A model of the 8-25 micron point source infrared sky

Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 1992 papers

Abstract

We present a detailed model for the infrared point source sky that comprises geometrically and physically realistic representations of the Galactic disk, bulge, stellar halo, spiral arms (including the "local arm"), molecular ring, and the extragalactic sky. We represent each of the distinct Galactic components by up to 87 types of Galactic source, each fully characterized by scale heights, space densities, and absolute magnitudes at BVJHK, 12, and 25 microns. Our model has been guided by a parallel Monte Carlo simulation of the Galaxy at 12 microns. The content of our Galactic source table constitutes an excellent match to the 12 micron luminosity function in the simulation, as well as to the luminosity functions at V and K. We are able to produce differential and cumulative infrared source counts for any bandpass lying fully within the IRAS Low-Resolution Spectrometer's range (7.7-22.7 microns) as well as for the IRAS 12 and 25 micron bands. These source counts match the IRAS observations extremely well. The model can be used to predict the character of the point source sky expected for observations from future infrared space experiments (e.g., 150, SIRTF, LDR, 2MASS).

Related Papers

• → Galaxy Zoo: unwinding the winding problem – observations of spiral bulge prominence and arm pitch angles suggest local spiral galaxies are winding(2019)47 cited
• → The formation of the Galactic bulge of the Milky Way(2012)13 cited
• → The multizone chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge: predicting abundances for different radial zones(2023)3 cited
• → The UV spectrum of the Galactic Bulge(2009)