for chemical and structural analysis of nanocomposites, biomaterials or optoelectronic devices. Here we introduce hyperspectral infrared nanoimaging based on Fourier transform infrared nanospectroscopy with a tunable bandwidth-limited laser continuum. We describe the technical implementations and present hyperspectral infrared near-field images of about 5,000 pixel, each one covering the spectral range from 1,000 to 1,900 cm−1. To verify the technique and to demonstrate its application potential, we imaged a three-component polymer blend and a melanin granule in a human hair cross-section, and demonstrate that multivariate data analysis can be applied for extracting spatially resolved chemical information. Particularly, we demonstrate that distribution and chemical interaction between the polymer components can be mapped with a spatial resolution of about 30 nm. We foresee wide application potential of hyperspectral infrared nanoimaging for valuable chemical materials characterization and quality control in various fields ranging from materials sciences to biomedicine. PMID:28198384

Hyperspectral infrared nanoimaging of organic samples based on Fourier transform infrared nanospectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amenabar, Iban; Poly, Simon; Goikoetxea, Monika; Nuansing, Wiwat; Lasch, Peter; Hillenbrand, Rainer

2017-02-01

Infrared nanospectroscopy enables novel possibilities for chemical and structural analysis of nanocomposites, biomaterials or optoelectronic devices. Here we introduce hyperspectral infrared nanoimaging based on Fourier transform infrared nanospectroscopy with a tunable bandwidth-limited laser continuum. We describe the technical implementations and present hyperspectral infrared near-field images of about 5,000 pixel, each one covering the spectral range from 1,000 to 1,900 cm-1. To verify the technique and to demonstrate its application potential, we imaged a three-component polymer blend and a melanin granule in a human hair cross-section, and demonstrate that multivariate data analysis can be applied for extracting spatially resolved chemical information. Particularly, we demonstrate that distribution and chemical interaction between the polymer components can be mapped with a spatial resolution of about 30 nm. We foresee wide application potential of hyperspectral infrared nanoimaging for valuable chemical materials characterization and quality control in various fields ranging from materials sciences to biomedicine.

Infrared and infrared emission spectroscopic study of typical Chinese kaolinite and halloysite.

PubMed

Cheng, Hongfei; Frost, Ray L; Yang, Jing; Liu, Qinfu; He, Junkai

2010-12-01

The structure and thermal stability between typical Chinese kaolinite and halloysite were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, infrared emission spectroscopy (IES) and Raman spectroscopy. Infrared emission spectroscopy over the temperature range of 300-700°C has been used to characterise the thermal decomposition of both kaolinite and halloysite. Halloysite is characterised by two bands in the water bending region at 1629 and 1648 cm(-1), attributed to structural water and coordinated water in the interlayer. Well defined hydroxyl stretching bands at around 3695, 3679, 3652 and 3625 cm(-1) are observed for both kaolinite and halloysite. The 550°C infrared emission spectrum of halloysite is similar to that of kaolinite in 650-1350 cm(-1) spectral region. The infrared emission spectra of halloysite were found to be considerably different to that of kaolinite at lower temperatures. These differences are attributed to the fundamental difference in the structure of the two minerals. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Probing the Physical Properties of High Redshift Optically Obscured Galaxies in the Bootes NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey using the Infrared Spectrograph on Spitzer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higdon, S. J. U.; Weedman, D.; Higdon, J. L.; Houck, J. R.; Soifer, B. T.; Armus, L.; Charmandaris, V.; Herter, T. L.; Brandl, B. R.; Brown, M. J. I.; Dey, A.; Jannuzi, B.; Le Floc'h, E.; Rieke, M.

2004-12-01

We have surveyed a field covering 8.4 degrees2 within the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey region in Boötes with the Multiband Imaging Photometer on the Spitzer Space Telescope to a limiting 24 um flux density of 0.3 mJy, identifying ˜ 22,000 point sources. Thirty one sources from this survey with F(24 um) > 0.75 mJy , which are optically ``invisible'' (R > 26) or very faint (I > 24) have been observed with the low-resolution modules of the Infrared Spectrograph on SST. The spectra were extracted using the IRS SMART spectral analysis package in order to optimize their signal to noise. A suite of mid-IR spectral templates of well known galaxies, observed as part of the IRS GTO program, is used to perform formal fits to the spectral energy distribution of the Boötes sources. These fits enable us to measure their redshift, to calculate the depth of the 9.7 um silicate feature along with the strength of 7.7 um PAH, as well as to estimate their bolometric luminosities. We compare the mid-IR slope, the measured PAH luminosity, and the optical depth of these sources with those of galaxies in the local Universe. As a result we are able to estimate the contribution of a dust enshrouded active nucleus to the mid-IR and bolometric luminosity of these systems. This work is based [in part] on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under NASA contract 1407. Support for this work was provided by NASA through Contract Number 1257184 issued by JPL/Caltech.

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Henan and Watsonia Family Asteroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bus, S. J.; Binzel, R. P.; Sunshine, J.; Burbine, T. H.; McCoy, T. J.

2002-09-01

We present visible and near-infrared spectra for members of both the Henan and Watsonia asteroid families. These two families are known to contain asteroids belonging to the taxonomic L class based on visible wavelength spectroscopy obtained during the second phase of the Small Main-belt Asteroid Spectroscopic Survey (SMASSII, Bus and Binzel 2002, Icarus in press). The L-type asteroids have visible-wavelength spectra similar to those of K-types but with steeper spectral slopes shortward of 0.75 micron, becoming relatively flat longward of 0.75 micron and showing little or no concave curvature related to a 1 micron silicon absorption band. Our current study of the Henan and Watsonia families uses data obtained with SpeX, a medium-resolution near-infrared spectrograph available at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea. When combined with the SMASSII results, we find the near-infrared spectra of these asteroids contains very weak 1 micron bands but have moderately deep 2 micron bands. A possible interpretation of this anomalous spectral signature is the presence of spinel, suggested by Burbine et al. (1992, Meteoritics 27, 424) for the asteroids 387 Aquitania and 980 Anacostia, both likely members of the Watsonia family (Bus 1999, Ph.D. thesis). The work of Burbine et al. made use of combined ECAS and 52-color measurements covering the visible and near-IR wavelengths out to 2.5 microns. We can now use the high signal-to-noise data obtained with SpeX to more fully explore the mineralogy of the taxonomic L class and to search for evidence of mineralogical variations among the Henan and Watsonia asteroid family members.

The Exoplanet Microlensing Survey by the Proposed WFIRST Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barry, Richard; Kruk, Jeffrey; Anderson, Jay; Beaulieu, Jean-Philippe; Bennett, David P.; Catanzarite, Joseph; Cheng, Ed; Gaudi, Scott; Gehrels, Neil; Kane, Stephen;

Stellar populations in the outskirts of M31: the mid-infrared view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barmby, P.; Ravandi, M. Rafiei

2017-03-01

The mid-infrared provides a unique view of galaxy stellar populations, sensitive to both the integrated light of old, low-mass stars and to individual dusty mass-losing stars. We present results from an extended Spitzer/IRAC survey of M31 with total lengths of 6.6 and 4.4 degrees along the major and minor axes, respectively. The integrated surface brightness profile proves to be surprisingly difficult to trace in the outskirts of the galaxy, but we can also investigate the disk/halo transition via a star count profile, with careful correction for foreground and background contamination. Our point-source catalog allows us to report on mid-infrared properties of individual objects in the outskirts of M31, via cross-correlation with PAndAS, WISE, and other catalogs.

A warm Spitzer survey of the LSST/DES 'Deep drilling' fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacy, Mark; Farrah, Duncan; Brandt, Niel; Sako, Masao; Richards, Gordon; Norris, Ray; Ridgway, Susan; Afonso, Jose; Brunner, Robert; Clements, Dave; Cooray, Asantha; Covone, Giovanni; D'Andrea, Chris; Dickinson, Mark; Ferguson, Harry; Frieman, Joshua; Gupta, Ravi; Hatziminaoglou, Evanthia; Jarvis, Matt; Kimball, Amy; Lubin, Lori; Mao, Minnie; Marchetti, Lucia; Mauduit, Jean-Christophe; Mei, Simona; Newman, Jeffrey; Nichol, Robert; Oliver, Seb; Perez-Fournon, Ismael; Pierre, Marguerite; Rottgering, Huub; Seymour, Nick; Smail, Ian; Surace, Jason; Thorman, Paul; Vaccari, Mattia; Verma, Aprajita; Wilson, Gillian; Wood-Vasey, Michael; Cane, Rachel; Wechsler, Risa; Martini, Paul; Evrard, August; McMahon, Richard; Borne, Kirk; Capozzi, Diego; Huang, Jiashang; Lagos, Claudia; Lidman, Chris; Maraston, Claudia; Pforr, Janine; Sajina, Anna; Somerville, Rachel; Strauss, Michael; Jones, Kristen; Barkhouse, Wayne; Cooper, Michael; Ballantyne, David; Jagannathan, Preshanth; Murphy, Eric; Pradoni, Isabella; Suntzeff, Nicholas; Covarrubias, Ricardo; Spitler, Lee

2014-12-01

We propose a warm Spitzer survey to microJy depth of the four predefined Deep Drilling Fields (DDFs) for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) (three of which are also deep drilling fields for the Dark Energy Survey (DES)). Imaging these fields with warm Spitzer is a key component of the overall success of these projects, that address the 'Physics of the Universe' theme of the Astro2010 decadal survey. With deep, accurate, near-infrared photometry from Spitzer in the DDFs, we will generate photometric redshift distributions to apply to the surveys as a whole. The DDFs are also the areas where the supernova searches of DES and LSST are concentrated, and deep Spitzer data is essential to obtain photometric redshifts, stellar masses and constraints on ages and metallicities for the >10000 supernova host galaxies these surveys will find. This 'DEEPDRILL' survey will also address the 'Cosmic Dawn' goal of Astro2010 through being deep enough to find all the >10^11 solar mass galaxies within the survey area out to z~6. DEEPDRILL will complete the final 24.4 square degrees of imaging in the DDFs, which, when added to the 14 square degrees already imaged to this depth, will map a volume of 1-Gpc^3 at z>2. It will find ~100 > 10^11 solar mass galaxies at z~5 and ~40 protoclusters at z>2, providing targets for JWST that can be found in no other way. The Spitzer data, in conjunction with the multiwavelength surveys in these fields, ranging from X-ray through far-infrared and cm-radio, will comprise a unique legacy dataset for studies of galaxy evolution.

A General Formulation of the Source Confusion Statistics and Application to Infrared Galaxy Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeuchi, Tsutomu T.; Ishii, Takako T.

2004-03-01

Source confusion has been a long-standing problem in the astronomical history. In the previous formulation of the confusion problem, sources are assumed to be distributed homogeneously on the sky. This fundamental assumption is, however, not realistic in many applications. In this work, by making use of the point field theory, we derive general analytic formulae for the confusion problems with arbitrary distribution and correlation functions. As a typical example, we apply these new formulae to the source confusion of infrared galaxies. We first calculate the confusion statistics for power-law galaxy number counts as a test case. When the slope of differential number counts, γ, is steep, the confusion limits become much brighter and the probability distribution function (PDF) of the fluctuation field is strongly distorted. Then we estimate the PDF and confusion limits based on the realistic number count model for infrared galaxies. The gradual flattening of the slope of the source counts makes the clustering effect rather mild. Clustering effects result in an increase of the limiting flux density with ~10%. In this case, the peak probability of the PDF decreases up to ~15% and its tail becomes heavier. Although the effects are relatively small, they will be strong enough to affect the estimation of galaxy evolution from number count or fluctuation statistics. We also comment on future submillimeter observations.

Fast forward modeling of Titan's infrared spectra to invert VIMS/Cassini hyperspectral images

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodriguez, S.; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Rannou, P.; Combe, J.-P.; Corre, L.L.; Tobie, G.; Barnes, J.W.; Sotin, Christophe; Brown, R.H.; Baines, K.H.; Buratti, B.J.; Clark, R.N.; Nicholson, P.D.

2009-01-01

The surface of Titan, the largest icy moon of Saturn, is veiled by a very thick and hazy atmosphere. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since July 2004, conduct an intensive survey of Titan with the objective to understand the complex nature of the atmosphere and surface of the mysterious moon and the way they interact. Accurate radiative transfer modeling is necessary to analyze Titan's infrared spectra, but are often very computer resources demanding. As Cassini has gathered hitherto millions of spectra of Titan and will still observe it until at least 2010, we report here on the development of a new rapid, simple and versatile radiative transfer model specially designed to invert VIMS datacubes. ?? 2009 IEEE.

Tree Canopy Characterization for EO-1 Reflective and Thermal Infrared Validation Studies: Rochester, New York

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballard, Jerrell R., Jr.; Smith, James A.

2002-01-01

The tree canopy characterization presented herein provided ground and tree canopy data for different types of tree canopies in support of EO-1 reflective and thermal infrared validation studies. These characterization efforts during August and September of 2001 included stem and trunk location surveys, tree structure geometry measurements, meteorology, and leaf area index (LAI) measurements. Measurements were also collected on thermal and reflective spectral properties of leaves, tree bark, leaf litter, soil, and grass. The data presented in this report were used to generate synthetic reflective and thermal infrared scenes and images that were used for the EO-1 Validation Program. The data also were used to evaluate whether the EO-1 ALI reflective channels can be combined with the Landsat-7 ETM+ thermal infrared channel to estimate canopy temperature, and also test the effects of separating the thermal and reflective measurements in time resulting from satellite formation flying.

Modelling of mid-infrared interferometric signature of hot exozodiacal dust emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirchschlager, Florian; Wolf, Sebastian; Brunngräber, Robert; Matter, Alexis; Krivov, Alexander V.; Labdon, Aaron

2018-01-01

Hot exozodiacal dust emission was detected in recent surveys around two dozen main-sequence stars at distances of less than 1 au using the H- and K-band interferometry. Due to the high contrast as well as the small angular distance between the circumstellar dust and the star, direct observation of this dust component is challenging. An alternative way to explore the hot exozodiacal dust is provided by mid-infrared interferometry. We analyse the L, M and N bands interferometric signature of this emission in order to find stronger constraints for the properties and the origin of the hot exozodiacal dust. Considering the parameters of nine debris disc systems derived previously, we model the discs in each of these bands. We find that the M band possesses the best conditions to detect hot dust emission, closely followed by L and N bands. The hot dust in three systems - HD 22484 (10 Tau), HD 102647 (β Leo) and HD 177724 (ζ Aql) - shows a strong signal in the visibility functions, which may even allow one to constrain the dust location. In particular, observations in the mid-infrared could help to determine whether the dust piles up at the sublimation radius or is located at radii up to 1 au. In addition, we explore observations of the hot exozodiacal dust with the upcoming mid-infrared interferometer Multi AperTure mid-Infrared SpectroScopic Experiment (MATISSE) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer.

Near-infrared Spectroscopy Of Outer Main Belt Asteroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takir, Driss; Emery, J.

2009-09-01

We have recently begun a spectral survey of the outer Main Belt population (3.2 AU < a < 4.6 AU), using near-infrared spectroscopy (0.8-2.5 μm). The objective of this survey is to search for signatures of H2O, organics, hydrated silicates, and/or anhydrous silicates on this group of asteroids. Studying the outer Main Belt asteroids will allow us to better understand the dynamical evolution of the Solar System and provide crucial constrains on nebular composition. Our first observing run, using the SpeX spectrograph/imager at the NASA IRTF, took place remotely form the University of Tennessee Knoxville on the nights of April 15, 16, and 17, 2009 (UT). More observing runs will be conducted this year and the beginning of next year. The initial data reduction process reveals that some of these asteroids exhibit weak and strong absorption features. We will present some of these initial spectra and results.

Barrier infrared detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ting, David Z. (Inventor); Khoshakhlagh, Arezou (Inventor); Soibel, Alexander (Inventor); Hill, Cory J. (Inventor); Gunapala, Sarath D. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A superlattice-based infrared absorber and the matching electron-blocking and hole-blocking unipolar barriers, absorbers and barriers with graded band gaps, high-performance infrared detectors, and methods of manufacturing such devices are provided herein. The infrared absorber material is made from a superlattice (periodic structure) where each period consists of two or more layers of InAs, InSb, InSbAs, or InGaAs. The layer widths and alloy compositions are chosen to yield the desired energy band gap, absorption strength, and strain balance for the particular application. Furthermore, the periodicity of the superlattice can be "chirped" (varied) to create a material with a graded or varying energy band gap. The superlattice based barrier infrared detectors described and demonstrated herein have spectral ranges covering the entire 3-5 micron atmospheric transmission window, excellent dark current characteristics operating at least 150K, high yield, and have the potential for high-operability, high-uniformity focal plane arrays.

The Southern HII Region Discovery Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenger, Trey; Miller Dickey, John; Jordan, Christopher; Bania, Thomas M.; Balser, Dana S.; Dawson, Joanne; Anderson, Loren D.; Armentrout, William P.; McClure-Griffiths, Naomi

2016-01-01

HII regions are zones of ionized gas surrounding recently formed high-mass (OB-type) stars. They are among the brightest objects in the sky at radio wavelengths. HII regions provide a useful tool in constraining the Galactic morphological structure, chemical structure, and star formation rate. We describe the Southern HII Region Discovery Survey (SHRDS), an Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) survey that discovered ~80 new HII regions (so far) in the Galactic longitude range 230 degrees to 360 degrees. This project is an extension of the Green Bank Telescope HII Region Discovery Survey (GBT HRDS), Arecibo HRDS, and GBT Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) HRDS, which together discovered ~800 new HII regions in the Galactic longitude range -20 degrees to 270 degrees. Similar to those surveys, candidate HII regions were chosen from 20 micron emission (from WISE) coincident with 10 micron (WISE) and 20 cm (SGPS) emission. By using the ATCA to detect radio continuum and radio recombination line emission from a subset of these candidates, we have added to the population of known Galactic HII regions.

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): end of survey report and data release 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liske, J.; Baldry, I. K.; Driver, S. P.; Tuffs, R. J.; Alpaslan, M.; Andrae, E.; Brough, S.; Cluver, M. E.; Grootes, M. W.; Gunawardhana, M. L. P.; Kelvin, L. S.; Loveday, J.; Robotham, A. S. G.; Taylor, E. N.; Bamford, S. P.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Brown, M. J. I.; Drinkwater, M. J.; Hopkins, A. M.; Meyer, M. J.; Norberg, P.; Peacock, J. A.; Agius, N. K.; Andrews, S. K.; Bauer, A. E.; Ching, J. H. Y.; Colless, M.; Conselice, C. J.; Croom, S. M.; Davies, L. J. M.; De Propris, R.; Dunne, L.; Eardley, E. M.; Ellis, S.; Foster, C.; Frenk, C. S.; Häußler, B.; Holwerda, B. W.; Howlett, C.; Ibarra, H.; Jarvis, M. J.; Jones, D. H.; Kafle, P. R.; Lacey, C. G.; Lange, R.; Lara-López, M. A.; López-Sánchez, Á. R.; Maddox, S.; Madore, B. F.; McNaught-Roberts, T.; Moffett, A. J.; Nichol, R. C.; Owers, M. S.; Palamara, D.; Penny, S. J.; Phillipps, S.; Pimbblet, K. A.; Popescu, C. C.; Prescott, M.; Proctor, R.; Sadler, E. M.; Sansom, A. E.; Seibert, M.; Sharp, R.; Sutherland, W.; Vázquez-Mata, J. A.; van Kampen, E.; Wilkins, S. M.; Williams, R.; Wright, A. H.

2015-09-01

The Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey is one of the largest contemporary spectroscopic surveys of low redshift galaxies. Covering an area of ˜286 deg2 (split among five survey regions) down to a limiting magnitude of r < 19.8 mag, we have collected spectra and reliable redshifts for 238 000 objects using the AAOmega spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. In addition, we have assembled imaging data from a number of independent surveys in order to generate photometry spanning the wavelength range 1 nm-1 m. Here, we report on the recently completed spectroscopic survey and present a series of diagnostics to assess its final state and the quality of the redshift data. We also describe a number of survey aspects and procedures, or updates thereof, including changes to the input catalogue, redshifting and re-redshifting, and the derivation of ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared photometry. Finally, we present the second public release of GAMA data. In this release, we provide input catalogue and targeting information, spectra, redshifts, ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared photometry, single-component Sérsic fits, stellar masses, Hα-derived star formation rates, environment information, and group properties for all galaxies with r < 19.0 mag in two of our survey regions, and for all galaxies with r < 19.4 mag in a third region (72 225 objects in total). The data base serving these data is available at http://www.gama-survey.org/.

37 NEW T-TYPE BROWN DWARFS IN THE CANADA-FRANCE BROWN DWARFS SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Albert, Loic; Artigau, Etienne; Delorme, Philippe

2011-06-15

The Canada-France Brown Dwarfs Survey is an i'- and z'-band survey realized with MegaCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope that covers a surface area of 780 deg{sup 2}. Image analysis is now completed while J-band follow-up campaigns are {approx}90% done. The survey identified about 70 T dwarf candidates, of which 43 now have near-infrared spectra obtained with NIRI and GNIRS at Gemini and ISAAC at the Very Large Telescope. Six of these were previously published and we present here the 37 new discoveries, all T dwarfs. They range from T0 to T8.5 with four being of type T7 or later. Bothmore » newly identified T8 dwarfs are possibly high log (g) massive brown dwarfs of thin disk age. One T4.5 dwarf shows signs of sub-metallicity. We present proper motions and near-infrared photometry, and discuss about the most peculiar/interesting objects in some details.« less

A composite large-scale CO survey at high galactic latitudes in the second quadrant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heithausen, A.; Stacy, J. G.; De Vries, H. W.; Mebold, U.; Thaddeus, P.

1993-01-01

Surveys undertaken in the 2nd quadrant of the Galaxy with the CfA 1.2 m telescope have been combined to produce a map covering about 620 sq deg in the 2.6 mm CO(J = 1 - 0) line at high galactic latitudes. There is CO emission from molecular 'cirrus' clouds in about 13 percent of the region surveyed. The CO clouds are grouped together into three major cloud complexes with 29 individual members. All clouds are associated with infrared emission at 100 micron, although there is no one-to-one correlation between the corresponding intensities. CO emission is detected in all bright and dark Lynds' nebulae cataloged in that region; however not all CO clouds are visible on optical photographs as reflection or absorption features. The clouds are probably local. At an adopted distance of 240 pc cloud sizes range from O.1 to 30 pc and cloud masses from 1 to 1600 solar masses. The molecular cirrus clouds contribute between 0.4 and 0.8 M solar mass/sq pc to the surface density of molecular gas in the galactic plane. Only 26 percent of the 'infrared-excess clouds' in the area surveyed actually show CO and about 2/3 of the clouds detected in CO do not show an infrared excess.

ISOGAL: A deep survey of the obscured inner Milky Way with ISO at 7 mu m and 15 mu m and with DENIS in the near-infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omont, A.; Gilmore, G. F.; Alard, C.; Aracil, B.; August, T.; Baliyan, K.; Beaulieu, S.; Bégon, S.; Bertou, X.; Blommaert, J. A. D. L.; Borsenberger, J.; Burgdorf, M.; Caillaud, B.; Cesarsky, C.; Chitre, A.; Copet, E.; de Batz, B.; Egan, M. P.; Egret, D.; Epchtein, N.; Felli, M.; Fouqué, P.; Ganesh, S.; Genzel, R.; Glass, I. S.; Gredel, R.; Groenewegen, M. A. T.; Guglielmo, F.; Habing, H. J.; Hennebelle, P.; Jiang, B.; Joshi, U. C.; Kimeswenger, S.; Messineo, M.; Miville-Deschênes, M. A.; Moneti, A.; Morris, M.; Ojha, D. K.; Ortiz, R.; Ott, S.; Parthasarathy, M.; Pérault, M.; Price, S. D.; Robin, A. C.; Schultheis, M.; Schuller, F.; Simon, G.; Soive, A.; Testi, L.; Teyssier, D.; Tiphène, D.; Unavane, M.; van Loon, J. T.; Wyse, R.

2003-06-01

The ISOGAL project is an infrared survey of specific regions sampling the Galactic Plane selected to provide information on Galactic structure, stellar populations, stellar mass-loss and the recent star formation history of the inner disk and Bulge of the Galaxy. ISOGAL combines 7 and 15 μm ISOCAM observations -- with a resolution of 6 arcsec at worst -- with DENIS IJKs data to determine the nature of the sources and the interstellar extinction. We have observed about 16 square degrees with a sensitivity approaching 10-20 mJy, detecting ˜105 sources, mostly AGB stars, red giants and young stars. The main features of the ISOGAL survey and the observations are summarized in this paper, together with a brief discussion of data processing and quality. The primary ISOGAL products are described briefly (a full desciption is given in Schuller et al. 2003): viz. the images and the ISOGAL-DENIS five-wavelength point source catalogue. The main scientific results already derived or in progress are summarized. These include astrometrically calibrated 7 and 15 μm images, determining structures of resolved sources; identification and properties of interstellar dark clouds; quantification of the infrared extinction law and source dereddening; analysis of red giant and (especially) AGB stellar populations in the central Bulge, determining luminosity, presence of circumstellar dust and mass-loss rate, and source classification, supplemented in some cases by ISO/CVF spectroscopy; detection of young stellar objects of diverse types, especially in the inner Bulge with information about the present and recent star formation rate; identification of foreground sources with mid-IR excess. These results are the subject of about 25 refereed papers published or in preparation. This is paper No. 20 in a refereed journal based on data from the ISOGAL project. Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France

Extragalactic optical and near-infrared foregrounds to 21-cm epoch of reionisation experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvis, Matt J.; Bowler, Rebecca A. A.; Hatfield, Peter W.

2018-05-01

Foreground contamination is one of the most important limiting factors in detecting the neutral hydrogen in the epoch of reionisation. These foregrounds can be roughly split into galactic and extragalactic foregrounds. In these proceedings we highlight information that can be gleaned from multi-wavelength extragalactic surveys in order to overcome this issue. We discuss how clustering information from the lower-redshift, foreground galaxies, can be used as additional information in accounting for the noise associated with the foregrounds. We then go on to highlight the expected contribution of future optical and near-infrared surveys for detecting the galaxies responsible for ionising the Universe. We suggest that these galaxies can also be used to reduce the systematics in the 21-cm epoch of reionisation signal through cross-correlations if enough common area is surveyed.

Infrared microscope inspection apparatus

DOEpatents

Forman, S.E.; Caunt, J.W.

1985-02-26

Apparatus and system for inspecting infrared transparents, such as an array of photovoltaic modules containing silicon solar cells, includes an infrared microscope, at least three sources of infrared light placed around and having their axes intersect the center of the object field and means for sending the reflected light through the microscope. The apparatus is adapted to be mounted on an X-Y translator positioned adjacent the object surface. 4 figs.

Infrared microscope inspection apparatus

DOEpatents

Forman, Steven E.; Caunt, James W.

1985-02-26

Apparatus and system for inspecting infrared transparents, such as an array of photovoltaic modules containing silicon solar cells, includes an infrared microscope, at least three sources of infrared light placed around and having their axes intersect the center of the object field and means for sending the reflected light through the microscope. The apparatus is adapted to be mounted on an X-Y translator positioned adjacent the object surface.

Optical and infrared masers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Ongoing research progress in the following areas is described: (1) tunable infrared light sources and applications; (2) precision frequency and wavelength measurements in the infrared with applications to atomic clocks; (3) zero-degree pulse propagation in resonant medium; (4) observation of Dicke superradiance in optically pumped HF gas; (5) unidirectional laser amplifier with built-in isolator; and (6) progress in infrared metal-to-metal point contact tunneling diodes.

History of infrared detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogalski, A.

2012-09-01

This paper overviews the history of infrared detector materials starting with Herschel's experiment with thermometer on February 11th, 1800. Infrared detectors are in general used to detect, image, and measure patterns of the thermal heat radiation which all objects emit. At the beginning, their development was connected with thermal detectors, such as thermocouples and bolometers, which are still used today and which are generally sensitive to all infrared wavelengths and operate at room temperature. The second kind of detectors, called the photon detectors, was mainly developed during the 20th Century to improve sensitivity and response time. These detectors have been extensively developed since the 1940's. Lead sulphide (PbS) was the first practical IR detector with sensitivity to infrared wavelengths up to ˜3 μm. After World War II infrared detector technology development was and continues to be primarily driven by military applications. Discovery of variable band gap HgCdTe ternary alloy by Lawson and co-workers in 1959 opened a new area in IR detector technology and has provided an unprecedented degree of freedom in infrared detector design. Many of these advances were transferred to IR astronomy from Departments of Defence research. Later on civilian applications of infrared technology are frequently called "dual-use technology applications." One should point out the growing utilisation of IR technologies in the civilian sphere based on the use of new materials and technologies, as well as the noticeable price decrease in these high cost technologies. In the last four decades different types of detectors are combined with electronic readouts to make detector focal plane arrays (FPAs). Development in FPA technology has revolutionized infrared imaging. Progress in integrated circuit design and fabrication techniques has resulted in continued rapid growth in the size and performance of these solid state arrays.

The USNO-UKIRT K-band Hemisphere Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahm, Scott; Bruursema, Justice; Munn, Jeffrey A.; Vrba, Fred J.; Dorland, Bryan; Dye, Simon; Kerr, Tom; Varricatt, Watson; Irwin, Mike; Lawrence, Andy; McLaren, Robert; Hodapp, Klaus; Hasinger, Guenther

2018-01-01

We present initial results from the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) and UKIRT K-band Hemisphere Survey (U2HS), currently underway using the Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) installed on UKIRT on Maunakea. U2HS is a collaborative effort undertaken by USNO, the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, the Cambridge Astronomy Survey Unit (CASU) and the Wide Field Astronomy Unit (WFAU) in Edinburgh. The principal objective of the U2HS is to provide continuous northern hemisphere K-band coverage over a declination range of δ=0o – +60o by combining over 12,700 deg2 of new imaging with the existing UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS), Galactic Plane Survey (GPS) and Galactic Cluster Survey (GCS). U2HS will achieve a 5-σ point source sensitivity of K~18.4 mag (Vega), over three magnitudes deeper than the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). In this contribution we discuss survey design, execution, data acquisition and processing, photometric calibration and quality control. The data obtained by the U2HS will be made publicly available through the Wide Field Science Archive (WSA) maintained by the WFAU.

JPL-20170515-NEOWISf-0001-Three Years of NEOWISE Survey Data

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-06-05

NASA's asteroid hunting NEOWISE survey uses infrared to detect and characterize asteroids and comets. Animation shows the 114 near-Earth objects and 693 other objects characterized by the mission since the WISE mission (decommissioned in February 2011) was recommissioned as NEOWISE in December 2013.

The Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) Spectral Library: Cool Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rayner, John T.; Cushing, Michael C.; Vacca, William D.

2009-12-01

We present a 0.8-5 μm spectral library of 210 cool stars observed at a resolving power of R ≡ λ/Δλ ~ 2000 with the medium-resolution infrared spectrograph, SpeX, at the 3.0 m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The stars have well-established MK spectral classifications and are mostly restricted to near-solar metallicities. The sample not only contains the F, G, K, and M spectral types with luminosity classes between I and V, but also includes some AGB, carbon, and S stars. In contrast to some other spectral libraries, the continuum shape of the spectra is measured and preserved in the data reduction process. The spectra are absolutely flux calibrated using the Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry. Potential uses of the library include studying the physics of cool stars, classifying and studying embedded young clusters and optically obscured regions of the Galaxy, evolutionary population synthesis to study unresolved stellar populations in optically obscured regions of galaxies and synthetic photometry. The library is available in digital form from the IRTF Web site.

A NEW INFRARED COLOR CRITERION FOR THE SELECTION OF 0 < z < 7 AGNs: APPLICATION TO DEEP FIELDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR JWST SURVEYS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Messias, H.; Afonso, J.; Salvato, M.

2012-08-01

It is widely accepted that observations at mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths enable the selection of galaxies with nuclear activity, which may not be revealed even in the deepest X-ray surveys. Many mid-IR color-color criteria have been explored to accomplish this goal and tested thoroughly in the literature. Besides missing many low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs), one of the main conclusions is that, with increasing redshift, the contamination by non-active galaxies becomes significant (especially at z {approx}> 2.5). This is problematic for the study of the AGN phenomenon in the early universe, the main goal of many of the current and futuremore » deep extragalactic surveys. In this work new near- and mid-IR color diagnostics are explored, aiming for improved efficiency-better completeness and less contamination-in selecting AGNs out to very high redshifts. We restrict our study to the James Webb Space Telescope wavelength range (0.6-27 {mu}m). The criteria are created based on the predictions by state-of-the-art galaxy and AGN templates covering a wide variety of galaxy properties, and tested against control samples with deep multi-wavelength coverage (ranging from the X-rays to radio frequencies). We show that the colors K{sub s} - [4.5], [4.5] - [8.0], and [8.0] - [24] are ideal as AGN/non-AGN diagnostics at, respectively, z {approx}< 1, 1 {approx}< z {approx}< 2.5, and z {approx}> 2.5-3. However, when the source redshift is unknown, these colors should be combined. We thus develop an improved IR criterion (using K{sub s} and IRAC bands, KI) as a new alternative at z {approx}< 2.5. KI does not show improved completeness (50%-60% overall) in comparison to commonly used Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) based AGN criteria, but is less affected by non-AGN contamination (revealing a >50%-90% level of successful AGN selection). We also propose KIM (using K{sub s} , IRAC, and MIPS 24 {mu}m bands, KIM), which aims to select AGN hosts from local distances to as

Infrared Space Astrometry Missions ˜ JASMINE Missions ˜

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouda, N.

2012-08-01

"JASMINE" is an abbreviation of Japan Astrometry Satellite Mission for Infrared Exploration. Three satellites are planned as a series of JASMINE missions, as a step-by-step approach, to overcome technical issues and promote scientific results. These are Nano-JASMINE, Small-JASMINE and (medium-sized) JASMINE. JASMINE missions provide the positions and proper motions of celestial objects. Nano-JASMINE uses a very small nano-satellite and is scheduled to be launched in 2013. Nano-JASMINE will operate in zw-band (˜ 0.8μm) to perform an all sky survey with an accuracy of 3 milli-arcseconds for position and parallaxes. Small-JASMINE will observe towards a region around the Galactic center and other small regions, which include interesting scientific targets, with accuracies of 10 to 50 μ-arcseconds in an infrared Hw-band (˜ 1.7 μm). The target launch date is around 2017. (Medium-sized) JASMINE is an extended mission of Small-JASMINE, which will observe towards almost the whole region of the Galactic bulge with accuracies of ˜ 10 μ arcseconds in Kw-band (˜ 2.0μ m). The target launch date is the first half of the 2020s.

HerMES: Redshift Evolution of the Cosmic Infrared Background from Herschel/SPIRE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vieira, Joaquin; HerMES

2013-01-01

We report on the redshift evolution of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) at wavelengths of 70-1100 microns. Using data from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) of the GOODS-N field, we statistically correlate fluctuations in the CIB with external catalogs. We use a deep Spitzer-MIPS 24 micron flux-limited catalog complete with redshifts and stack on MIPS 70 and 160 micron, Herschel-SPIRE 250, 350, and 500 micron, and JCMT-AzTEC 1100 micron maps. We measure the co-moving infrared luminosity density at 0.1infrared luminosity density traced by 24 microns is more heavily weighted towards black hole accretion at higher redshifts. This is the first work to directly probe the luminosity density at z>4 and provides important constraints for models of galaxy formation and evolution.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone: The Mid-infrared Properties of Post-starburst Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alatalo, Katherine; Bitsakis, Theodoros; Lanz, Lauranne; Lacy, Mark; Brown, Michael J. I.; French, K. Decker; Ciesla, Laure; Appleton, Philip N.; Beaton, Rachael L.; Cales, Sabrina L.; Crossett, Jacob; Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Kelson, Daniel D.; Kewley, Lisa J.; Kriek, Mariska; Medling, Anne M.; Mulchaey, John S.; Nyland, Kristina; Rich, Jeffrey A.; Urry, C. Meg

2017-07-01

We investigate the optical and Wide-field Survey Explorer (WISE) colors of “E+A” identified post-starburst galaxies, including a deep analysis of 190 post-starbursts detected in the 2 μm All Sky Survey Extended Source Catalog. The post-starburst galaxies appear in both the optical green valley and the WISE Infrared Transition Zone. Furthermore, we find that post-starbursts occupy a distinct region of [3.4]-[4.6] versus [4.6]-[12] WISE colors, enabling the identification of this class of transitioning galaxies through the use of broadband photometric criteria alone. We have investigated possible causes for the WISE colors of post-starbursts by constructing a composite spectral energy distribution (SED), finding that the mid-infrared (4-12 μm) properties of post-starbursts are consistent with either 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission, or thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) and post-AGB stars. The composite SED of extended post-starburst galaxies with 22 μm emission detected with signal-to-noise ratio ≥slant 3 requires a hot dust component to produce their observed rising mid-infrared SED between 12 and 22 μm. The composite SED of WISE 22 μm non-detections (S/N < 3), created by stacking 22 μm images, is also flat, requiring a hot dust component. The most likely source of the mid-infrared emission of these E+A galaxies is a buried active galactic nucleus (AGN). The inferred upper limits to the Eddington ratios of post-starbursts are 10-2-10-4, with an average of 10-3. This suggests that AGNs are not radiatively dominant in these systems. This could mean that including selections capable of identifying AGNs as part of a search for transitioning and post-starburst galaxies would create a more complete census of the transition pathways taken as a galaxy quenches its star formation.

Inquiry-based Science Activities Using The Infrared Zoo and Infrared Yellowstone Resources at Cool Cosmos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daou, D.; Gauthier, A.

2003-12-01

Inquiry-based activities that utilize the Cool Cosmos image galleries have been designed and developed by K12 teachers enrolled in The Invisible Universe Online for Teachers course. The exploration activities integrate the Our Infrared World Gallery (http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/our_ir_world_gallery.html) with either the Infrared Zoo gallery (http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_zoo/index.html) or the Infrared Yellowstone image http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/image_galleries/ir_yellowstone/index.html) and video (http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/videos/ir_yellowstone/index.html) galleries. Complete instructor guides have been developed for the activities and will be presented by the authors in poster and CD form. Although the activities are written for middle and highschool learners, they can easily be adapted for college audiences. The Our Infrared World Gallery exploration helps learners think critically about visible light and infrared light as they compare sets of images (IR and visible light) of known objects. For example: by taking a regular photograph of a running faucet, can you tell if it is running hot or cold water? What new information does the IR image give you? The Infrared Zoo activities encourage learners to investigate the differences between warm and cold blooded animals by comparing sets of IR and visible images. In one activity, learners take on the role of a pit viper seeking prey in various desert and woodland settings. The main activities are extended into the real world by discussing and researching industrial, medical, and societal applications of infrared technologies. The Infrared Yellowstone lessons give learners a unique perspective on Yellowstone National Park and it's spectacular geologic and geothermal features. Infrared video technology is highlighted as learners make detailed observations about the visible and infrared views of the natural phenomena. The "Cool Cosmos" EPO activities are

Exoplanet Community Report on Direct Infrared Imaging of Exoplanets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Danchi, William C.; Lawson, Peter R.

2009-01-01

Direct infrared imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets will allow for detailed characterization of the atmospheric constituents of more than 200 nearby Earth-like planets, more than is possible with any other method under consideration. A flagship mission based on larger passively cooled infrared telescopes and formation flying technologies would have the highest angular resolution of any concept under consideration. The 2008 Exoplanet Forum committee on Direct Infrared Imaging of Exoplanets recommends: (1) a vigorous technology program including component development, integrated testbeds, and end-to-end modeling in the areas of formation flying and mid-infrared nulling; (2) a probe-scale mission based on a passively cooled structurally connected interferometer to be started within the next two to five years, for exoplanetary system characterization that is not accessible from the ground, and which would provide transformative science and lay the engineering groundwork for the flagship mission with formation flying elements. Such a mission would enable a complete exozodiacal dust survey (<1 solar system zodi) in the habitable zone of all nearby stars. This information will allow for a more efficient strategy of spectral characterization of Earth-sized planets for the flagship missions, and also will allow for optimization of the search strategy of an astrometric mission if such a mission were delayed due to cost or technology reasons. (3) Both the flagship and probe missions should be pursued with international partners if possible. Fruitful collaboration with international partners on mission concepts and relevant technology should be continued. (4) Research and Analysis (R&A) should be supported for the development of preliminary science and mission designs. Ongoing efforts to characterize the the typical level of exozodiacal light around Sun-like stars with ground-based nulling technology should be continued.

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. I. Introduction and observational overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, C. J.; Taylor, W. D.; Hénault-Brunet, V.; Sana, H.; de Koter, A.; Simón-Díaz, S.; Carraro, G.; Bagnoli, T.; Bastian, N.; Bestenlehner, J. M.; Bonanos, A. Z.; Bressert, E.; Brott, I.; Campbell, M. A.; Cantiello, M.; Clark, J. S.; Costa, E.; Crowther, P. A.; de Mink, S. E.; Doran, E.; Dufton, P. L.; Dunstall, P. R.; Friedrich, K.; Garcia, M.; Gieles, M.; Gräfener, G.; Herrero, A.; Howarth, I. D.; Izzard, R. G.; Langer, N.; Lennon, D. J.; Maíz Apellániz, J.; Markova, N.; Najarro, F.; Puls, J.; Ramirez, O. H.; Sabín-Sanjulián, C.; Smartt, S. J.; Stroud, V. E.; van Loon, J. Th.; Vink, J. S.; Walborn, N. R.

2011-06-01

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS) is an ESO Large Programme that has obtained multi-epoch optical spectroscopy of over 800 massive stars in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Here we introduce our scientific motivations and give an overview of the survey targets, including optical and near-infrared photometry and comprehensive details of the data reduction. One of the principal objectives was to detect massive binary systems via variations in their radial velocities, thus shaping the multi-epoch observing strategy. Spectral classifications are given for the massive emission-line stars observed by the survey, including the discovery of a new Wolf-Rayet star (VFTS 682, classified as WN5h), 2' to the northeast of R136. To illustrate the diversity of objects encompassed by the survey, we investigate the spectral properties of sixteen targets identified by Gruendl & Chu from Spitzer photometry as candidate young stellar objects or stars with notable mid-infrared excesses. Detailed spectral classification and quantitative analysis of the O- and B-type stars in the VFTS sample, paying particular attention to the effects of rotational mixing and binarity, will be presented in a series of future articles to address fundamental questions in both stellar and cluster evolution. Figures 10-12, Tables 5 and 6, and Appendix A are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Infrared retina

DOEpatents

Krishna, Sanjay [Albuquerque, NM; Hayat, Majeed M [Albuquerque, NM; Tyo, J Scott [Tucson, AZ; Jang, Woo-Yong [Albuquerque, NM

2011-12-06

Exemplary embodiments provide an infrared (IR) retinal system and method for making and using the IR retinal system. The IR retinal system can include adaptive sensor elements, whose properties including, e.g., spectral response, signal-to-noise ratio, polarization, or amplitude can be tailored at pixel level by changing the applied bias voltage across the detector. "Color" imagery can be obtained from the IR retinal system by using a single focal plane array. The IR sensor elements can be spectrally, spatially and temporally adaptive using quantum-confined transitions in nanoscale quantum dots. The IR sensor elements can be used as building blocks of an infrared retina, similar to cones of human retina, and can be designed to work in the long-wave infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum ranging from about 8 .mu.m to about 12 .mu.m as well as the mid-wave portion ranging from about 3 .mu.m to about 5 .mu.m.

Estimation of wetland evapotranspiration in northern New York using infrared thermometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, K.; Chandler, D. G.

2016-12-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the water budget and often regarded as a major water loss. In freshwater wetlands, cumulative annual ET can equal precipitation under well-watered conditions. Wetland ET is therefore an important control on contaminant and nutrient transport. Yet, quantification of wetland ET is challenged by complex surface characteristics, diverse plant species and density, and variations in wetland shape and size. As handheld infrared (IR) cameras have become available, studies exploiting the new technology have increased, especially in agriculture and hydrology. The benefits of IR cameras include (1) high spatial resolution, (2) high sample rates, (3) real-time imaging, (4) a constant viewing geometry, and (5) no need for atmosphere and cloud corrections. Compared with traditional methods, infrared thermometer is capable of monitoring at the scale of a small pond or localized plant community. This enables finer scale survey of heterogeneous land surfaces rather than strict dependence on atmospheric variables. Despite this potential, there has been a limited number of studies of ET and drought stress with IR cameras. In this study, the infrared thermometry-based method was applied to estimate ET over wetland plant species in St. Lawrence River Valley, NY. The results are evaluated with traditional methods to test applicability over multiple vegetation species in a same area.

Submillimeter and far-infrared dielectric properties of thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cataldo, Giuseppe; Wollack, Edward J.

2016-07-01

The complex dielectric function enables the study of a material's refractive and absorptive properties and provides information on a material's potential for practical application. Commonly employed line shape profile functions from the literature are briefly surveyed and their suitability for representation of dielectric material properties are discussed. An analysis approach to derive a material's complex dielectric function from observed transmittance spectra in the far-infrared and submillimeter regimes is presented. The underlying model employed satisfies the requirements set by the Kramers-Kronig relations. The dielectric function parameters derived from this approachtypically reproduce the observed transmittance spectra with an accuracy of < 4%.

Surveying the IR corona during the 2017 solar eclipse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryans, P.; Hannigan, J. W.; Sewell, S. D.; Judge, P. G.

2017-12-01

The spectral emission of the infrared solar corona is the most promising direct diagnostic of the coronal magnetic field, and yet remains poorly measured. During the 2017 total solar eclipse, we will perform the first spectral survey of the IR corona using the NCAR Airborne Interferometer. This Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer is configured to observe the coronal spectrum from 1.5 to 5.5 microns at R 10,000 from a ground-based site. The location is atop Casper Mountain, Wyoming (42.73ºN, 106.32ºW, 2400 masl), 8 km from the center-line of totality. In this presentation, we will outline the need for such measurements, describe the instrument design and adaptation for the eclipse measurement, observation scheme, and present preliminary results. We will also discuss implications for observing infrared coronal lines from the ground, for example with the upcoming DKIST facility.

The far-infrared/submillimeter properties of galaxies located behind the Bullet cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rex, M.; Rawle, T. D.; Egami, E.; Pérez-González, P. G.; Zemcov, M.; Aretxaga, I.; Chung, S. M.; Fadda, D.; Gonzalez, A. H.; Hughes, D. H.; Horellou, C.; Johansson, D.; Kneib, J.-P.; Richard, J.; Altieri, B.; Fiedler, A. K.; Pereira, M. J.; Rieke, G. H.; Smail, I.; Valtchanov, I.; Blain, A. W.; Bock, J. J.; Boone, F.; Bridge, C. R.; Clement, B.; Combes, F.; Dowell, C. D.; Dessauges-Zavadsky, M.; Ilbert, O.; Ivison, R. J.; Jauzac, M.; Lutz, D.; Omont, A.; Pelló, R.; Rodighiero, G.; Schaerer, D.; Smith, G. P.; Walth, G. L.; van der Werf, P.; Werner, M. W.; Austermann, J. E.; Ezawa, H.; Kawabe, R.; Kohno, K.; Perera, T. A.; Scott, K. S.; Wilson, G. W.; Yun, M. S.

2010-07-01

The Herschel Lensing Survey (HLS) takes advantage of gravitational lensing by massive galaxy clusters to sample a population of high-redshift galaxies which are too faint to be detected above the confusion limit of current far-infrared/submillimeter telescopes. Measurements from 100-500 μm bracket the peaks of the far-infrared spectral energy distributions of these galaxies, characterizing their infrared luminosities and star formation rates. We introduce initial results from our science demonstration phase observations, directed toward the Bullet cluster (1E0657-56). By combining our observations with LABOCA 870 μm and AzTEC 1.1 mm data we fully constrain the spectral energy distributions of 19 MIPS 24 μm-selected galaxies which are located behind the cluster. We find that their colors are best fit using templates based on local galaxies with systematically lower infrared luminosities. This suggests that our sources are not like local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies in which vigorous star formation is contained in a compact highly dust-obscured region. Instead, they appear to be scaled up versions of lower luminosity local galaxies with star formation occurring on larger physical scales. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA. Data presented in this paper were analyzed using “The Herschel interactive processing environment (HIPE)”, a joint development by the Herschel Science Ground Segment Consortium, consisting of ESA, the NASA Herschel Science Center, and the HIFI, PACS, and SPIRE consortia.Table 1 and Figs. 3, 4 are only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Infrared observations of gravitational-wave sources in Advanced LIGO's second observing run

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pound Singer, Leo; Kasliwal, Mansi; Lau, Ryan; Cenko, Bradley; Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH)

2018-01-01

Advanced LIGO observed gravitational waves (GWs) from a binary black hole merger in its first observing run (O1) in September 2015. It is anticipated that LIGO and Virgo will soon detect the first binary neutron star mergers. The most promising electromagnetic counterparts to such events are kilonovae: fast, faint transients powered by the radioactive decay of the r-process ejecta. Joint gravitational-wave and electromagnetic observations of such transients hold the key to many longstanding problems, from the nature of short GRBS to the cosmic production sites of the r-process elements to "standard siren" cosmology. Due to the large LIGO/Virgo error regions of 100 deg2, synoptic survey telescopes have dominated the search for LIGO counterparts. Due to the paucity of infrared instruments with multi-deg2 fields of view, infrared observations have been lacking. Near-infrared emission should not only be a more robust signature of kilonovae than optical emission (independent of viewing angle), but should also be several magnitudes brighter and be detectable for much longer, weeks after merger rather than days. In Advanced LIGO's second observing run, we used the FLAMINGOS-2 instrument on Gemini-South to hunt for the near-infrared emission from GW sources by targeted imaging of the most massive galaxies in the LIGO/Virgo localization volumes. We present the results of this campaign, rates, and interpretation of our near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy. We show that leveraging large-scale structure and targeted imaging of the most massive ~10 galaxies in a LIGO/Virgo localization volume may be a surprisingly effective strategy to find the electromagnetic counterpart.

Towards the mid-infrared optical biopsy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seddon, Angela B.; Benson, Trevor M.; Sujecki, Slawomir; Abdel-Moneim, Nabil; Tang, Zhuoqi; Furniss, David; Sojka, Lukasz; Stone, Nick; Jayakrupakar, Nallala; Lloyd, Gavin R.; Lindsay, Ian; Ward, Jon; Farries, Mark; Moselund, Peter M.; Napier, Bruce; Lamrini, Samir; Møller, Uffe; Kubat, Irnis; Petersen, Christian R.; Bang, Ole

2016-03-01

We are establishing a new paradigm in mid-infrared molecular sensing, mapping and imaging to open up the midinfrared spectral region for in vivo (i.e. in person) medical diagnostics and surgery. Thus, we are working towards the mid-infrared optical biopsy (`opsy' look at, bio the biology) in situ in the body for real-time diagnosis. This new paradigm will be enabled through focused development of devices and systems which are robust, functionally designed, safe, compact and cost effective and are based on active and passive mid-infrared optical fibers. In particular, this will enable early diagnosis of external cancers, mid-infrared detection of cancer-margins during external surgery for precise removal of diseased tissue, in one go during the surgery, and mid-infrared endoscopy for early diagnosis of internal cancers and their precision removal. The mid-infrared spectral region has previously lacked portable, bright sources. We set a record in demonstrating extreme broad-band supercontinuum generated light 1.4 to 13.3 microns in a specially engineered, high numerical aperture mid-infrared optical fiber. The active mid-infrared fiber broadband supercontinuum for the first time offers the possibility of a bright mid-infrared wideband source in a portable package as a first step for medical fiber-based systems operating in the mid-infrared. Moreover, mid-infrared molecular mapping and imaging is potentially a disruptive technology to give improved monitoring of the environment, energy efficiency, security, agriculture and in manufacturing and chemical processing. This work is in part supported by the European Commission: Framework Seven (FP7) Large-Scale Integrated Project MINERVA: MId-to-NEaR- infrared spectroscopy for improVed medical diAgnostics (317803; www.minerva-project.eu).

Infrared Scanning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

United Scanning Technologies, Inc.'s Infrared thermography is a relatively new noncontact, nondestructive inspection and testing tool which makes temperatures visible to the human eye. Infrared scanning devices produce images that show, by color or black and white shading differences, heat losses through damaged or inadequately insulated walls or roofs. The MISS Aeroscan services are designed to take the guesswork out of industrial roof maintenance and provide companies big savings by identifying the location of moisture damage from roof leaks, effectively targeting maintenance attention.

Jupiter Scar in Infrared

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-26

These infrared images obtained from NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, show before and aftereffects from particle debris in Jupiter atmosphere after an object hurtled into the atmosphere on July 19, 2009.

Color Infrared, Terra Sirenum

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-03-01

This is the first high-resolution color infrared image taken of Mars. The image was constructed using three of the ten infrared filters on the thermal emission imaging system of NASA Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

AKARI OBSERVATION OF THE SUB-DEGREE SCALE FLUCTUATION OF THE NEAR-INFRARED BACKGROUND

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seo, H. J.; Lee, Hyung Mok; Lee, Myung Gyoon

2015-07-10

We report spatial fluctuation analysis of the sky brightness in the near-infrared from observations toward the north ecliptic pole (NEP) by the AKARI at 2.4 and 3.2 μm. As a follow-up study of our previous work on the Monitor field of AKARI, we used NEP deep survey data, which covered a circular area of about 0.4 square degrees, in order to extend fluctuation analysis at angular scales up to 1000″. We found residual fluctuation over the estimated shot noise at larger angles than the angular scale of the Monitor field. The excess fluctuation of the NEP deep field smoothly connectsmore » with that of the Monitor field at angular scales of a few hundred arcseconds and extends without any significant variation to larger angular scales up to 1000″. By comparing excess fluctuations at two wavelengths, we confirm a blue spectral feature similar to the result of the Monitor field. We find that the result of this study is consistent with Spitzer Space Telescope observations at 3.6 μm. The origin of the excess fluctuation in the near-infrared background remains to be determined, but we could exclude zodiacal light, diffuse Galactic light, and unresolved faint galaxies at low redshift based on the comparison with mid- and far-infrared brightness, ground-based near-infrared images.« less

One-Year Observations of Jupiter by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper on Juno

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adriani, A.; Mura, A.; Bolton, S. J.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Levin, S.; Becker, H. N.; Bagenal, F.; Hansen, C. J.; Orton, G.; Gladstone, R.; Kurth, W. S.; Mauk, B.; Valek, P. W.

2017-12-01

The Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) [1] on board the Juno [2,3] spacecraft, is equipped with an infrared camera and a spectrometer working in the spectral range 2-5 μm. JIRAM was built to study the infrared aurora of Jupiter as well as to map the planet's atmosphere in the 5 µm spectral region. The spectroscopic observations are used for studying clouds and measuring the abundance of some chemical species that have importance in the atmosphere's chemistry, microphysics and dynamics like water, ammonia and phosphine. During 2017 the instrument will operate during all 7 of Juno's Jupiter flybys. JIRAM has performed several observations of the polar regions of the planet addressing the aurora and the atmosphere. Unprecedented views of the aurora and the polar atmospheric structures have been obtained. We present a survey of the most significant observations that the instrument has performed during the current year. [1] Adriani A. et al., JIRAM, the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper. Space Sci. Rew., DOI 10.1007/s11214-014-0094-y, 2014. [2] Bolton S.J. et al., Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft. Science DOI: 10.1126/science.aal2108, 2017. [3] Connerney J. E.P. et al., Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurorae observed by the Juno spacecraft during its first polar orbits. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aam5928, 2017.

Infrared Scanning For Electrical Maintenance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenbath, Steven E.

1983-03-01

Given the technological age that we have now entered, the purpose of this paper is to relate how infrared scanning can be used for an electrical preventative maintenance program. An infrared scanner is able to produce an image because objects give off infrared radiation in relationship to their temperature. Most electrical problems will show up as an increase in temperature, thereby making the infrared scanner a useful preventative maintenance tool. Because of the sensitivity of most of the scanners, .1 to .2 of a degree, virtually all electrical problems can be pinpointed long before they become a costly failure. One of the early uses of infrared scanning was to check the power company's electrical distribution system. Most of this was performed via aircraft or truck mounted scanning devices which necessitated its semi-permanent mounting. With the advent of small hand held infrared imagers, along with more portability of the larger systems, infrared scanning has gained more popularity in checking electrical distribution systems. But the distribution systems are now a scaled down model, mainly the in-plant electrical systems. By in-plant, I mean any distribution of electricity; once it leaves the power company's grid. This can be in a hospital, retail outlet, warehouse or manufacturing facility.

Integrated infrared and visible image sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fossum, Eric R. (Inventor); Pain, Bedabrata (Inventor)

2000-01-01

Semiconductor imaging devices integrating an array of visible detectors and another array of infrared detectors into a single module to simultaneously detect both the visible and infrared radiation of an input image. The visible detectors and the infrared detectors may be formed either on two separate substrates or on the same substrate by interleaving visible and infrared detectors.

Future Extragalactic Surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blain, Andrew

2007-12-01

The technology for mega-pixel mm/submm-wave cameras is being developed, and 10,000-pixel cameras are close to being deployed. These parameters correspond to degree-sized fields, and challenge the optical performance of current telescopes. Next-generation cameras will enable a survey of a large fraction of the sky, to detect active and star-forming dust-enshrouded galaxies. However, to avoid being limited by confusion, and finding only `monsters' it is necessary to push to large telescopes and short wavelengths. The CCAT project will enable the necessary performance to survey the sky to detect ultraluminous galaxies at z>2, each of which can then be imaged in detail with ALMA. The combination of image quality, collecting area and field-of-view will also enable CCAT to probe much deeper, to detect all the sources in legacy fields from the Spitzer and Herschel Space Telescopes. Unlike ALMA, CCAT will still be limited to detecting `normal' galaxies at z 3-5; however, by generating huge catalogs, CCAT will enable a dramatic increase in ALMA's efficiency, and almost completely remove the need for ALMA to conduct its own imaging survey. I will discuss the nature of galaxy surveys that will be enabled by CCAT, the issues of prioritizing and executing follow-up imaging spectroscopy with ALMA, and the links with the forthcoming NASA WISE mission, and future space-based far-infrared missions.

Star formation associated with a large-scale infrared bubble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jin-Long; Ju, Bing-Gang

2014-09-01

Aims: To investigate how a large-scale infrared bubble centered at l = 53.9° and b = 0.2° forms, and to study if star formation is taking place at the periphery of the bubble, we performed a multiwavelength study. Methods: Using the data from the Galactic Ring Survey (GRS) and Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE), we performed a study of a large-scale infrared bubble with a size of about 16 pc at a distance of 2.0 kpc. We present the 12CO J = 1-0, 13CO J = 1-0, and C18O J = 1-0 observations of HII region G53.54-0.01 (Sh2-82) obtained at the Purple Mountain Observation (PMO) 13.7 m radio telescope to investigate the detailed distribution of associated molecular material. In addition, we also used radiorecombination line and VLA data. To select young stellar objects (YSOs) consistent with this region, we used the GLIMPSE I catalog. Results: The large-scale infrared bubble shows a half-shell morphology at 8 μm. The H II regions of G53.54-0.01, G53.64+0.24, and G54.09-0.06 are situated on the bubble. Comparing the radio recombination line velocities and associated 13CO J = 1-0 components of the three H II regions, we found that the 8 μm emission associated with H II region G53.54-0.01 should belong to the foreground emission, and only overlap with the large-scale infrared bubble in the line of sight. Three extended green objects (EGOs, the candidate massive young stellar objects), as well as three H II regions and two small-scale bubbles are found located in the G54.09-0.06 complex, indicating an active massive star-forming region. Emission from C18O at J = 1-0 presents four cloud clumps on the northeastern border of H II region G53.54-0.01. By comparing the spectral profiles of 12CO J = 1-0, 13CO J = 1-0, and C18O J = 1-0 at the peak position of each clump, we found the collected gas in the three clumps, except for the clump coinciding with a massive YSO (IRAS 19282+1814). Using the evolutive model of the H II region, we derived that

Germanium blocked impurity band far infrared detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossington, Carolyn Sally

1988-04-01

The infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum has been of interest to scientist since the eighteenth century when Sir William Herschel discovered the infrared as he measured temperatures in the sun's spectrum and found that there was energy beyond the red. In the late nineteenth century, Thomas Edison established himself as the first infrared astronomer to look beyond the solar system when he observed the star Arcturus in the infrared. Significant advances in infrared technology and physics, long since Edison's time, have resulted in many scientific developments, such as the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) which was launched in 1983, semiconductor infrared detectors for materials characterization, military equipment such as night-vision goggles and infrared surveillance equipment. It is now planned that cooled semiconductor infrared detectors will play a major role in the Star Wars nuclear defense scheme proposed by the Reagan administration.

Analyses in Support of the WFIRST Supernova Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubin, David; Aldering, Greg Scott; Charles, Baltay; Barbary, Kyle H.; Currie, Miles; Deustua, Susana E.; Fagrelius, Parker; Dosovitz Fox, Ori; Fruchter, Andrew S.; Law, David R.; Perlmutter, Saul; Pontoppidan, Klaus; Rabinowitz, David L.; Sako, Masao

2017-01-01

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a future optical-NIR space telescope with science spanning astrophysics and cosmology. The combination of wide-field IR imaging and optical-NIR integral-field spectroscopy enables a SN cosmology experiment with excellent systematics control. The Science Definition Team (SDT) presented a first concept of such a survey with 2700 SNe to z=1.7. We make several key improvements to the SDT analysis, including a significantly improved exposure-time calculator, evaluations of host-galaxy background light, supernova typing simulations, all combined with spectrophotometric cosmology analysis built on a Bayesian hierarchal model. Our work will be useful for deriving accurate cosmological forecasts, optimizing the survey, and the evaluation of calibration, resolution, and stability requirements.

Compton thick active galactic nuclei in Chandra surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brightman, Murray; Nandra, Kirpal; Salvato, Mara; Hsu, Li-Ting; Aird, James; Rangel, Cyprian

2014-09-01

We present the results from an X-ray spectral analysis of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the ChandraDeep Field-South, All-wavelength Extended Groth-strip International Survey (AEGIS)-Deep X-ray survey (XD) and Chandra-Cosmic Evolution Surveys (COSMOS), focusing on the identification and characterization of the most heavily obscured, Compton thick (CT, NH > 1024 cm-2) sources. Our sample is comprised of 3184 X-ray selected extragalactic sources, which has a high rate of redshift completeness (96.6 per cent), and includes additional spectroscopic redshifts and improved photometric redshifts over previous studies. We use spectral models designed for heavily obscured AGN which self-consistently include all major spectral signatures of heavy absorption. We validate our spectral fitting method through simulations, identify CT sources not selected through this method using X-ray colours and take considerations for the constraints on NH given the low count nature of many of our sources. After these considerations, we identify a total of 100 CT AGN with best-fitting NH > 1024 cm-2 and NH constrained to be above 1023.5 cm-2 at 90 per cent confidence. These sources cover an intrinsic 2-10 keV X-ray luminosity range of 1042-3 × 1045 erg s-1 and a redshift range of z = 0.1-4. This sample will enable characterization of these heavily obscured AGN across cosmic time and to ascertain their cosmological significance. These survey fields are sites of extensive multiwavelength coverage, including near-infrared Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS) data and far-infrared Herschel data, enabling forthcoming investigations into the host properties of CT AGN. Furthermore, by using the torus models to test different covering factor scenarios, and by investigating the inclusion of the soft scattered emission, we find evidence that the covering factor of the obscuring material decreases with LX for all redshifts, consistent with the receding torus model

The Infrared Spectral Region of Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaschek, Carlos; Andrillat, Y.

1991-09-01

1. Stars in the infrared: results from IRAS H. J. G. L. M. Lamers and L. B. F. M. Watera; 2. What is expected from ISO J. P. Baluteau; 3. New infrared instrumentation S. Bensammar; 4. High resolution atomic spectroscopy in the infrared and its application to astrophysics S. Johansson; 5. Spectroscopy of early -type stars C. Jaschek; 6. Spectroscopy of late type stars U. F. Jøgensen; 7. Dust formation and evolution in circumstellar media J. P. J. Lafon; 8. The infrared solar spectrum N. Grevesse; 9. Symbiotic and related objects M. Hack; 10. Stellar photometry and spectrophotometry in the infrared R. F. Wing; 11. Stellar variability in the infrared A. Evans; 12. Circumstellar material in main sequence H. H. Aamann.

Infrared observations of metal-deficient stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arribas, S.; Martinez Roger, C.

1987-09-01

Infrared magnitudes in the J, H, K and L bands for 64 metal-deficient stars spanning a wide range in effective temperature, luminosity and metal content are presented. An accuracy of 0.02 magnitude is obtained for the JHK bands and 0.03 for the L filter. Infrared-infrared and optical-infrared colour-colour diagrams are discussed and compared with the mean intrinsic tracks for Population I stars. It is concluded that infrared colours are not notably dependent on metallicity, with some exceptions for the reddest giants, which can be also interpreted by residual effects in the transformation equations between different systems. The authors also discuss briefly the near infrared photometric system of the Observatorio del Teide, from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.

Integration of Infrared Thermography and Photogrammetric Surveying of Built Landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scaioni, M.; Rosina, E.; L'Erario, A.; Dìaz-Vilariño, L.

2017-05-01

The thermal analysis of buildings represents a key-step for reduction of energy consumption, also in the case of Cultural Heritage. Here the complexity of the constructions and the adopted materials might require special analysis and tailored solutions. Infrared Thermography (IRT) is an important non-destructive investigation technique that may aid in the thermal analysis of buildings. The paper reports the application of IRT on a listed building, belonging to the Cultural Heritage and to a residential one, as a demonstration that IRT is a suitable and convenient tool for analysing the existing buildings. The purposes of the analysis are the assessment of the damages and energy efficiency of the building envelope. Since in many cases the complex geometry of historic constructions may involve the thermal analysis, the integration of IRT and accurate 3D models were developed during the latest years. Here authors propose a solution based on the up-to-date photogrammetric solutions for purely image-based 3D modelling, including automatic image orientation/sensor calibration using Structure-from-Motion and dense matching. Thus, an almost fully automatic pipeline for the generation of accurate 3D models showing the temperatures on a building skin in a realistic manner is described, where the only manual task is given by the measurement of a few common points for co-registration of RGB and IR photogrammetric projects.

The Near-infrared Tip of the Red Giant Branch. II. An Absolute Calibration in the Large Magellanic Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoyt, Taylor J.; Freedman, Wendy L.; Madore, Barry F.; Seibert, Mark; Beaton, Rachael L.; Hatt, Dylan; Jang, In Sung; Lee, Myung Gyoon; Monson, Andrew J.; Rich, Jeffrey A.

2018-05-01

We present a new empirical JHK absolute calibration of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We use published data from the extensive Near-Infrared Synoptic Survey containing 3.5 million stars, 65,000 of which are red giants that fall within one magnitude of the TRGB. Adopting the TRGB slopes from a companion study of the isolated dwarf galaxy IC 1613, as well as an LMC distance modulus of μ 0 = 18.49 mag from (geometric) detached eclipsing binaries, we derive absolute JHK zero points for the near-infrared TRGB. For a comparison with measurements in the bar alone, we apply the calibrated JHK TRGB to a 500 deg2 area of the 2MASS survey. The TRGB reveals the 3D structure of the LMC with a tilt in the direction perpendicular to the major axis of the bar, which is in agreement with previous studies.

Infrared-faint radio sources are at high redshifts. Spectroscopic redshift determination of infrared-faint radio sources using the Very Large Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herzog, A.; Middelberg, E.; Norris, R. P.; Sharp, R.; Spitler, L. R.; Parker, Q. A.

2014-07-01

Context. Infrared-faint radio sources (IFRS) are characterised by relatively high radio flux densities and associated faint or even absent infrared and optical counterparts. The resulting extremely high radio-to-infrared flux density ratios up to several thousands were previously known only for high-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs), suggesting a link between the two classes of object. However, the optical and infrared faintness of IFRS makes their study difficult. Prior to this work, no redshift was known for any IFRS in the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) fields which would help to put IFRS in the context of other classes of object, especially of HzRGs. Aims: This work aims at measuring the first redshifts of IFRS in the ATLAS fields. Furthermore, we test the hypothesis that IFRS are similar to HzRGs, that they are higher-redshift or dust-obscured versions of these massive galaxies. Methods: A sample of IFRS was spectroscopically observed using the Focal Reducer and Low Dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The data were calibrated based on the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF) and redshifts extracted from the final spectra, where possible. This information was then used to calculate rest-frame luminosities, and to perform the first spectral energy distribution modelling of IFRS based on redshifts. Results: We found redshifts of 1.84, 2.13, and 2.76, for three IFRS, confirming the suggested high-redshift character of this class of object. These redshifts and the resulting luminosities show IFRS to be similar to HzRGs, supporting our hypothesis. We found further evidence that fainter IFRS are at even higher redshifts. Conclusions: Considering the similarities between IFRS and HzRGs substantiated in this work, the detection of IFRS, which have a significantly higher sky density than HzRGs, increases the number of active galactic nuclei in the early universe and adds to the problems of explaining the formation of

Detector Control and Data Acquisition for the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) with a Custom ASIC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Brian S.; Loose, Markus; Alkire, Greg; Joshi, Atul; Kelly, Daniel; Siskind, Eric; Rossetti, Dino; Mah, Jonathan; Cheng, Edward; Miko, Laddawan;

Femtowatt incoherent image conversion from mid-infrared light to near-infrared light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Nan; Liu, Hongjun; Wang, Zhaolu; Han, Jing; Zhang, Shuan

2017-03-01

We report on the experimental conversion imaging of an incoherent continuous-wave dim source from mid-infrared light to near-infrared light with a lowest input power of 31 femtowatt (fW). Incoherent mid-infrared images of light emission from a heat lamp bulb with an adjustable power supply at window wavelengths ranging from 2.9 µm to 3.5 µm are used for upconversion. The sum-frequency generation is realized in a laser cavity with the resonant wavelength of 1064 nm pumped by an LD at 806 nm built around a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal. The converted infrared image in the wavelength range ~785 nm with a resolution of about 120  ×  70 is low-noise detected using a silicon-based camera. By optimizing the system parameters, the upconversion quantum efficiency is predicted to be 28% for correctly polarized, on-axis and phase-matching light.

Near-infrared Photometric Properties of 130,000 Quasars: An SDSS-UKIDSS-matched Catalog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peth, Michael A.; Ross, Nicholas P.; Schneider, Donald P.

2011-04-01

We present a catalog of over 130,000 quasar candidates with near-infrared (NIR) photometric properties, with an areal coverage of approximately 1200 deg2. This is achieved by matching the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in the optical ugriz bands to the UKIRT Infrared Digital Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS) in the NIR YJHK bands. We match the ≈1 million SDSS DR6 Photometric Quasar catalog to Data Release 3 of the UKIDSS LAS (ULAS) and produce a catalog with 130,827 objects with detections in one or more NIR bands, of which 74,351 objects have optical and K-band detections and 42,133 objects have the full nine-band photometry. The majority (~85%) of the SDSS objects were not matched simply because these were not covered by the ULAS. The positional standard deviation of the SDSS Quasar to ULAS matches is δR.A. = 0farcs1370 and δdecl. = 0farcs1314. We find an absolute systematic astrometric offset between the SDSS Quasar catalog and the UKIDSS LAS, of |R.A.offset| = 0farcs025 and |decl.offset| = 0farcs040; we suggest the nature of this offset to be due to the matching of catalog, rather than image, level data. Our matched catalog has a surface density of ≈53 deg-2 for K <= 18.27 objects; tests using our matched catalog, along with data from the UKIDSS Deep Extragalactic Survey, imply that our limiting magnitude is i ≈ 20.6. Color-redshift diagrams, for the optical and NIR, show a close agreement between our matched catalog and recent quasar color models at redshift z <~ 2.0, while at higher redshifts, the models generally appear to be bluer than the mean observed quasar colors. The gJK and giK color spaces are used to examine methods of differentiating between stars and (mid-redshift) quasars, the key to currently ongoing quasar surveys. Finally, we report on the NIR photometric properties of high, z > 4.6, and very high, z > 5.7, redshift previously discovered quasars.

Uncooled tunneling infrared sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Thomas W. (Inventor); Kaiser, William J. (Inventor); Podosek, Judith A. (Inventor); Vote, Erika C. (Inventor); Rockstad, Howard K. (Inventor); Reynolds, Joseph K. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

An uncooled infrared tunneling sensor in which the only moving part is a diaphragm which is deflected into contact with a micromachined silicon tip electrode prepared by a novel lithographic process. Similarly prepared deflection electrodes employ electrostatic force to control the deflection of a silicon nitride, flat diaphragm membrane. The diaphragm exhibits a high resonant frequency which reduces the sensor's sensitivity to vibration. A high bandwidth feedback circuit controls the tunneling current by adjusting the deflection voltage to maintain a constant deflection of the membrane which would otherwise change deflection depending upon incident infrared radiation. The resulting infrared sensor will meet or exceed the performance of all other broadband, uncooled, infrared sensors and can be miniaturized to pixel dimensions smaller than 100 .mu.m. The technology is readily implemented as a small-format linear array suitable for commercial and spacecraft applications.

Central Stars of Mid-Infrared Nebulae Discovered with Spitzer and WISE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gvaramadze, V. V.; Kniazev, A. Y.

2017-02-01

Searches for compact mid-IR nebulae with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), accompanied by spectroscopic observations of central stars of these nebulae led to the discovery of many dozens of massive stars at different evolutionary stages, of which the most numerous are candidate luminous blue variables (LBVs). In this paper, we give a census of candidate and confirmed Galactic LBVs revealed with Spitzer and WISE, and present some new results of spectroscopic observations of central stars of mid-IR nebulae.

The airborne infrared scanner as a geophysical research tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friedman, Jules D.

1970-01-01

The infrared scanner is proving to be an effective anomaly-mapping tool, albeit one which depicts surface emission directly and heat mass transfer from depths only indirectly and at a threshold level 50 to 100 times the normal conductive heat flow of the earth. Moreover, successive terrain observations are affected by time-dependent variables such as the diurnal and seasonal warming and cooling cycle of a point on the earth's surface. In planning precise air borne surveys of radiant flux from the earth's surface, account must be taken of background noise created by variations in micrometeorological factors and emissivity of surface materials, as well as the diurnal temperature cycle. The effect of the diurnal cycle may be minimized by planning predawn aerial surveys. In fact, the diurnal change is very small for most water bodies and the emissivity factor for water (e) =~ 1 so a minimum background noise is characteristic of scanner records of calm water surfaces.

Far-infrared Extinction Mapping of Infrared Dark Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Wanggi; Tan, Jonathan C.

2014-01-01

Progress in understanding star formation requires detailed observational constraints on the initial conditions, i.e., dense clumps and cores in giant molecular clouds that are on the verge of gravitational instability. Such structures have been studied by their extinction of near-infrared and, more recently, mid-infrared (MIR) background light. It has been somewhat more of a surprise to find that there are regions that appear as dark shadows at far-infrared (FIR) wavelengths as long as ~100 μm! Here we develop analysis methods of FIR images from Spitzer-MIPS and Herschel-PACS that allow quantitative measurements of cloud mass surface density, Σ. The method builds on that developed for MIR extinction mapping by Butler & Tan, in particular involving a search for independently saturated, i.e., very opaque, regions that allow measurement of the foreground intensity. We focus on three massive starless core/clumps in the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G028.37+00.07, deriving mass surface density maps from 3.5 to 70 μm. A by-product of this analysis is the measurement of the spectral energy distribution of the diffuse foreground emission. The lower opacity at 70 μm allows us to probe to higher Σ values, up to ~1 g cm-2 in the densest parts of the core/clumps. Comparison of the Σ maps at different wavelengths constrains the shape of the MIR-FIR dust opacity law in IRDCs. We find that it is most consistent with the thick ice mantle models of Ossenkopf & Henning. There is tentative evidence for grain ice mantle growth as one goes from lower to higher Σ regions.

The SWIFT AGN and Cluster Survey. I. Number Counts of AGNs and Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Xinyu; Griffin, Rhiannon D.; Kochanek, Christopher S.; Nugent, Jenna M.; Bregman, Joel N.

2015-05-01

The Swift active galactic nucleus (AGN) and Cluster Survey (SACS) uses 125 deg2 of Swift X-ray Telescope serendipitous fields with variable depths surrounding γ-ray bursts to provide a medium depth (4× {{10}-15} erg cm-2 s-1) and area survey filling the gap between deep, narrow Chandra/XMM-Newton surveys and wide, shallow ROSAT surveys. Here, we present a catalog of 22,563 point sources and 442 extended sources and examine the number counts of the AGN and galaxy cluster populations. SACS provides excellent constraints on the AGN number counts at the bright end with negligible uncertainties due to cosmic variance, and these constraints are consistent with previous measurements. We use Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mid-infrared (MIR) colors to classify the sources. For AGNs we can roughly separate the point sources into MIR-red and MIR-blue AGNs, finding roughly equal numbers of each type in the soft X-ray band (0.5-2 keV), but fewer MIR-blue sources in the hard X-ray band (2-8 keV). The cluster number counts, with 5% uncertainties from cosmic variance, are also consistent with previous surveys but span a much larger continuous flux range. Deep optical or IR follow-up observations of this cluster sample will significantly increase the number of higher-redshift (z\\gt 0.5) X-ray-selected clusters.

On the Nature of Bright Infrared Sources in the Small Magellanic Cloud: Interpreting MSX through the Lens of Spitzer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraemer, Kathleen E.; Sloan, G. C.

2015-01-01

We compare infrared observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) and the Spitzer Space Telescope to better understand what components of a metal-poor galaxy dominate radiative processes in the infrared. The SMC, at a distance of ~60 kpc and with a metallicity of ~0.1-0.2 solar, can serve as a nearby proxy for metal-poor galaxies at high redshift. The MSX Point Source Catalog contains 243 objects in the SMC that were detected at 8.3 microns, the most sensitive MSX band. Multi-epoch, multi-band mapping with Spitzer, supplemented with observations from the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), provides variability information, and, together with spectra from Spitzer for ~15% of the sample, enables us to determine what these luminous sources are. How many remain simple point sources? What fraction break up into multiple stars? Which are star forming regions, with both bright diffuse emission and point sources? How do evolved stars and stellar remnants contribute at these wavelengths? What role do young stellar objects and HII regions play? Answering these questions sets the stage for understanding what we will see with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Infrared Lasers in Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Phillip

1982-01-01

Selected infrared laser chemistry topics are discussed including carbon dioxide lasers, infrared quanta and molecules, laser-induced chemistry, structural isomerization (laser purification, sensitized reactions, and dielectric breakdown), and fundamental principles of laser isotope separation, focusing on uranium isotope separation. (JN)

Deepest Infrared View of the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-12-01

VLT Images Progenitors of Today's Large Galaxies Summary An international team of astronomers [2] has made the deepest-ever near-infrared Ks-band image of the sky, using the ISAAC multi-mode instrument on the 8.2-m VLT ANTU telescope. For this, the VLT was pointed for more than 100 hours under optimal observing conditions at the Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S) and obtained images in three near-infrared filters. The resulting images reveal extremely distant galaxies, which appear at infrared wavelengths, but are barely detected in the deepest optical images acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Astronomer Marijn Franx from the University of Leiden and leader of the team concludes: "These results demonstrate that very deep observations in the near-infrared are essential to obtain a proper census of the earliest phases of the universe. The new VLT images have opened a new research domain which has not been observationally accessible before". The HDF-S is a tiny field on the sky in the southern constellation Tucana (The Toucan) - only about 1% of the area of the full moon. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observed it with a total exposure time of about 1 week, yielding the deepest optical images ever taken of the sky, similar to those made earlier on the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N). The VLT infrared images of the same field were obtained in the course of a major research project, the Faint InfraRed Extragalactic Survey (FIRES). They were made at wavelengths up to 2.3 µm where the HST is not competitive. Ivo Labbé, another team member from the University of Leiden, is certain: "Without the unique capabilities of the VLT and ISAAC we would never have been able to observe these very remote galaxies. In fact, the image in the Ks-band is the deepest which has ever been made at that wavelength". The optical light emitted by the distant galaxies has been redshifted to the near-infrared spectral region [3]. Indeed, some of the galaxies found in the new

THE SPITZER-WISE SURVEY OF THE ECLIPTIC POLES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jarrett, T. H.; Masci, F.; Cutri, R. M.

2011-07-10

We have carried out a survey of the north and south ecliptic poles, EP-N and EP-S, respectively, with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The primary objective was to cross-calibrate WISE with the Spitzer and Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) photometric systems by developing a set of calibration stars that are common to these infrared missions. The ecliptic poles were continuous viewing zones for WISE due to its polar-crossing orbit, making these areas ideal for both absolute and internal calibrations. The Spitzer IRAC and MIPS imaging survey covers a complete area of 0.40 deg{sup 2} formore » the EP-N and 1.28 deg{sup 2} for the EP-S. WISE observed the whole sky in four mid-infrared bands, 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 {mu}m, during its eight-month cryogenic mission, including several hundred ecliptic polar passages; here we report on the highest coverage depths achieved by WISE, an area of {approx}1.5 deg{sup 2} for both poles. Located close to the center of the EP-N, the Sy-2 galaxy NGC 6552 conveniently functions as a standard calibrator to measure the red response of the 22 {mu}m channel of WISE. Observations from Spitzer-IRAC/MIPS/IRS-LL and WISE show that the galaxy has a strong red color in the mid-infrared due to star-formation and the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN), while over a baseline >1 year the mid-IR photometry of NGC 6552 is shown to vary at a level less than 2%. Combining NGC 6552 with the standard calibrator stars, the achieved photometric accuracy of the WISE calibration, relative to the Spitzer and MSX systems, is 2.4%, 2.8%, 4.5%, and 5.7% for W1 (3.4 {mu}m), W2 (4.6 {mu}m), W3 (12 {mu}m), and W4 (22 {mu}m), respectively. The WISE photometry is internally stable to better than 0.1% over the cryogenic lifetime of the mission. The secondary objective of the Spitzer-WISE Survey was to explore the poles at greater flux-level depths, exploiting the higher angular resolution Spitzer observations and

The far-infrared view on the distant Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elbaz, David

2015-08-01

I will review what we have learnt on distant galaxies from far infrared surveys and present news ways to identify z>2 highly star-forming galaxies, often missed by standard techniques such as LBGs, that may represent the missing progenitors of passive z~2 galaxies. I will also discuss inconsistencies between SFR indicators that can be linked to the starburstiness and compactness of star-forming galaxies. Based on these results we will discuss the evidence in favor/against the existence of a SFR-M* main sequence up to z=4. The impact of the spatial distribution of star formation and its evolution with redshift will be discussed on the basis of newly obtained ALMA data.

IRAS and the Boston University Arecibo Galactic H I Survey: A catalog of cloud properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bania, Thomas M.

1992-01-01

The Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) Galactic Plane Surface Brightness Images were used to identify infrared emission associated with cool, diffuse H I clouds detected by the Boston University-Arecibo Galactic H I Survey. These clouds are associated with galactic star clusters, H II regions, and molecular clouds. Using emission-absorption experiments toward galactic H II regions, we determined the H I properties of cool H I clouds seen in absorption against the thermal continuum, including their kinematic distances. Correlations were then made between IRAS sources and these H II regions, thus some of the spatial confusion associated with the IRAS fields near the galactic plane was resolved since the distances to these sources was known. Because we can also correlate the BU-Arecibo clouds with existing CO surveys, these results will allow us to determine the intrinsic properties of the gas (neutral and ionized atomic as well as molecular) and dust for interstellar clouds in the inner galaxy. For the IRAS-identified H II region sample, we have established the far infrared (FIR) luminosities and galactic distribution of these sources.

A near-infrared high-resolution spectroscopic survey of bulge stars - JASMINE prestudy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsujimoto, T.; Gouda, N.; Kobayashi, N.; Yasui, C.; Kondo, S.; Minami, A.; Motohara, K.; Ikeda, Y.

2006-08-01

We are developing a new near-infrared high-resolution (R[max]= 100,000) and high-sensitive spectrograph WINERED, which is specifically customized for short NIR bands at 0.9-1.35 μm. WINERED employs the novelty in the optical system; a potable design and a warm optics without any cold stops. The planned astrometric space mission JASMINE will provide the exact positions, distances, and proper motions of the bulge stars. The missing components, the radial velocity and chemical compositions will be measured by WINERED with high accuracies (δV< 1km/s). These combined data brought by JASMINE and WINERED will certainly reveal the nature of the Galactic bulge. We plan to complete this instrument for the observation of a single object by the end of 2008 and hope to attach it to various 4-10m telescopes as a PI-type instrument. In succession, we will develop it to the design for a simultaneous multi-object spectroscopy.

The Southern HII Region Discovery Survey: The Bright Catalog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenger, Trey V.; Dickey, John M.; Jordan, Christopher H.; Balser, Dana; Armentrout, William Paul; Anderson, Loren; Bania, Thomas; Dawson, Joanne; McClure-Griffiths, Naomi M.; Shea, Jeanine

2018-01-01

HII regions, the zones of ionized gas surrounding recently formed high-mass stars, are the archetypical tracers of Galactic structure. The census of Galactic HII regions in the Southern sky is vastly incomplete due to a lack of sensitive radio recombination line (RRL) surveys. The Southern HII Region Discovery Survey (SHRDS) is a 900-hour Australia Telescope Compact Array cm-wavelength RRL and continuum emission survey of hundreds of third and fourth quadrant Galactic HII region candidates. These candidates are identified in the Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Catalog of Galactic HII Regions based on coincident 10 micron (WISE) and 20 cm (Southern Galactic Plane Survey) emission. The SHRDS is an extension of HII Region Discovery Surveys in the Northern sky with the Green Bank Telescope and Arecibo Telescope which discovered ~800 new HII regions. In the first 500 hours of the SHRDS, we targeted the 249 brightest HII region candidates and 33 previously known HII regions. We discuss the data reduction, analysis, and preliminary results from this first stage of the survey.

Near-infrared spectroscopy of candidate red supergiant stars in clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messineo, Maria; Zhu, Qingfeng; Ivanov, Valentin D.; Figer, Donald F.; Davies, Ben; Menten, Karl M.; Kudritzki, Rolf P.; Chen, C.-H. Rosie

2014-11-01