[35.02] The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) for the Herschel Space Observatory

AAS 207th Meeting, 8-12 January 2006
Session 35 The Herschel Far-Infrared/Submillimeter Astronomy Mission
Special Session, Monday, 10:00-11:30am, January 9, 2006, Ballroom/Salon 2

Previous | Session 35 | Next | Author Index | Block Schedule

[35.02] The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) for the Herschel Space Observatory

A. Poglitsch (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), C. Waelkens (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), O.H. Bauer (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), J. Cepa (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), T. Henning (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), C. van Hoof (Interuniversity Microelectronics Center Leuven), H. Feuchtgruber (Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik), F. Kerschbaum (Institut für Astronomie der Universität Wien), D. Lemke (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie), E. Renotte (Centre Spatial de Liège), L. Rodriguez (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique), P. Royer (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), P. Saraceno (Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario)

The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three science instruments for ESA's far infrared and submillimetre observatory Herschel. In its photometry mode, it will simultaneously image two bands, 60-85~or~85-130\mum and 130-210\mum, over a field of view of ~1.75'\times 3.5', with full beam sampling in each band. In spectroscopy mode, it will image a field of ~50''\times 50'', resolved into 5 \times 5 pixels, with an instantaneous spectral coverage of ~1500km/s and a spectral resolution of ~175km/s. In both modes near-background-noise limited peformance is expected, with sensitivities (5 \sigma in 1h) of ~4mJy or {\rm 3-20\times 10^-18 W/m²}, respectively.

We describe the observing modes of the instrument and illustrate the scientific potential of PACS with examples from the emerging Guaranteed Time Programmme of the PACS consortium. This programme presently includes extragalactic photometric surveys to identify the constitutents of the Cosmic Infrared Background, detailed studies of individual high-z objects, star formation and activity in nearby, infrared-bright galaxies, the physics of the ISM in low metallicity galaxies, surveys and pointed observations of different phases of star formation, and circumstellar environments and the late phases of stellar evolution.

This work is supported by the following funding agencies: ASI (Italy), BMVIT (Austria), CEA/CNES (France), DLR (Germany), ESA-PRODEX (Belgium), and CDTI (Spain).

Previous | Session 35 | Next