The complete characterization of the pressure profile of high-redshift galaxy clusters, from their core to their outskirts, is a major issue for the study of the formation of large-scale structures. ...It is essential to constrain a potential redshift evolution of both the slope and scatter of the mass-observable scaling relations used in cosmology studies based on cluster statistics. In this paper, we present the first thermal Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (tSZ) mapping of a cluster from the sample of the New IRAM Kids Arrays (NIKA2) SZ large program that aims at constraining the redshift evolution of cluster pressure profiles and the tSZ-mass scaling relation. We observed the galaxy cluster PSZ2 G144.83+25.11 at redshift z = 0.58 with the NIKA2 camera, a dual-band (150 and 260 GHz) instrument operated at the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimtrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope. We identify a thermal pressure excess in the south-west region of PSZ2 G144.83+25.11 and a high-redshift sub-millimeter point source that affect the intracluster medium (ICM) morphology of the cluster. The NIKA2 data are used jointly with tSZ data acquired by the Multiplexed SQUID/TES Array at Ninety Gigahertz (MUSTANG), Bolocam, and Planck experiments in order to non-parametrically set the best constraints on the electronic pressure distribution from the cluster core (R ~ 0.02R500) to its outskirts (R ~ 3R500). We investigate the impact of the over-pressure region on the shape of the pressure profile and on the constraints on the integrated Compton parameter Y500. A hydrostatic mass analysis is also performed by combining the tSZ-constrained pressure profile with the deprojected electronic density profile from XMM-Newton. This allows us to conclude that the estimates of Y500 and M500 obtained from the analysis with and without masking the disturbed ICM region differ by 65% and 79%, respectively. This work highlights that NIKA2 will have a crucial impact on the characterization of the scatter of the Y500−M500 scaling relation due to its high potential to constrain the thermodynamic and morphological properties of the ICM when used in synergy with X-ray observations of similar angular resolution. This study also presents the typical products that will be delivered to the community for all clusters included in the NIKA2 tSZ Large Program.
New IRAM KID array 2 (NIKA2) is a camera dedicated to millimeter-wave astronomy based upon kilopixel arrays of kinetic inductance detectors
1
(KID). The pathfinder instrument, NIKA
2
, has already ...shown state-of-the-art detector performance. NIKA2 builds upon this experience but goes one step further, increasing the total pixel count by a factor
∼
10 while maintaining the same per pixel performance. For the next decade, this camera will be the resident photometric instrument of the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique (IRAM) 30 m telescopes in Sierra Nevada (Spain). In this paper, we give an overview of the main components of NIKA2 and describe the achieved detector performance. The camera has been permanently installed at the IRAM 30 m telescope in October 2015. It will be made accessible to the scientific community at the end of 2016, after a 1-year commissioning period. When this happens, NIKA2 will become a fundamental tool for astronomers worldwide.
We describe the deployment and first tests on sky of CONCERTO, a large field-of-view (18.6 arc-min) spectral-imaging instrument. The instrument operates in the range 130–310 GHz from the APEX ...12-metres telescope located at 5100 m a.s.l. on the Chajnantor plateau. Spectra with R=
ν
/
Δ
ν
≤
300
are obtained using a fast (2.5 Hz mechanical frequency) Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), coupled to a continuous dilution cryostat with a base temperature of 60 mK. Two 2152-pixels arrays of Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LEKID) are installed in the cryostat that also contains the cold optics and the front-end electronics. CONCERTO, installed in April 2021, generates more than 20k spectra per second during observations. We describe the final development phases, the installation and the first results obtained on sky.
The characterization of dust properties in the interstellar medium is key for understanding the physics and chemistry of star formation. Mass estimates are crucial to determine gravitational collapse ...conditions for the birth of new stellar objects in molecular clouds. However, most of these estimates rely on dust models that need further observational constraints to capture the relevant parameter variations depending on the local environment: from clouds to prestellar and protostellar cores. We present results of a new study of dust emissivity changes based on millimeter continuum data obtained with the NIKA camera at the IRAM-30 m telescope. Observing dust emission at 1.15 mm and 2 mm allows us to constrain the dust emissivity index, β, in the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the dust spectral energy distribution far from its peak emission, where the contribution of other parameters (i.e. dust temperature) is more important. Focusing on the Taurus molecular cloud, one of the most famous low-mass star-forming regions in the Gould Belt, we analyze the emission properties of several distinct objects in the B213 filament. This subparsec-sized region is of particular interest since it is characterized by a collection ofevolutionary stages of early star formation: three prestellar cores, two Class 0/I protostellar cores and one Class II object. We are therefore able to compare dust properties among a sequence of sources that likely derive from the same parent filament. By means of the ratio of the two NIKA channel maps, we show that in the Rayleigh-Jeans approximation, βRJ varies among the objects: it decreases from prestellar cores (βRJ ~ 2) to protostellar cores (βRJ ~ 1) and the Class II object (βRJ ~ 0). For one prestellar and two protostellar cores, we produce a robust study using available Herschel data to constrain the dust temperature of the sources. By using the Abel transform inversion technique we derive accurate radial temperature profiles that allow us to obtain radial β profiles. We find systematic spatial variations of β in the protostellar cores that are not observed in the prestellar core. While in the former case β decreases toward the center (with β varying between 1 and 2), in the latter it remains constant (β = 2.4 ± 0.3). Moreover, the dust emissivity index appears anticorrelated with the dust temperature. We discuss the implication of these results in terms of dust grain evolution between pre- and protostellar cores.
We have developed lumped element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) that are sensitive in the frequency band from 80 to 120 GHz. In this work, we take advantage of the so-called proximity effect ...to reduce the superconducting gap of aluminium (Al), otherwise strongly suppressing the LEKID response for frequencies smaller than 100 GHz. We designed, produced, and optically tested various fully multiplexed arrays based on multi-layer combinations of Al and titanium (Ti). Their sensitivities were measured using a dedicated closed-circle 100 mK dilution cryostat and a sky simulator, which allowed us to reproduce realistic observation conditions. The spectral response was characterised with a Martin-Puplett interferometer up to THz frequencies and had a resolution of 3 GHz. We demonstrate that Ti–Al LEKID can reach an optical sensitivity of about 1.4 × 10-17 W/Hz0.5 (best pixel), or 2.2 × 10-17 W/Hz0.5 when averaged over the whole array. The optical background was set to roughly 0.4 pW per pixel, which is typical for future space observatories in this particular band. The performance is close to a sensitivity of twice the CMB photon noise limit at 100 GHz, which drove the design of the Planck HFI instrument. This figure remains the baseline for the next generation of millimetre-wave space satellites.
The necessity to increase exposure in rare event search experiments by maintaining a low energy threshold and a good energy resolution leads to segmented detectors as in EDELWEISS (Dark Matter), ...CUORE (0
ν
β
β
) or Ricochet (CENNS) for example. However, the large number of sub-elements can dramatically increase the complexity of such detector arrays. In this work we report on our progress towards designing a flexible detector technology based on Kinetic Inductance Detector (KID) resonators evaporated on massive target crystals readout by a contact-less feedline. Providing that we achieve
O
(
100
)
eV energy threshold, such approach could easily be scaled to tens of kilogram detector arrays thanks to the intrinsic multiplexing capability of KIDs. Using a 30 g silicon target absorber with Al/Ti multi layers for the KID resonator, we report a significant improvement of our detector response exhibiting a keV-scale energy resolution combined with the absence of position dependence on the event location. Indeed, compared to our previous work, we are now able to properly identify calibration lines from surface (20 keV X-rays) and bulk events (60 keV gamma rays). This significant improvement is an important step towards a better understanding of phonons and quasiparticles dynamics, which is pivotal in optimizing this technology.
ABSTRACT
Determining the mechanism by which high-mass stars are formed is essential for our understanding of the energy budget and chemical evolution of galaxies. By using the New IRAM KIDs Array 2 ...(NIKA2) camera on the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30-m telescope, we have conducted high-sensitivity and large-scale mapping of a fraction of the Galactic plane (GP) in order to search for signatures of the transition between the high- and low-mass star-forming modes. Here, we present the first results from the Galactic Star Formation with NIKA2 (GASTON) project, a Large Programme at the IRAM 30-m telescope that is mapping ≈2 deg2 of the inner GP, centred on ℓ = 23${_{.}^{\circ}}$9, b = 0${_{.}^{\circ}}$05, as well as targets in Taurus and Ophiuchus in 1.15- and 2.00-mm continuum wavebands. In this paper, we present the first of the GASTON GP data taken, and present initial science results. We conduct an extraction of structures from the 1.15-mm maps using a dendrogram analysis and, by comparison to the compact source catalogues from Herschel survey data, we identify a population of 321 previously undetected clumps. Approximately 80 per cent of these new clumps are 70-μm-quiet, and may be considered as starless candidates. We find that this new population of clumps are less massive and cooler, on average, than clumps that have already been identified. Further, by classifying the full sample of clumps based upon their infrared-bright fraction – an indicator of evolutionary stage – we find evidence for clump mass growth, supporting models of clump-fed high-mass star formation.