Galaxy Source Counts Research Articles

Correction to: Galaxy source counts at 7.7 μm, 10 μm and 15 μm with the james webb space telescope

Correction to: Galaxy source counts at 7.7 μm, 10 μm and 15 μm with the james webb space telescope

Galaxy source counts at 7.7, 10, and 15 μm with the James Webb Space Telescope

ABSTRACT We present mid-infrared (IR) galaxy number counts based on the Early Release Observations obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at 7.7-, 10-, and 15-μm (F770W, F1000W, and F1500W, respectively) bands of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Due to the superior sensitivity of JWST, the 80-per cent completeness limits reach 0.32, 0.79, and 2.0 μJy in F770W, F1000W, and F1500W filters, respectively, i.e. ∼100 times deeper than previous space IR telescopes such as Spitzer or AKARI. The number counts reach much deeper than the broad bump around 0.05∼0.5 mJy due to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions. An extrapolation towards fainter flux from the evolutionary models in the literature agrees amazingly well with the new data, where the extrapolated faint-end of IR luminosity functions combined with the cosmic star-formation history to higher redshifts can reproduce the deeper number counts by JWST. Our understanding of the faint IR sources has been confirmed by the observed data due to the superb sensitivity of JWST.

The Herschel-PACS North Ecliptic Pole Survey

Abstract A detailed analysis of Herschel/Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) observations at the North Ecliptic Pole is presented. High-quality maps, covering an area of 0.44 deg2, are produced and then used to derive potential candidate source lists. A rigorous quality-control pipeline has been used to create final legacy catalogues in the PACS Green 100 μm and Red 160 μm bands, containing 1384 and 630 sources respectively. These catalogues reach to more than twice the depth of the current archival Herschel/PACS Point Source Catalogue, detecting 400 and 270 more sources in the short- and long-wavelength bands, respectively. Galaxy source counts are constructed that extend down to flux densities of 6 mJy and 19 mJy (50% completeness) in the Green 100 μm and Red 160 μm bands, respectively. These source counts are consistent with previously published PACS number counts in other fields across the sky. The source counts are then compared with a galaxy evolution model which identifies a population of luminous infrared galaxies as responsible for the bulk of the galaxy evolution over the flux range (5–100 mJy) spanned by the observed counts, contributing approximate fractions of 50% and 60% to the cosmic infrared background at 100 μm and 160 μm, respectively.

The source counts of submillimetre galaxies detected at λ= 1.1 mm

The source counts of galaxies discovered at sub-millimetre and millimetre wavelengths provide important information on the evolution of infrared-bright galaxies. We combine the data from six blank-field surveys carried out at 1.1 mm with AzTEC, totalling 1.6 square degrees in area with root-mean-square depths ranging from 0.4 to 1.7 mJy, and derive the strongest constraints to date on the 1.1 mm source counts at flux densities S(1100) = 1-12 mJy. Using additional data from the AzTEC Cluster Environment Survey to extend the counts to S(1100) ~ 20 mJy, we see tentative evidence for an enhancement relative to the exponential drop in the counts at S(1100) ~ 13 mJy and a smooth connection to the bright source counts at >20 mJy measured by the South Pole Telescope; this excess may be due to strong lensing effects. We compare these counts to predictions from several semi-analytical and phenomenological models and find that for most the agreement is quite good at flux densities > 4 mJy; however, we find significant discrepancies (>3sigma) between the models and the observed 1.1 mm counts at lower flux densities, and none of them are consistent with the observed turnover in the Euclidean-normalised counts at S(1100) < 2 mJy. Our new results therefore may require modifications to existing evolutionary models for low luminosity galaxies. Alternatively, the discrepancy between the measured counts at the faint end and predictions from phenomenological models could arise from limited knowledge of the spectral energy distributions of faint galaxies in the local Universe.

GALAXY COUNTS AT 24 μm IN THE SWIRE FIELDS

This paper presents galaxy source counts at 24 mu m in the six Spitzer Wide-field InfraRed Extragalactic (SWIRE) fields. The source counts are compared to counts in other fields, and to model predictions that have been updated since the launch of Spitzer. This analysis confirms a very steep rise in the Euclidean-normalized differential number counts between 2 mJy and 0.3 mJy. Variations in the counts between fields show the effects of sample variance in the flux range of 0.5-10 mJy, up to 100% larger than Poisson errors. Nonetheless, a shoulder in the normalized counts persists at around 3 mJy. The peak of the normalized counts at 0.3 mJy is higher and narrower than most models predict. In the ELAIS N1 field, the 24 mu m data are combined with Spitzer-IRAC data and five-band optical imaging, and these band-merged data are fit with photometric redshift templates. Above 1 mJy the counts are dominated by galaxies at z < 0.3. By 300 mu Jy, about 25% are between z similar to 0.3 and 0.8, and a significant fraction are at z similar to 1.3-2. At low redshifts the counts are dominated by spirals, and starbursts rise in number density to outnumber the spirals' contribution to the counts below 1 mJy.

SpitzerandISOgalaxy counts in the mid-infrared

Galaxy source counts that simultaneously fit the deep mid-infrared surveys at 24 microns and 15 microns made by the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), respectively, are presented for two phenomenological models. The models are based on starburst and luminous infrared galaxy dominated populations. Both models produce excellent fits to the counts in both wavebands and provide an explanation for the high-redshift population seen in the longer Spitzer 24-micron band supporting the hypothesis that they are luminous–ultraluminous infrared galaxies at z= 2–3, being the mid-infrared counterparts to the submillimetre galaxy population. The source counts are characterized by strong evolution to redshift unity, followed by less drastic evolution to higher redshift. The number–redshift distributions in both wavebands are well explained by the effect of the many mid-infrared features passing through the observation windows. The sharp upturn at around a millijansky in the 15-μm counts in particular depends critically on the distribution of mid-infrared features around 12 μm, in the assumed spectral energy distribution.

The 24 Micron Source Counts in Deep Spitzer Space Telescope Surveys

Galaxy source counts in the infrared provide strong constraints on the evolution of the bolometric energy output from distant galaxy populations. We present the results from deep 24 μm imaging from Spitzer surveys, which include ≈5 × 10^4 sources to an 80% completeness of ≃ 60 μJy. The 24 μm counts rapidly rise at near-Euclidean rates down to 5 mJy, increase with a super-Euclidean rate between 0.4 and 4 mJy, and converge below ~0.3 mJy. The 24 μm counts exceed expectations from nonevolving models by a factor of ≳10 at S_ν ~ 0.1 mJy. The peak in the differential number counts corresponds to a population of faint sources that is not expected from predictions based on 15 μm counts from the Infrared Space Observatory. We argue that this implies the existence of a previously undetected population of infrared-luminous galaxies at z ~ 1-3. Integrating the counts to 60 μJy, we derive a lower limit on the 24 μm background intensity of 1.9 ± 0.6 nW m^(-2) sr^(-1) of which the majority (~60%) stems from sources fainter than 0.4 mJy. Extrapolating to fainter flux densities, sources below 60 μJy contribute 0.8^(+0.9)_(-0.4) nW m^(-2) sr^(-1) to the background, which provides an estimate of the total 24 μm background of 2.7^(+1.1)_(-0.7) nW m^(-2) sr^(-1).

Far‐infrared Source Counts at 70 and 160 Microns in Spitzer Deep Surveys

We derive galaxy source counts at 70 and 160 microns using the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) to map the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS) and other fields. At 70 microns, our observations extend upwards about 2 orders of magnitude in flux density from a threshold of 15 mJy, and at 160 microns they extend about an order of magnitude upward from 50 mJy. The counts are consistent with previous observations on the bright end. Significant evolution is detected at the faint end of the counts in both bands, by factors of 2-3 over no-evolution models. This evolution agrees well with models that indicate most ofthe faint galaxies lie at redshifts between 0.7 and 0.9. The new Spitzer data already resolve about 23% of the Cosmic Far Infrared Background at 70 microns and about 7% at 160 microns.

Evolutionary constraints from infrared source counts

The backward evolution approach to modelling galaxy source counts is re-visited in the wake of the numerous results and revelations from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) and the detections and measurements of the cosmic extragalactic background light. Using the framework of the Pearson & Rowan-Robinson galaxy evolution model, the observed source counts and background measurements are used to constrain the evolution in the galaxy population. It is found that a strong evolution in both density and luminosity of the high-luminosity tail of the infrared (IR) luminosity function, interpreted as the ultraluminous galaxies discovered first by IRAS and later elevated in status by SCUBA and ISO, can account for the source counts from 15 μm (where it matches the undulations in the integral counts and the hump in the differential counts extremely well) to the submillimetre region, as well as explain the peak in the cosmic infrared background at ∼140 μm. The submillimetre counts are interpreted as the superposition of two separate populations comprising ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIGs) at the brighter submillimetre fluxes and starburst galaxies at fluxes fainter than ∼2 mJy. In this scenario the high-redshift ULIGs are tenuously interpreted as the progenitors of today’s giant elliptical (gE) galaxies. All the source count models can be accessed via the world wide web at the URL http://www.ir.isas.ac.jp/~cpp/counts/

Emission Features and Source Counts of Galaxies in the Mid‐Infrared

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.