The IRAC Dark Field; Far- Infrared to X-ray Data

• Main Authors: Krick, J. E, Surace, J. A, Thompson, D, Ashby, M. L. N, Hora, J, Gorjian, V, Yan, L, Frayer, D. T, Egami, E, Lacy, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 19-09-2009
• Subjects: Physics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics; Physics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.0909.3550

Astrophys.J.Suppl.185:85-97,2009 We present 20 band photometry from the far-IR to X-ray in the Spitzer IRAC
dark field. The bias for the near-IR camera on Spitzer is calibrated by
observing a ~20 arcminute diameter "dark" field near the north ecliptic pole
roughly every two-to-three weeks throughout the mission duration of Spitzer.
The field is unique for its extreme depth, low background, high quality
imaging, time-series information, and accompanying photometry including data
taken with Akari, Palomar, MMT, KPNO, Hubble, and Chandra. This serendipitous
survey contains the deepest mid-IR data taken to date. This dataset is well
suited for studies of intermediate redshift galaxy clusters, high redshift
galaxies, the first generation of stars, and the lowest mass brown dwarfs,
among others. This paper provides a summary of the data characteristics and
catalog generation from all bands collected to date as well as a discussion of
photometric redshifts and initial and expected science results and goals. To
illustrate the scientific potential of this unique dataset, we also present
here IRAC color color diagrams.