R. Schieder

In-orbit performance of Herschel-HIFI

Aims. In this paper the calibration and in-orbit performance of the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) is described. Methods. The calibration of HIFI is based on a combination of ground and in-flight tests. Dedicated ground tests to determine those instrument parameters that can only be measured accurately using controlled laboratory stimuli were carried out in the instrument level test (ILT) campaign. Special in-flight tests during the commissioning phase (CoP) and performance verification (PV) allowed the determination of the remaining instrument parameters. The various instrument observing modes, as specified in astronomical observation templates (AOTs), were validated in parallel during PV by observing selected celestial sources. Results. The initial calibration and in-orbit performance of HIFI has been established. A first estimate of the calibration budget is given. The overall in-flight instrument performance agrees with the original specification. Issues remain at only a few frequencies.

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite: Science Objectives and Instrument Description

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), launched in 1998 December, is a NASA mission dedicated to the study of star formation through direct measurements of (1) molecular cloud composition and chemistry, (2) the cooling mechanisms that facilitate cloud collapse, and (3) the large-scale structure of the UV-illuminated cloud surfaces. To achieve these goals, SWAS is conducting pointed observations of dense [n(H2) > 103 cm-3] molecular clouds throughout our Galaxy in either the ground state or a low-lying transition of five astrophysically important species: H2O, H218O, O2, C I, and 13CO. By observing these lines SWAS is (1) testing long-standing theories that predict that these species are the dominant coolants of molecular clouds during the early stages of their collapse to form stars and planets and (2) supplying previously missing information about the abundance of key species central to the chemical models of dense interstellar gas. SWAS carries two independent Schottky barrier diode mixers—passively cooled to ~175 K—coupled to a 54 × 68 cm off-axis Cassegrain antenna with an aggregate surface error ~11 μm rms. During its baseline 3 yr mission, SWAS is observing giant and dark cloud cores with the goal of detecting or setting an upper limit on the water and molecular oxygen abundance of 3 × 10-6 (relative to H2). In addition, advantage is being taken of SWASs relatively large beam size of 33 × 45 at 553 GHz and 35 × 50 at 490 GHz to obtain large-area (~1° × 1°) maps of giant and dark clouds in the 13CO and C I lines. With the use of a 1.4 GHz bandwidth acousto-optical spectrometer, SWAS has the ability to simultaneously observe either the H2O, O2, C I, and 13CO lines or the H218O, O2, and C I lines. All measurements are being conducted with a velocity resolution less than 1 km s-1.

Implications of Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite Observations for Interstellar Chemistry and Star Formation

A long-standing prediction of steady state gas-phase chemical theory is that H2O and O2 are important reservoirs of elemental oxygen and major coolants of the interstellar medium. Analysis of Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) observations has set sensitive upper limits on the abundance of O2 and has provided H2O abundances toward a variety of star-forming regions. Based on these results, we show that gaseous H2O and O2 are not dominant carriers of elemental oxygen in molecular clouds. Instead, the available oxygen is presumably frozen on dust grains in the form of molecular ices, with a significant portion potentially remaining in atomic form, along with CO, in the gas phase. H2O and O2 are also not significant coolants for quiescent molecular gas. In the case of H2O, a number of known chemical processes can locally elevate its abundance in regions with enhanced temperatures, such as warm regions surrounding young stars or in hot shocked gas. Thus, water can be a locally important coolant. The new information provided by SWAS, when combined with recent results from the Infrared Space Observatory, also provides several hard observational constraints for theoretical models of the chemistry in molecular clouds, and we discuss various models that satisfy these conditions.

Water abundance in molecular cloud cores

We present Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) observations of the 110 → 101 transition of ortho-H2O at 557 GHz toward 12 molecular cloud cores. The water emission was detected in NGC 7538, ρ Oph A, NGC 2024, CRL 2591, W3, W3OH, Mon R2, and W33 and was not detected in TMC-1, L134N, and B335. We also present a small map of the H2O emission in S140. Observations of the H218O line were obtained toward S140 and NGC 7538, but no emission was detected. The abundance of ortho-H2O relative to H2 in the giant molecular cloud cores was found to vary between 6 × 10-10 and 1 × 10-8. Five of the cloud cores in our sample have previous H2O detections; however, in all cases the emission is thought to arise from hot cores with small angular extents. The H2O abundance estimated for the hot core gas is at least 100 times larger than in the gas probed by SWAS. The most stringent upper limit on the ortho-H2O abundance in dark clouds is provided in TMC-1, where the 3 σ upper limit on the ortho-H2O fractional abundance is 7 × 10-8.

Water cooling of shocks in protostellar outflows: Herschel-PACS map of L1157

Context. The far-IR/sub-mm spectral mapping facility provided by the Herschel-PACS and HIFI instruments has made it possible to obtain, for the first time, images of H2O emission with a spatial resolution comparable to ground based mm/sub-mm observations. Aims. In the framework of the Water In Star-forming regions with Herschel (WISH) key program, maps in water lines of several outflows from young stars are being obtained, to study the water production in shocks and its role in the outflow cooling. This paper reports the first results of this program, presenting a PACS map of the o-H2O 179 mu m transition obtained toward the young outflow L1157. Methods. The 179 mu m map is compared with those of other important shock tracers, and with previous single-pointing ISO, SWAS, and Odin water observations of the same source that allow us to constrain the H2O abundance and total cooling. Results. Strong H2O peaks are localized on both shocked emission knots and the central source position. The H2O 179 mu m emission is spatially correlated with emission from H-2 rotational lines, excited in shocks leading to a significant enhancement of the water abundance. Water emission peaks along the outflow also correlate with peaks of other shock-produced molecular species, such as SiO and NH3. A strong H2O peak is also observed at the location of the proto-star, where none of the other molecules have significant emission. The absolute 179 mu m intensity and its intensity ratio to the H2O 557 GHz line previously observed with Odin/SWAS indicate that the water emission originates in warm compact clumps, spatially unresolved by PACS, having a H2O abundance of the order of 10(-4). This testifies that the clumps have been heated for a time long enough to allow the conversion of almost all the available gas-phase oxygen into water. The total H2O cooling is similar to 10(-1) L-circle dot, about 40% of the cooling due to H-2 and 23% of the total energy released in shocks along the L1157 outflow.

Interstellar CH absorption in the diffuse interstellar medium along the sight-lines to G10.6-0.4 (W31C), W49N, and W51

We report the detection of the ground state N, J = 1, 3/2 → 1, 1/2 doublet of the methylidyne radical CH at ∼532 GHz and ∼536 GHz with the Herschel/HIFI instrument along the sight-line to the massive star-forming regions G10.6–0.4 (W31C), W49N, and W51. While the molecular cores associated with these massive star-forming regions show emission lines, clouds in the diffuse interstellar medium are detected in absorption against the strong submillimeter background. The combination of hyperfine structure with emission and absorption results in complex profiles, with overlap of the different hyperfine components. The opacities of most of the CH absorption features are linearly correlated with those of CCH, CN, and HCO + in the same velocity intervals. In specific narrow velocity intervals, the opacities of CN and HCO + deviate from the mean trends, giving rise to more opaque absorption features. We propose that CCH can be used as another tracer of the molecular gas in the absence of better tracers, with [CCH]/[H2] ∼3.2 ± 1.1 × 10 −8 . The observed [CN]/[CH], [CCH]/[CH] abundance ratios suggest that the bulk of the diffuse matter along the lines of sight has gas densities nH = n(H) + 2n(H2) ranging between 100 and 1000 cm −3 .

Phase locked backward wave oscillator pulsed beam spectrometer in the submillimeter wave range

We have developed a new submillimeter wave pulsed molecular beam spectrometer with phase stabilized backward wave oscillators (BWOs). In the frequency ranges of 260–380 and 440–630 GHz, the BWOs output power varies between 3 and 60 mW. Part of the radiation was coupled to a novel designed harmonic mixer for submillimeter wavelength operation, which consists of an advanced whiskerless Schottky diode driven by a harmonic of the reference synthesizer and the BWO radiation. The resulting intermediate frequency of 350 MHz passed a low noise high electron mobility transistor amplifier, feeding the phase lock loop (PLL) circuit. The loop parameters of the PLL have been carefully adjusted for low phase noise. The half power bandwidth of the BWO radiation at 330 GHz was determined to be as small as 80 MHz, impressively demonstrating the low phase noise operation of a phase locked BWO. A double modulation technique was employed by combining an 80 Hz pulsed jet modulation and a 10–20 kHz source modulation of the BWO...

Noise Stability of SIS Receivers

There is a strong interest in the submillimeter astronomy community to increase the IF bandwidth of SIS receivers in order to better facilitate broad spectral linewidth and continuum observations of extragalactic sources. However, with an increase in receiver IF bandwidth there is a decrease in the mixer stability. This in turn effects the integration efficiency and quality of the measurement. In order to better understand the noise mechanisms responsible for reducing the receiver stability, we employed a technique first described by D.W. Allan and later elaborated upon by Schieder et al. In this paper we address a variety of factors that degrade the noise stability of SIS receivers. The goal of this exercise is to make recommendations aimed at maximizing SIS receiver stability.

Atomic Carbon in M82: Physical Conditions Derived from Simultaneous Observations of the [C I] Fine-Structure Submillimeter-Wave Transitions

We report the first extragalactic detection of the neutral carbon [C I]3P2 →3P1 fine-structure line at 809 GHz. The line was observed toward M82 simultaneously with the 3P1 →3P0 line at 492 GHz, providing a precise measurement of the J = 2 → 1/J = 1 → 0 integrated line ratio of 0.96 (on a [K km s-1] scale). This ratio constrains the [C I] emitting gas to have a temperature of at least 50 K and a density of at least 104 cm-3. Already at this minimum temperature and density, the beam averaged C I column density is large, 2.1 × 1018 cm-2, confirming the high C I/CO abundance ratio of ≈ 0.5 estimated earlier from the 492 GHz line alone. We argue that the [C I] emission from M82 most likely arises in clouds of linear size around a few pc with a density of about 104 cm-3 or slightly higher and temperatures of from 50 K up to about 100 K.

Internally coupled Fabry-Perot interferometer for high precision wavelength control of tunable diode lasers.

An internally coupled confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) has been developed for both high precision wavelength calibration and stabilization of tunable diode lasers (TDL). Our FPI is tunable and thermally stable and works over a large wavelength range (0.6–30 μm)—characteristics that cannot be simultaneously realized with conventional etalons. As part of a versatile wavelength control system the instrument has already considerably improved the quality of our diode laser spectra and will facilitate the use of TDLs in sub-Doppler spectroscopy and as local oscillators in heterodyne radiometers.