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The HERschel Inventory of the Agents of Galaxy Evolution in the Magellanic Clouds, a HERschel Open Time Key Program

We present an overview or the HERschel Inventory of The Agents of Galaxy Evolution (HERITAGE) in the Magellanic Clouds project, which is a Herschel Space Observatory open time key program. We mapped the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 micron with the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) and Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instruments on board Herschel using the SPIRE/PACS parallel mode. The overriding science goal of HERITAGE is to study the life cycle of matter as traced by dust in the LMC and SMC. The far-infrared and submillimeter emission is an effective tracer of the interstellar medium (ISM) dust, the most deeply embedded young stellar objects (YSOs), and the dust ejected by the most massive stars. We describe in detail the data processing, particularly for the PACS data, which required some custom steps because of the large angular extent of a single observational unit and overall the large amount of data to be processed as an ensemble. We report total global fluxes for LMC and SMC and demonstrate their agreement with measurements by prior missions. The HERITAGE maps of the LMC and SMC are dominated by the ISM dust emission and bear most resemblance to the tracers of ISM gas rather than the stellar content of the galaxies. We describe the point source extraction processing and the critetia used to establish a catalog for each waveband for the HERITAGE program. The 250 micron band is the most sensitive and the source catalogs for this band have approx. 25,000 objects for the LMC and approx. 5500 objects for the SMC. These data enable studies of ISM dust properties, submillimeter excess dust emission, dust-to-gas ratio, Class 0 YSO candidates, dusty massive evolved stars, supemova remnants (including SN1987A), H II regions, and dust evolution in the LMC and SMC. All images and catalogs are delivered to the Herschel Science Center as part of the conummity support aspects of the project. These HERITAGE images and catalogs provide an excellent basis for future research and follow up with other facilities.

AGENTS

The Herschel Oxygen Project: Herschel Space Observatory Open Time Key Project

Topics include: Why oxygen and why at submillimeter wavelengths; gas phase chemistry for water, oxygen, and carbon monoxide is relatively simple; molecular oxygen structure; lower rotational levels and transitions of oxygen; oxygen abundance in interstellar clouds; SWAS spectra of terrestrial oxygen; what Herschel offers HOP; key regions for probing oxygen in the dense interstellar medium; HOP sources and strategy; and HOP data and analysis.

astrochemistry

Laboratory Astrophysics Needs of the Herschel Space Observatory

The science teams of the Herschel Space Observatory have identified a number of areas where laboratory study is required for proper interpretation of Herschel observational data. The most critical is the collection and compilation of laboratory data on spectral line frequencies, transition probabilities and energy levels for the known astrophysical atomic and molecular species in 670 to 57 micron wavelength range of Herschel. The second most critical need is the compilation of collisional excitation cross sections for the species known to dominate the energy balance in the ISM and the temperature dependent chemical reaction rates. On the theoretical front, chemical and radiative transfer models need to be prepared in advance to assess calibration and identify instrument anomalies. In the next few years there will be a need to incorporate spectroscopists and theoretical chemists into teams of astronomers so that the spectroscopic surveys planned can he properly calibrated and rapidly interpreted once the data becomes available. The science teams have also noted that the enormous prospects for molecular discovery will be greatly handicapped by the nearly complete lack of spectroscopic data for anything not already well known in the ISM. As a minimum, molecular species predicted to exist by chemical models should be subjected to detailed laboratory study to ensure conclusive detections. This has the greatest impact on any astrobiology program that might be proposed for Herschel. Without a significant amount of laboratory work in the very near future Herschel will not be prepared for many planned observations, much less addressing the open questions in molecular astrophysics.

Pearson, J. C.

Sir William Herschel's notebooks - Abstracts of solar observations

An introduction to the background of Sir William Herschel's notebooks and the historical context within which his observations were made are provided. The observations have relevance in reconstructing solar behavior, as discussed in a separate analysis paper by Hoyt and Schatten (1992), and in understanding active features on the sun such as faculae. The text of Herschel's notebooks with modern terms used throughout forms the body of this paper. The complete text has not previously been published and is not easily accessible to scholars. Herschel used different words for solar features than are used today, and thus, for clarity, his terminology is changed on two occasions. A glossary explains the terminology changed. In the text of the notebooks, several contemporaries are mentioned; a brief description of Herschel's colleagues is provided.

Hoyt, Douglas V.

The Herschel ATLAS

The Herschel ATLAS is the largest open-time key project that will be carried out on the Herschel Space Observatory. It will survey 570 sq deg of the extragalactic sky, 4 times larger than all the other Herschel extragalactic surveys combined, in five far-infrared and submillimeter bands. We describe the survey, the complementary multiwavelength data sets that will be combined with the Herschel data, and the six major science programs we are undertaking. Using new models based on a previous submillimeter survey of galaxies, we present predictions of the properties of the ATLAS sources in other wave bands.

Eales, S.

Herschel Observations of the Debris Disc Around HIP 92043

Context: Typical debris discs are composed of particles ranging from several micron sized dust grains to kilometer-sized asteroidal bodies, and their infrared emission peaks at wavelengths 60-100 microns. Recent Herschel DUNES (Dust Around Nearby Stars) observations have identified several debris discs around nearby Sun-like stars (F, G and K spectral type) with significant excess emission only at 160 microns. Aims: We observed HIP 92043 (110 Her, HD 173667) at far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths with Herschel PACS (Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer) and SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver).Identification of the presence of excess emission from HIP 92043 and the origin and physical properties of any excess was undertaken through analysis of its spectral energy distribution (SED) and the PACS images. Methods: The PACS and SPIRE images were produced using the HIPE (Herschel Interactive Processing Environment) photProject map maker routine. Fluxes were measured using aperture photometry. A stellar photosphere model was scaled to optical and near infrared photometry and subtracted from the far-infared and sub-mm fluxes to determine the presence of excess emission. Source radial profiles were fitted using a 2D Gaussian and compared to a PSF (Point Spread Function) model based on Herschel observations of alpha Boo to check for extended emission. Results: Clear excess emission from HIP 92043 was observed at 70 and 100 microns. Marginal excess was observed at 160 and 250 microns.Analysis of the images reveals that the source is extended at 160 microns. A fit to the source SED is inconsistent with a photosphere and single temperature black body. Conclusions: The excess emission from HIP 92043 is consistent with the presence of an unresolved circumstellar debris disc at 70and 100 microns, with low probability of background contamination. The extended 160 micron emission may be interpreted as an additional cold component to the debris disc or as the result of background contamination along the line of sight. The nature of the 160 micron excess cannot be determined absolutely from the available data, but we favour a debris disc interpretation, drawing parallels with previously identified cold disc sources in the DUNES sample.

debris discs

The Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey: HerMES

The Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey, HerMES, is a legacy program designed to map a set of nested fields totalling approx. 380 deg(exp 2). Fields range in size from 0.01 to approx. 20 deg (exp 2), using Herschel-SPIRE (at 250, 350 and 500 micron), and Herschel-PACS (at 100 and 160 micron), with an additional wider component of 270 deg. (exp. 2) with SPIRE alone. These bands cover the peak of the redshifted thermal spectral energy distribution from interstellar dust and thus capture the re-processed optical and ultra-violet radiation from star formation that has been absorbed by dust, and are critical for forming a complete multi-wavelength understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. The survey will detect of order 100,000 galaxies at 5-sigma in some of the best studied fields in the sky. Additionally, HerMES is closely coordinated with the PACS Evolutionary Probe survey. Making maximum use of the full spectrum of ancillary data, from radio to X-ray wavelengths, it is designed to: facilitate redshift determination; rapidly identify unusual objects; and understand the relationships between thermal emission from dust and other processes. Scientific questions HerMES will be used to answer include: the total infrared emission of galaxies; the evolution of the luminosity function; the clustering properties of dusty galaxies; and the properties of populations of galaxies which lie below the confusion limit through lensing and statistical techniques. This paper defines the survey observations and data products, outlines the primary scientific goals of the HerMES team, and reviews some of the early results.

multi-tiered

The Herschel DUNES Open Time Key Programme

We will use the unique photometric capabilities provided by Herschel to perform a deep and systematic survey for faint, cold debris disks around nearby stars. Our sensitivity-limited Open Time Key Programme (OTKP) aims at finding and characterizing faint extrasolar analogues to the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt (EKB) in an unbiased, statistically significant sample of nearby FGK main-sequence stars. Our target set spans a broad range of stellar ages (from 0.1 to 10 Gyr) and is volume-limited (distances < 20 pc). All stars with known extrasolar planets within this distance are included; additionally, some M- and A-type stars will be observed in collaboration with the Herschel DEBRIS OTKP, so that the entire sample covers a decade in stellar mass, from 0.2 to 2 solar masses. We will perform PACS and SPIRE photometric observations covering the wavelength range from 70 to 500 microns. The PACS observations at 100 microns have been designed to detect the stellar photospheres down to the confusion limit with a signal-to-noise ratio > 5. The observations in the other Herschel bands will allow us to characterize, model, and constrain the disks. As a result, it will be possible for us to reach fractional dust luminosities of a few times 10-7, close to the EKB level in the Solar System. This will provide an unprecedented lower limit to the fractional abundance of planetesimal systems and allow us to assess the presence of giant planets, which would play dynamical roles similar to those played by Jupiter and Neptune in the Solar System. The proposed observations will provide new and unique evidence for the presence of mature planetary systems in the solar neighbourhood and, in turn, will address the universality of planet/planetary system formation in disks around young stars.

Danchi, William C.

The Herschel* PEP-HERMES Luminosity Function- I. Probing the Evolution of PACS Selected Galaxies to z approx. equal to 4

We exploit the deep and extended far-IR data sets (at 70, 100 and 160 μm) of the Herschel Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) Survey, in combination with the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey data at 250, 350 and 500 μm, to derive the evolution of the rest-frame 35-, 60-, 90- and total infrared (IR) luminosity functions (LFs) up to z ∼ 4.We detect very strong luminosity evolution for the total IR LF (LIR ∝ (1 + z)(sup 3.55 +/- 0.10) up to z ∼ 2, and ∝ (1 + z)(sup 1.62 +/- 0.51) at 2 less than z less than approximately 4) combined with a density evolution (∝ (1 + z)(sup −0.57 +/- 0.22) up to z ∼ 1 and ∝ (1 + z)(sup −3.92 +/- 0.34) at 1 less than z less than approximately 4). In agreement with previous findings, the IR luminosity density (ρIR) increases steeply to z ∼ 1, then flattens between z ∼ 1 and z ∼ 3 to decrease at z greater than approximately 3. Galaxies with different spectral energy distributions, masses and specific star formation rates (SFRs) evolve in very different ways and this large and deep statistical sample is the first one allowing us to separately study the different evolutionary behaviours of the individual IR populations contributing to ρIR. Galaxies occupying the well-established SFR-stellar mass main sequence (MS) are found to dominate both the total IR LF and ρIR at all redshifts, with the contribution from off-MS sources (≥0.6 dex above MS) being nearly constant (∼20 per cent of the total ρIR) and showing no significant signs of increase with increasing z over the whole 0.8 < z <2.2 range. Sources with mass in the range 10 ≤ log(M/solar mass) ≤ 11 are found to dominate the total IR LF, with more massive galaxies prevailing at the bright end of the high-z (greater than approximately 2) LF. A two-fold evolutionary scheme for IR galaxies is envisaged: on the one hand, a starburst-dominated phase in which the Super Massive Black Holes (SMBH) grows and is obscured by dust (possibly triggered by a major merging event), is followed by an AGN-dominated phase, then evolving towards a local elliptical. On the other hand, moderately star-forming galaxies containing a low-luminosity AGN have various properties suggesting they are good candidates for systems in a transition phase preceding the formation of steady spiral galaxies.

Herschel

Herschel's "Cold Debris Disks": Background Galaxies or Quiescent Rims of Planetary Systems?

Infrared excesses associated with debris disk host stars detected so far peak at wavelengths around approx, 100 micron or shorter. However, 6 out of 31 excess sources studied in the Herschel Open Time Key Programme, DUNES, have been seen to show significant-and in some cases extended-excess emission at 160 micron, which is larger than the 100 micron excess. This excess emission has been attributed to circumstellar dust and has been suggested to stem from debris disks colder than those known previously. Since the excess emission of the cold disk candidates is extremely weak, challenging even the unrivaled sensitivity of Herschel, it is prudent to carefully consider whether some or even all of them may represent unrelated galactic or extragalactic emission, or even instrumental noise. We re-address these issues using several distinct methods and conclude that it is highly unlikely that none of the candidates represents a true circumstellar disk. For true disks, both the dust temperatures inferred from the spectral energy distributions and the disk radii estimated from the images suggest that the dust is nearly as cold as a blackbody. This requires the grains to be larger than approx. 100 micron, even if they are rich in ices or are composed of any other material with a low absorption in the visible. The dearth of small grains is puzzling, since collisional models of debris disks predict that grains of all sizes down to several times the radiation pressure blowout limit should be present. We explore several conceivable scenarios: transport-dominated disks, disks of low dynamical excitation, and disks of unstirred primordial macroscopic grains. Our qualitative analysis and collisional simulations rule out the first two of these scenarios, but show the feasibility of the third one. We show that such disks can indeed survive for gigayears, largely preserving the primordial size distribution. They should be composed of macroscopic solids larger than millimeters, but smaller than a few kilometers in size. If larger planetesimals were present, then they would stir the disk, triggering a collisional cascade and thus causing production of small debris, which is not seen. Thus, planetesimal formation, at least in the outer regions of the systems, has stopped before "cometary" or "asteroidal" sizes were reached.

Herschel

Experimental Investigation of the Herschel-Quincke Tube Concept on the Honeywell TFE731-60

This report summarizes the key results obtained by the Vibration and Acoustics Laboratories at Virginia Tech over the period from January 1999 to December 2000 on the project 'Investigation of an Adaptive Herschel-Quincke Tube Concept for the Reduction of Tonal and Broadband Noise from Turbofan Engines', funded by NASA Langley Research Center. The Herschel-Quincke (HQ) tube concept is a developing technique that consists of circumferential arrays of tubes around the duct. A fixed array of tubes is installed on the inlet duct of the Honeywell TFE731-60 engine. Two array designs are incorporated into the inlet treatment, each designed for a different circumferential mode order which is expected to be cut on in the duct. Far field and in-duct noise measurement data are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the HQ concept for array 1, array 2, and both operating simultaneously.

Smith, Jerome P.

Analytical Modeling of Herschel-Quincke Concept Applied to Inlet Turbofan Engines

This report summarizes the key results obtained by the Vibration and Acoustics Laboratories at Virginia Tech over the period from January 1999 to December 2000 on the project 'Investigation of an Adaptive Herschel-Quincke Tube Concept for the Reduction of Tonal and Broadband Noise from Turbofan Engines', funded by NASA Langley Research Center. The Herschel-Quincke (HQ) tube concept is a developing technique the consists of circumferential arrays of tubes around the duct. The analytical model is developed to provide prediction and design guidelines for application of the HQ concept to turbofan engine inlets. An infinite duct model is developed and used to provide insight into attenuation mechanisms and design strategies. Based on this early model, the NASA-developed TBIEM3D code is modified for the HQ system. This model allows for investigation of the HQ system combined with a passive liner.

Hallez, Raphael F.

The Evolution of Gas in Protoplanetary Systems: The Herschel GASPS Open Time Key Programme

The Gas in Protoplanetary Systems (GASPS) Open Time Key Programme for the Herschel Space Observatory will be the first extensive, systematic survey of gas in circumstellar disks over the critical transition from gas-rich protoplanetary through to gas-poor debris. The brightest spectral lines from disks lie in the far-infrared and arise from radii spanning roughly 10 to 100 AU, where giant planets are expected to form. Herschel is uniquely able to observe this wavelength regime with the sensitivity to allow a large scale survey. We will execute a 2-phase study using the PACS instrument. Phase I is a spectroscopic survey about 250 young stars for fine structure emission lines of [CII] (at 157 microns) and [OI] (at 63 microns). In Phase II, the brightest sources will be followed up with additional PACS spectroscopy ([OI] at 145 microns and some rotational lines of water). We expect that the gas mass sensitivity will be more than an order of magnitude lower than that achieved by ISO and Spitzer or expected for SOFIA. We will also measure the dust continuum to an equivalent mass sensitivity. We will observe several nearby clusters with ages from 1 to 30 Myr, encompassing a wide range of disk masses and stellar luminosities. The sample covers disk evolution from protoplanetary disks through to young debris disks, i.e. the main epoch of planet formation. With this extensive dataset, the GASPS project will: 1) trace gas and dust in the planet formation region across a large multivariate parameter space, 2) provide the first definitive measurement of the gas dissipation timescale in disks, 3) elucidate the evolutionary link between protoplanetary and debris disks, 4) investigate water abundances in the planetforming regions of disks, and 5) provide a huge database of disk observations and models with long-lasting legacy value for follow-up studies.

Roberge, A.

The Herschel-ATLAS: Extragalatic Number Counts from 250 to 500 Microns

Aims.The Herschel-ATLAS survey (H-ATLAS) will be the largest area survey to be undertaken by the Herschel Space Observatory. It will cover 550 sq. deg. of extragalactic sky at wavelengths of 100, 160, 250, 350 and 500 microns when completed, reaching flux limits (50-) from 32 to 145mJy. We here present galaxy number counts obtained for SPIRE observations of the first -14 sq. deg. observed at 250, 350 and 500 m. Methods. Number counts are a fundamental tool in constraining models of galaxy evolution. We use source catalogs extracted from the H-ATLAS maps as the basis for such an analysis. Correction factors for completeness and flux boosting are derived by applying our extraction method to model catalogs and then applied to the raw observational counts. Results. We find a steep rise in the number counts at flux levels of 100-200mJy in all three SPIRE bands, consistent with results from BLAST. The counts are compared to a range of galaxy evolution models. None of the current models is an ideal fit to the data but all ascribe the steep rise to a population of luminous, rapidly evolving dusty galaxies at moderate to high redshift.

Clements, D. L.

A Herschel-Resolved Debris Disk Around the Nearby G Star HIP 32480

The Herschel Space Observatory is providing unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution in the far-infrared. The DUNES Key Project (DUst around NEarby Stars, PI Carlos Eiroa) has finished its survey of 133 FGK stars within 25 pc of the Sun using the PACS photometer at 100 and 160 microns. We report the detection of a resolved debris ring around HIP 32480, a G0 star 16.5 parsecs distant. The ring is almost 300 AU in diameter and inclined 30 degrees from edge-on. We present a thermal emission model for the system that fits the Spitzer spectroscopy and Herschel images of the system. We find a minimum grainsize of approximately 4 microns in the main ring and a distinct warm dust population interior to it. Faint detached emission features just outside the ring may trace a separate, more distant ring in the system. The non-detection of the ring in archival HST/ACS coronagraphic images limits the dust grain albedo in the ring to be no more than 10%.

Stapelfeldt, K.

Herschel Discovery of a New class of Cold, Faint Debris Discs

We present Herschel PACS 100 and 160 micron observations of the solar-type stars alpha Men, HD 88230 and HD 210277, which form part of the FGK stars sample of the Herschel Open Time Key Programme (OTKP) DUNES (DUst around NEarby Stars). Our observations show small infrared excesses at 160 micron for all three stars. HD 210277 also shows a small excess at 100 micron. while the 100 micron fluxes of a Men and HD 88230 agree with the stellar photospheric predictions. We attribute these infrared excesses to a new class of cold, faint debris discs. alpha Men and HD 88230 are spatially resolved in the PACS 160 micron images, while HD 210277 is point-like at that wavelength. The projected linear sizes of the extended emission lie in the range from approximately 115 to <= 250 AU. The estimated black body temperatures from the 100 and 160 micron fluxes are approximately < 22 K, while the fractional luminosity of the cold dust is L(dust)/ L(star) approximates 10(exp -6), close to the luminosity of the Solar-System's Kuiper belt. These debris discs are the coldest and faintest discs discovered so far around mature stars and cannot easily be explained by invoking "classical" debris disc models.

Eiroa, C.

Herschel Discovery of a New Class of Cold, Faint Debris Discs

We present Herschel PACS 100 and 160 micron observations of the solar-type stars alpha Men, HD 88230 and HD 210277, which form part of the FGK stars sample of the Herschel Open Time Key Programme (OTKP) DUNES (DUst around NEarby Stars). Our observations show small infrared excesses at 160 m for all three stars. HD 210277 also shows a small excess at 100 micron, while the 100 micron fluxes of alpha Men and HD 88230 agree with the stellar photospheric predictions. We attribute these infrared excesses to a new class of cold, faint debris discs. alpha Men and HD 88230 are spatially resolved in the PACS 160 m images, while HD 210277 is point-like at that wavelength. The projected linear sizes of the extended emission lie in the range from approx 115 to <= 250 AU. The estimated black body temperatures from the 100 and 160 micron fluxes are approx < 22 K, while the fractional luminosity of the cold dust is L(sub dust) / L(*) approx 10 (exp 6) close to the luminosity of the Solar-System's Kuiper belt. These debris discs are the coldest and faintest discs discovered so far around mature stars and cannot easily be explained by invoking "classical" debris disc models.

Eiroal, C.

A Unique Gas-Rich Debris Disk: Herschel Imaging and Spectroscopy of 49 Ceti

Gas-poor debris disks represent a fundamentally different class of circumstellar disk than gas-rich protoplanetary disks. Their gas probably originates from the same source as the dust, i.e. planetesimal destruction, but the low gas densities make it difficult to detect. So far, Herschel has detected far-IR gas emission from only one or two debris disks, Beta Pictoris being one of them. Here we present Herschel GASPS observations of a well-known debris disk system, 49 Ceti. The dust disk is spatially resolved in thermal emission at 70 _m. Most interestingly, weak far-IR gas emission is detected. Preliminary modeling suggests that reconciling the sub-mm CO emission seen from this system with the far-IR gas detection and upper limits requires a low gas-to-dust ratio and possibly an unusual gas composition.

Roberge, Aki