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"The SIRTF Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic Survey"
(SWIRE)
Wide-area, high-latitude imaging surveys of ~70 square degrees, reaching
to cosmological redshifts of ~2.5. The primary science goals include the
evolution of dusty, star-forming galaxies, evolved stellar populations and
AGN as a function of environment. The resultant catalogs will include ~2
million infrared-selected galaxies.
Principal Investigator:
Carol Lonsdale (Infrared Processing and Analysis Center,
California Institute of Technology)
Total Observatory Time: 851 hours
Co-Investigators include:
Harding E. (Gene), Smith (University of California, San Diego), Michael
Rowan-Robinson (Imperial College, London), Tim Conrow (IPAC, California
Institute of Technology), Fan Fang (SSC/IPAC, California Institute of
Technology), Nick Gautier (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute
of Technology), Frank Masci (SSC/IPAC, California Institute of
Technology), Glenn Morrison (IPAC, California Institute of Technology),
JoAnn O'Linger (SSC/IPAC, California Institute of Technology), Deborah
Padgett (SSC/IPAC, California Institute of Technology), David Shupe
(SSC/IPAC, California Institute of Technology), Jason Surace (SSC/IPAC,
California Institute of Technology), Cong Xu (IPAC, California Institute
of Technology), Alberto Franceschini (University of Padua), Matthew
Griffin (Queen Mary & Westfield College, London), Perry Hacking (Vanguard
Research), Sebastian Oliver (University of Sussex), Frazer Owen (National
Radio Astronomy Observatory), Ismael Perez-Fournon (Instituto de
Astrofisica de Canarias), Marguerite Pierre (Centre d Etudes
Astrophysique de Saclay), Richard Puetter (University of California, San
Diego), Gordon Stacey (Cornell University)
Extended Abstract
/
Team's Web Site
Short Abstract
This project will use 851 hours of SIRTF observing time to conduct a
wide-area, high latitude, imaging survey to trace the evolution of dusty,
star-forming galaxies, evolved stellar populations, and AGN, as a function
of environment from z~2.5 to the current epoch. Building on the heritage
of ISO, SWIRE complements smaller, deeper Guaranteed Time Observer
surveys, and paves the way for FIRST. These surveys will achieve MIPS
5-sigma sensitivities of 0.45/2.75/17.5 milli-Jy at 24/70/160 microns over
~100 square degrees and IRAC 5-sigma sensitivities of 7.3/9.7/27.5/32.5
micro-Jy at 3.6/4.5/5.8/8.0 microns over ~55 square degrees.
These data will yield highly uniform source catalogs and high-resolution,
calibrated images, providing an unprecedented view of the evolution of
galaxies, structure, and AGN on co-moving scales up to several hundred
Mpc. SWIRE will, for the first time, directly address the clustering of
evolved stellar systems (IRAC) versus active star-forming systems and AGN
(MIPS) in the same volume. Extensive modeling suggests that the Legacy
Extragalactic Catalog may contain in excess of two million IR-selected
galaxies dominated by: (1) luminous infrared galaxies, L(FIR)> 10^11
L(sun), up to 40,000 of which have redshift z>2; (2) ~10^6 early-type
galaxies (~4x10^5 with z>2); and (3) ~30,000 classical AGN and as many as
250,000 dust-obscured QSO/AGN.
These fields will have extensive data at other wavebands, particularly in
the optical, near-IR and X-ray. Further ground-based imaging will be
undertaken at NOAO and other observatories. SWIRE Legacy data will be
will be combined with a wide range of X-ray, optical, infrared, submm and
radio data, largely available through IPAC's Infrared Science Archive
(IRSA), as part of this legacy.
The SWIRE team has established a web site at the following URL:
http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/SWIRE/
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