Related papers: The Infrared Sky
The cosmic far-infrared background is now well measured from 140 micron to 1 mm. Uncertainties remain at 100 micron (and even more at 60 micron). These are dominated by limitations of the zodiacal model. The nature of sources dominating the…
The extragalactic background radiation produced by distant galaxies emitting in the far infrared limits the sensitivity of telescopes operating in this range due to confusion. We have constructed a model of the infrared background based on…
When viewed from above the Earth's atmosphere, the nighttime ultraviolet sky background is profoundly dark - up to 100 times fainter than the equivalent visible background as measured by groundbased telescopes. Because the UV background is…
The Cosmic Background due to the integrated radiation from galaxies over the whole life of the Universe is reviewed. We find that this background is well constrained by measurements. The total power in the background is in the range 60-93…
The cosmic infrared background records much of the radiant energy released by processes of structure formation that have occurred since the decoupling of matter and radiation following the Big Bang. In the past few years, data from the…
The Diffuse InfraRed Background Experiment on COBE measured the total infrared signal seen from space at a distance of 1 astronomical unit from the Sun. Using time variations as the Earth orbits the Sun, it is possible to remove most of the…
Recent optical observations have led to a significant progress in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. However, our view on the deep universe is currently limited to the starlight which directly escapes from high-redshift…
To study large-scale structure in the Universe a full census of the contents are required. This is even more important when the processes of galaxy formation are being investigated. In the last year the population of distant galaxies that…
We outline a new method for estimating the cosmic infrared background using the spatial and spectral correlation properties of infrared maps. The cosmic infrared background from galaxies should have a minimum fluctuation of the order of…
The redshifted ultraviolet light from early stars at z ~ 10 contributes to the cosmic near infrared background. We present detailed calculations of its spectrum with various assumptions about metallicity and mass spectrum of early stars. We…
The zodiacal foreground for a highly sensitive space infrared interferometer is predicted for various observing locations. For the predictions we use a model that was derived from measurements of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). We…
Starlight from distant galaxies ($z > 3$) is redshifted into the near infrared band with observed wavelengths from 2-8 $\mu$m. Most of the light is emitted by stars that have a peak emission at the 1.6 $\mu$m wavelength of the minimum of…
The infrared represents an alternative wavelength regime in which to study the environments of maser emission, while at the same time complementing the information obtained through radio techniques. The near infrared (1-2 microns) yields…
We have previously calculated the intergalactic background light (IBL) as a function of redshift in the far ultraviolet to near infrared range, based purely on data from deep galaxy surveys. Here we utilize similar methods to determine the…
Galactic interstellar dust has a profound impact not only on our observations of objects throughout the Universe, but also on the morphology, star formation, and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The advent of massive imaging and…
Using the excellent observed correlations among various infrared wavebands with 12 and 60 micron luminosities, we calculate the 2-300 micron spectra of galaxies as a function of luminosity. We then use 12 micron and 60 micron galaxy…
Context: Infrared dark clouds are the coldest and densest portions of giant molecular clouds. The most massive ones represent some of the most likely birthplaces for the next generation of massive stars in the Milky Way. Because a strong…
Submillimetre surveys during the past decade have discovered a population of luminous, high-redshift, dusty starburst galaxies. In the redshift range 1 <= z <= 4, these massive submillimetre galaxies go through a phase characterized by…
The ultraviolet and optical background forms a baseline for any observation of the sky. It includes emission lines and scattered light from the atmosphere; resonant scattering from the Lyman lines of interplanetary hydrogen and the…
Interstellar dust appears in a number of roles in the interstellar medium. Historically, the most familiar one is as a source of extinction in the optical. Absorbed optical and ultraviolet light heats the dust, whence infrared (including…