Stefanie Wachter

THE MULTIBAND IMAGING PHOTOMETER FOR SPITZER (MIPS)

The Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) provides long-wavelength capability for the mission in imaging bands at 24, 70, and 160 ?m and measurements of spectral energy distributions between 52 and 100 ?m at a spectral resolution of about 7%. By using true detector arrays in each band, it provides both critical sampling of the Spitzer point-spread function and relatively large imaging fields of view, allowing for substantial advances in sensitivity, angular resolution, and efficiency of areal coverage compared with previous space far-infrared capabilities. The 24 ?m array has excellent photometric properties, and measurements with rms relative errors of about 1% can be obtained. The two longer-wavelength arrays use detectors with poor photometric stability, but a system of onboard stimulators used for relative calibration, combined with a unique data pipeline, produce good photometry with rms relative errors of less than 10%.

Absolute Calibration and Characterization of the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer. I. The Stellar Calibrator Sample and the 24 μm Calibration

We present the stellar calibrator sample and the conversion from instrumental to physical units for the 24 μm channel of the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). The primary calibrators are A stars, and the calibration factor based on those stars is MJy sr^−1 (DN s^−1)^−1, with a nominal uncertainty of 2%. We discuss the data reduction procedures required to attain this accuracy; without these procedures, the calibration factor obtained using the automated pipeline at the Spitzer Science Center is lower. We extend this work to predict 24 μm flux densities for a sample of 238 stars that covers a larger range of flux densities and spectral types. We present a total of 348 measurements of 141 stars at 24 μm. This sample covers a factor of 460 in 24 μm flux density, from 8.6 mJy up to 4.0 Jy. We show that the calibration is linear over that range with respect to target flux and background level. The calibration is based on observations made using 3 s exposures; a preliminary analysis shows that the calibration factor may be 1% and 2% lower for 10 and 30 s exposures, respectively. We also demonstrate that the calibration is very stable: over the course of the mission, repeated measurements of our routine calibrator, HD 159330, show a rms scatter of only 0.4%. Finally, we show that the point-spread function (PSF) is well measured and allows us to calibrate extended sources accurately; Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) and MIPS measurements of a sample of nearby galaxies are identical within the uncertainties.

Phosphoproteomics reveals that Parkinson's disease kinase LRRK2 regulates a subset of Rab GTPases

Mutations in Park8, encoding for the multidomain Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) protein, comprise the predominant genetic cause of Parkinsons disease (PD). G2019S, the most common amino acid substitution activates the kinase two- to threefold. This has motivated the development of LRRK2 kinase inhibitors; however, poor consensus on physiological LRRK2 substrates has hampered clinical development of such therapeutics. We employ a combination of phosphoproteomics, genetics, and pharmacology to unambiguously identify a subset of Rab GTPases as key LRRK2 substrates. LRRK2 directly phosphorylates these both in vivo and in vitro on an evolutionary conserved residue in the switch II domain. Pathogenic LRRK2 variants mapping to different functional domains increase phosphorylation of Rabs and this strongly decreases their affinity to regulatory proteins including Rab GDP dissociation inhibitors (GDIs). Our findings uncover a key class of bona-fide LRRK2 substrates and a novel regulatory mechanism of Rabs that connects them to PD. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12813.001

Absolute calibration and characterization of the multiband imaging photometer for Spitzer. II. 70 μm imaging

The absolute calibration and characterization of the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) 70 μm coarse‐and fine‐scale imaging modes are presented based on over 2.5 yr of observations. Accurate photometry (especially for faint sources) requires two simple processing steps beyond the standard data reduction to remove long‐term detector transients. Point‐spread function (PSF) fitting photometry is found to give more accurate flux densities than aperture photometry. Based on the PSF fitting photometry, the calibration factor shows no strong trend with flux density, background, spectral type, exposure time, or time since anneals. The coarse‐scale calibration sample includes observations of stars with flux densities from 22 mJy to 17 Jy, on backgrounds from 4 to 26 MJy sr^(−1), and with spectral types from B to M. The coarse‐scale calibration is 702 ± 35 MJy sr^(−1) MIPS70^(−1) (5% uncertainty) and is based on measurements of 66 stars. The instrumental units of the MIPS 70 μm coarse‐ and fine‐scale imaging modes are called MIPS70 and MIPS70F, respectively. The photometric repeatability is calculated to be 4.5% from two stars measured during every MIPS campaign and includes variations on all timescales probed. The preliminary fine‐scale calibration factor is 2894 ± 294 MJy sr^(−1) MIPS70F^(−1) (10% uncertainty) based on 10 stars. The uncertainties in the coarse‐ and fine‐scale calibration factors are dominated by the 4.5% photometric repeatability and the small sample size, respectively. The 5 σ, 500 s sensitivity of the coarse‐scale observations is 6–8 mJy. This work shows that the MIPS 70 μm array produces accurate, well‐calibrated photometry and validates the MIPS 70 μm operating strategy, especially the use of frequent stimulator flashes to track the changing responsivities of the Ge:Ga detectors.

Absolute calibration and characterization of the multiband imaging photometer for Spitzer - III. An asteroid-based calibration of MIPS at 160 μm

We describe the absolute calibration of the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) 160 μm channel. After the on‐orbit discovery of a near‐IR ghost image that dominates the signal for sources hotter than about 2000 K, we adopted a strategy utilizing asteroids to transfer the absolute calibrations of the MIPS 24 and 70 μm channels to the 160 μm channel. Near‐simultaneous observations at all three wavelengths are taken, and photometry at the two shorter wavelengths is fit using the standard thermal model. The 160 μm flux density is predicted from those fits and compared with the observed 160 μm signal to derive the conversion from instrumental units to surface brightness. The calibration factor we derive is 41.7 MJy sr^(−1) MIPS160^(−1) (MIPS160 being the instrumental units). The scatter in the individual measurements of the calibration factor, as well as an assessment of the external uncertainties inherent in the calibration, lead us to adopt an uncertainty of 5.0 MJy sr^(−1) MIPS160^(−1) (12%) for the absolute uncertainty on the 160 μm flux density of a particular source as determined from a single measurement. For sources brighter than about 2 Jy, nonlinearity in the response of the 160 μm detectors produces an underestimate of the flux density: for objects as bright as 4 Jy, measured flux densities are likely to be ≃20% too low. This calibration has been checked against that of the ISO (using ULIRGs) and IRAS (using IRAS‐derived diameters), and is consistent with those at the 5% level.

A variable mid-infrared synchrotron break associated with the compact jet in GX 339-4

Many X-ray binaries remain undetected in the mid-infrared, a regime where emission from their compact jets is likely to dominate. Here, we report the detection of the black hole binary GX 339-4 with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) during a very bright, hard accretion state in 2010. Combined with a rich contemporaneous multiwavelength dataset, clear spectral curvature is found in the infrared, associated with the peak flux density expected from the compact jet. An optically-thin slope of ~-0.7 and a jet radiative power of >6x10^{35} erg/s (d/8 kpc)^2 are measured. A ~24 h WISE light curve shows dramatic variations in mid-infrared spectral slope on timescales at least as short as the satellite orbital period ~95 mins. There is also significant change during one pair of observations spaced by only 11 s. These variations imply that the spectral break associated with the transition from self-absorbed to optically-thin jet synchrotron radiation must be varying across the full wavelength range of ~3-22 microns that WISE is sensitive to, and more. Based on four-band simultaneous mid-infrared detections, the break lies at ~5x10^{13} Hz in at least two epochs of observation, consistent with a magnetic field B~1.5x10^4 G assuming a single-zone synchrotron emission region. The observed variability implies that either B, or the size of the acceleration zone above the jet base, are being modulated by factors of ~10 on relatively-short timescales.

A Hidden Population of Massive Stars with Circumstellar Shells Discovered with the Spitzer Space Telescope

We have discovered a large number of circular and elliptical shells at 24 μm around luminous central sources with MIPS on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our archival follow-up effort has revealed 90% of these circumstellar shells to be previously unknown. The majority of the shells is only visible at 24 μm, but many of the central stars are detected at multiple wavelengths from the mid- to the near-IR regime. The general lack of optical counterparts, however, indicates that these sources represent a population of highly obscured objects. We obtained optical and near-IR spectroscopic observations of the central stars and find most of these objects to be massive stars. In particular, we identify a large population of sources that we argue represents a narrow evolutionary phase, closely related or identical to the luminous blue variable stage of massive stellar evolution.

A Chandra Observation of the Neutron Star X-Ray Transient and Eclipsing Binary MXB 1659–29 in Quiescence

After almost 2.5 yr of actively accreting, the neutron star X-ray transient and eclipsing binary MXB 1659-29 returned to quiescence in 2001 September. We report on a Chandra observation of this source taken a little over a month after this transition. The source was detected at an unabsorbed 0.5-10 keV flux of only (2.7-3.6) × 10-13 ergs cm-2 s-1, which implies a 0.5-10 keV X-ray luminosity of approximately (3.2-4.3) × 1033 (d/10 kpc)2 ergs s-1, with d the distance to the source in kiloparsecs. Its spectrum had a thermal shape and could be well fitted by either a blackbody with a temperature kT of ~0.3 keV or a neutron star atmosphere model with a kT of ~0.1 keV. The luminosity and spectral shape of MXB 1659-29 are very similar to those observed of the other neutron star X-ray transients when they are in their quiescent state. The source was variable during our observation, exhibiting a complete eclipse of the inner part of the system by the companion star. Dipping behavior was observed before the eclipse, likely due to obscuration by an extended feature in the outer part of a residual accretion disk. We discuss our observation in the context of the cooling neutron star model proposed to explain the quiescent properties of neutron star X-ray transients.

Cool Companions to White Dwarfs from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey Second Incremental Data Release

We present near-infrared (IR) magnitudes for all white dwarfs (selected from the catalog of McCook & Sion) contained in the Two Micron All-Sky Survey second incremental data release (2MASS 2IDR). We show that the near-IR color-color diagram is an effective means of identifying candidate binary stars containing a WD and a low-mass, main-sequence star. The loci of single WDs and WD+red dwarf binaries occupy distinct regions of the near-IR color-color diagram. We recovered all known unresolved WD+red dwarf binaries located in the 2IDR sky coverage and also identified as many new candidate binaries (47 new candidates out of 95 total). Using observational near-IR data for WDs and M-L dwarfs, we have compared a sample of simulated WD+red dwarf binaries with our 2MASS data. The colors of the simulated binaries are dominated by the low-mass companion through the late M to early L spectral types. As the spectral type of the companion becomes progressively later, however, the colors of unresolved binaries become progressively bluer. Binaries containing the lowest mass companions will be difficult to distinguish from single WDs solely on the basis of their near-IR colors.

Unraveling the cooling trend of the soft gamma repeater, sgr 1627-41

SGR 1627-41 was discovered in 1998 after a single active episode that lasted ~6 weeks. We report here our monitoring results of the decay trend of the persistent X-ray luminosity of the source during the last 5 years. We find an initial temporal power-law decay with index 0.47, reaching a plateau that is followed by a sharp (factor of 10) flux decline ~800 days after the source activation. The source spectrum is best described during the entire period by a single power law with high absorption [NH = 9.0(7) × 1022 cm-2]; the spectral index, however, varies dramatically between 2.2 and 3.8 spanning the entire range for all known soft gamma repeater sources. We discuss the cooling behavior of the neutron star assuming a deep crustal heating initiated by the burst activity of the source during 1998.